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Alternative meaning: Übermensch
File:Superman2.jpg
Superman

Superman, also called The Man of Steel, is a fictional character (created 1938), a superhero, present in comic books bearing his name from DC Comics. The character has also been in various television series and movies. Superman was born on the planet Krypton and was sent to Earth by his father moments before his planet exploded. On Earth he grew up as a human and assumed an alter-ego as a newsman while also doing good with his superpowers.

Synopsis

The story of Superman's origin is a science fiction update of the common origin story of various culture heroes, e.g., Gilgamesh, Moses, King Arthur, and Jesus, who, to save them from death as babies, are spirited away from the place where they are threatened. There is also a remarkable similarity to the age old Hindu deity "Hanuman" who also had flying powers and many phenomenal physical powers.

As of the early 1960s, (this story has undergone many revisions) Superman was born as Kal-el on the planet Krypton. While still a baby he was put into a spaceship alone by his father, Jor-El, and his mother, Lara. The ship launched moments before his home-planet exploded. His spaceship landed on Earth. He was adopted by a family in Smallville, Kansas, and was raised there until, as an adult, he moved to Metropolis. In the original series of Superman comics (1940s to 1985), Superman is the real person, and Clark Kent (Kent is probably a reference to the Earl of Kent from King Lear, who shaves his beard and is no longer reconized, as when Superman puts on his glasses to become Clark Kent nobody recognizes him) is a phony front he presents to the world, his so-called secret identity. In the original series, he adopts this persona of a normal human to find employment at a major newspaper; as a newspaper reporter Superman can learn about events and be of the most help to the public. Kent thus works as a reporter at the Daily Planet, a major newspaper in Metropolis. Lois Lane, also a reporter, is the target of Kent's/Superman's romantic affections. A central part of the storyline is Lane's affection for the strapping superhero and rebuttals of all advances from the meeker Clark Kent. When Superman is needed in time of crisis, Kent quickly changes into Superman. For decades, he was often depicted as ducking into a telephone booth to make the transformation. However, in the comic books the character rarely used that kind of hiding place due to the structure's easy visibility to the inside. In fact, Superman most often changed in a storeroom in the Daily Planet and often at other times had to quickly improvise to find a way to change out of sight.

In 1986, after the Crisis on Infinite Earths series, DC Comics hired writer/artist John Byrne to recreate the Superman character from scratch, dumping all the previously established continuity, and offer a fresh retelling of the Superman mythos. In this version, starting with the mini-series, The Man of Steel, Superman - like all Kryptonians - was created through in-vitro fertilization, on the planet Krypton. While still a fetus, he was put into a spaceship by his father, Jor-El, and his mother, Lara. The ship launched moments before his home-planet exploded. A few months later, his spaceship landed on Earth, in Smallville, Kansas. When it opened, it revealed a full term baby. Thus, in this version Superman was born on Earth, and is a son of Earth just as much a son of Krypton. He was illegally adopted by a farmer couple who witnessed the spaceship landing, Martha and Jonathan Kent, and raised much as a normal human. Over time, Clark's power slowly developed beginning with his near-invulnerability and he didn't fly until he was a teenager. After leaving Smallville, he travelled the world; as an adult he moved to Metropolis where he was hired as reporter for the Daily Planet.

In this post 1986 series, Clark Kent is the real person, and Superman is the front that he presents to the world, his so-called secret identity. He adopts this secret identity to prevent his enemies from taking advantage of him by hurting his family or friends. However, most of the world does not know that Superman is hiding his real identity at all because he does not use a mask which suggests that he does not have anything to hide. The concept that Clark is the real man, and a man shaped more by his parent's ethics than his alien power, is a deliberate reversal of the earlier comics. Similar to the older stories Lois Lane is a reporter and the target of Kent's/Superman's romantic affections. Over time, however, Lois and Clark start dating, and fall in love. Clark eventually tells her he is Superman, which causes a strain in their relationship, but they eventually marry.

Superman's abilities

Superman possesses a number of extraordinary powers, rendering him -- in terms contemporary to the 1950s -- "faster than a speeding bullet, more powerful than a locomotive, and able to leap tall buildings in a single bound". These powers were rather limited in 1940s and 50s stories, but grew to god-like powers in 1960s, 70s and early 80s stories. Only with the recreation in 1986 were his powers reduced to a medium level.

His powers include:

  • Near-invulnerability to damage. In the 1940s a bursting artillery shell could harm him, but not kill him. In the 1970s he could fly through a star and shrug off a nuclear blast. Today Superman is still extremely powerful, and withstands the assault of dozens of artillery shells, lasers and explosives, but would be killed if he flew into a star, or was close to the center of a nuclear explosion. In addition, his powerful immune system makes him immune to most toxins and diseases.
  • Vision-related powers (appeared in the 1950s and 1960s):
    • X-ray vision: The ability to see through nearly any substance except lead. The selective application of this power allows him to see through walls but not through the people on the other side;
    • Telescopic vision: The ability to see at a considerable distance such as several kilometres away;
      • When these two senses are used in combination, it is called Super Vision
    • Superman can also see the entire electromagnetic spectrum if he wishes, which includes infrared and ultraviolet which also allows him to see in the dark;
    • Microscopic vision: The ability to see extremely small objects and images.
    • Heat vision: The ability to apply heat to a target he can see, much like a laser. The beams are also normally invisible to normal vision which allows Superman to work with subtlety when called for. This power and his superbreath make up his primary ranged attacks.
  • Superhearing: The ability to hear any sound regardless of volume or pitch;
  • The power of flight by force of will which also usually allows Superman to maneuver easily and precisely in any direction as well as hover. This power appeared during the late 1940s. Superman originally could jump up to 1/8 mile but not fly.
  • Superbreath: The ability to create hurricane force winds by simply blowing. He can also chill it to freeze a target he can reach.
  • Superspeed: The ability to move at an incredible speed, much like The Flash. This includes running, but flying is more versatile and less strenuous for him. At first, this was a mere 30 miles per hour running speed, but it got be much faster in the 1950s and later.

From the 1950s through the 1980s, Superman's strength, speed, and abilities were literally unlimited: at the height of his power, he could travel millions of light-years across the span of the Universe in brief periods of time; he could dive into the hearts of stars and survive unharmed; he could easily travel through time by moving at speeds faster than light; and he could move planets and lift any weight. When Superman's character was re-created in 1986, he became much more "vulnerable" and no longer omnipotent. (Nonetheless, he is still one of the strongest and most powerful of all superheroes.) He can no longer fly faster than light, and he can no longer shrug off nuclear blasts. He has survived nearby nuclear explosions, but attacks of that magnitude have left him wounded and seriously weakened. They are generally seen as reaching the "limits" of Superman's power. Likewise, while Superman could move a mountain if he pushed his strength to the limit, he can no longer affect the orbit of the planet Earth, as he used to do.

Superman has had his power levels increased over the past decade or so. Since coming back to life (See "Death And Life Of Superman") Superman can now survive nuclear blasts and has survived plunging into the sun itself, which in fact provided a temporary increase in his power. Superman's strength is again increased and he is capable of moving far more weight than he could in 1986.

Weaknesses

Originally, Superman's powers were simply typical of all adult Kryptonians, but this was well before powers like flight and utter invulnerability were invented for him. The origin of Superman's powers then became the radiation of Earth's sun, which differs from the radiation of the star around which Superman's native planet, Krypton, orbits. The yellow sun of earth grants him powers he would not have under Krypton's red sun. Numerous stories have had Superman's enemies take advantage of that fact and expose him to synthesized red solar radiation to neutralize his powers as long as they can maintain the exposure. The Pre-Crisis version had the weakness that his powers could vary to other degrees depending on the colour of the closest star available. For instance, while a yellow sun gives him maximum power, an orange one only gives him half strength.

Another source of his strength given is that Krypton has much higher gravity and thus his muscles are adapted to higher gravity. His strength is then dependent on the lower gravity of Earth. In early comics Superman did not have the ability to fly and only used the lower gravity of Earth for long jumps. The jumps then evolved into flying.

The remains of the shattered planet spread throughout the universe as a green crystalline or metallic substance known as kryptonite, which is harmful to Superman and robs him of his powers when it is in close proximity to him. A variant form of kryptonite is "red kryptonite", which does not usually damage him directly but has highly unpredictable effects on his psyche and powers (for example, red kryptonite exposure once transformed Superman's head into that of a giant ant). Gold Kryptonite removes Superman's powers under the influence of Earth's yellow sun, but fortunately it is rare in the extreme. There have been a number of other rare variants of kryptonite, introduced sporadically over the years whenever a particular plotline required them, and then forgotten, but in the 1986 reinvention of the Superman story they have been retconned out of existence. Kryptonite was invented specifically for the Superman radio serial, to permit the star to take a vacation.

The comics have also established that Superman and other Kryptonians are highly vulnerable to magic. This means any wizard, magic based monster or even a ordinary person with a magic object can be extremely dangerous. (In the fictional universe of DC comics, "magic" is a type of energy that can be harnessed and controlled. It differs from the definition of magic as applied to the everyday world.)

Equipment

Given his abilities, personal equipment plays less of a role for him than other superheroes, although he does have his share.

This includes his Fortress of Solitude, a large facility placed in the Arctic Region in the Pre-Crisis version and in Antarctica for the Post-Crisis period. It acts as his getaway where he can relax from his duties for a time, although he has complete communications equipment in the event of an urgent message.

In the Pre-Crisis version, the Fortress included laboratories where Superman could tinker on various projects like finding an immunity to kryptonite, a private zoo of alien animals, a room for communication with the Phantom Zone and a projector to place or remove people from it, a Krypton Memorial, a trophy room, and a gym with exercise equipment custom designed to his physical needs. He also had tribute rooms to his personal friends like Lois Lane, Jimmy Olsen, Batman and Clark Kent (to throw off suspicion) where he prepared special gifts in the event of his death.

Most importantly, the Fortress was where he also stored the bottle city of Kandor, a Kryptonian city shrunken and stolen by Brainiac prior to the planet's destruction. For years, he worked to reverse the city's condition while also enjoying the opportunity to visit a native community where he was an honoured guest.

The Post-Crisis version was created by the Kryptonian artifact, the Eradicator, when Superman tried to dispose of it in Antarctica. In the reaction, the device created the Fortress which contains much of Krypton's technology including artificially intelligent robots to maintain the building. Later in the comic books, Superman and fellow superhero Steel have the Fortress encased in a tesseract permitting the Man of Steel to carry the infinitely large Fortress wherever he travels.

In addition, the Pre-Crisis Superman had various androids that could impersonate himself and his closest companions well enough to fool even close friends. However, he largely abandoned them when pollution began to interfere with their functions.

In response to situations where he would need shielding against kryptonite or similar threats, the Pre-Crisis Superman had a collection of lead lined suits for protection. In instances where his powers disabled or he needed stronger protection, Superman also had a vehicle called the Supermobile which could fly into any environment and had powerful waldo arms to handle outside objects from inside. The Post-Crisis version has access to various equipment, weapons and vehicles of Kryptonian design, including a large fighting mecha called a battlesuit.

Superman's costume in the Pre-Crisis version was made from blankets that were included on his rocketship. Being of Kryptonian origin, they correspondingly shared the same resistance to damage in yellow sun environment. That meant his costume was rarely damaged and could even protect others who had it on their person as a kind of armour. Furthermore, when he carried a person when flying, he would wrap him/her in his cape to protect them from air friction. In addition, Clark's spectacle lens were originally made from two small round pieces broken from his spaceship's transparency. Since they were also of Kryptonian origin, Clark could fire his heat vision through them without melting them. When he had Kandor in his possession, these relatively crude improvisational creations were supplemented with the products of the professional tailors and lenscrafters available in the city which took on the equivalent sturdiness when introduced outside the bottle.

The Post-Crisis version did not have this material, but rather has a thin aura around his body that protects skin tight clothing from damage. As for his glasses, Clark must momentarily lift his glasses clear of his eyes to avoid damaging them when he used his heat vision. In addition, Superman keeps some cash in his belt buckle in case he needs to spend it.

Character personality

In the beginning, Superman's personality was often very rough and destructive in sometimes questionable ways. A key example of this is an early story in which, after learning that the government would not move to help poorly maintained low income residential areas unless there is a disaster, Superman decides to create one by going on a destructive rampage on substandard housing. As superhero stories became more oriented towards a children's readership, the writers adopted his better known "boy scout" persona.

That personality, despite the emphasis on Superman having powers and abilities "far beyond those of mortal men," has shone through from the earliest days of his career, and this above all is why he is known as "Superman." Superman has often been portrayed in the comics as willing to lay down his life or sacrifice his powers for the good of humanity. He will gladly go out of his way to rescue a cat stuck in a tree or participate in community fund-raisers. He often acts behind the scenes in such a way that someone else receives the credit for his super deeds. He displays modesty and humility that often catch his foes and critics off-guard, as they do not understand why a person with Superman's vast power would choose to spend his life helping others and doing good, not to mention disguising himself as a "mere mortal."

Recent writers have attempted to deepen his character and provide a believable rationale for his goodness. The basic element added is Superman's deep self doubt about his power and his conscience using it. He fears that this power gives him a terrible temptation to abuse for his own gain and that he has the potential to become a monster, subject to no one. He therefore makes a point of submitting to the legitimate authorities around him, allowing him to feel that he has some restraints on his actions. By extension, his boy scout behaviour is a further layer of self restraint to prevent him from losing control. A further motivation for his career as a reporter, in addition to privileged access to breaking news, is that he earns a living in a field in which he doesn't feel he has an unfair advantage due to his physical abilities (although he is known for being a fast typist). That grounds him so that he can't feel superior to native Terrans.

Superman's lily-white persona has often been mocked, ridiculed, and spoofed, especially during the past twenty to thirty years of comic book history, when "grim and gritty" comics dominated the market. Superman may seem old-fashioned, quaint, and "whitebread" when compared to the various obsessed "dark avengers" who command the lion's share of the comic book market; but his appeal has lived on, and he continues to be a driving force in the comic book medium after more than sixty years.

History

Superman was invented by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster not as a hero, but as a villain. Siegel and Shuster created a short story called "The Reign Of The Superman" about a bald-headed villain bent on dominating the world. The story did not sell, forcing the two to rethink their character on the right side of the law. The revised Superman originally appeared in Action Comics on June 1, 1938. They sold the rights to the company for $130 and in 1947; when the popularity of the character led them to sue for more, they were fired. Superman has been more or less consistently popular throughout the 20th century.

Throughout a series that has lasted for over sixty years (as of 2004), numerous comic book series, a radio series, cartoons, movies, written novels, and even songs, Superman has starred in an amazing number of adventures that have put him into every imaginable situation, on Earth and throughout the universe, in numerous eras of history. During his long history, as he has faced nearly every imaginable peril, Superman's powers have increased to the point that he is literally an omnipotent being who can do anything. This poses an enormous challenge for anyone assigned to write stories about the character, as it provides a nearly insurmountable obstacle: "How does one write about a character who is nearly as powerful as God?" (In fact, the Kryptonian name of Superman, Kal-El, has been noted to be similar to the Hebrew words for "all that God is") This, among other reasons, contributed to a decline in Superman's popularity, especially during the 1960s and 1970s when Marvel Comics brought a new level of character development to mainstream comic books. By the early 1980s, DC Comics had decided that a major change was needed to boost Superman's popularity and make him more appealing to the audiences of the time. Comic book writer-artist John Byrne was brought in to re-create Superman from scratch and re-start the series. The resulting retcon of Superman, which took place in 1986, brought a number of substantial changes to the character, some of which were less than successful (and were met with varying degrees of acceptance by comic book buyers). Nevertheless, the re-launch of the Superman comic book series succeeded in returning the character to the fold of mainstream comic books, returning it to the forefront of DC's flagship titles.

Since the launch of the "new" Superman, the editorial staff at DC has introduced several drastic changes to the character, which has boosted sales of the comic but also sparked debate among fans as to whether some of the changes were necessary. Two major alterations to Superman have had long-term effects. The first is the "Death And Life Of Superman" storyline, in which Superman apparently died at the hands of a supervillain named Doomsday. He returned from the dead to finally defeat Doomsday, though his "death" gave rise to a number of new characters and storylines. In 1995, Superman (or rather, Clark Kent) finally married Lois Lane, and the two have had a happy marriage that has lasted... so far. Future editorial changes to the Superman comic book series may reverse some or all of these changes.

Other characters

Famous characters in Superman include Lois Lane, the Daily Planet photographer Jimmy Olsen, and the city editor Perry White.

Superman also has a cousin from Krypton, Supergirl; though she is killed in the comic book series Crisis on Infinite Earths. After the retcon of Superman, Supergirl was re-introduced into the comic book series, but her history is now far more confusing and convoluted.

Lana Lang is a television reporter who grew up in Smallville and shares Lois Lane's obsession with trying to expose Clark Kent as Superman.

In the Pre-Crisis version of Superman, his human parents both die when he reaches adulthood; the current version has them both alive and well and regularly visited by Clark who relies on them for advice in difficult times among other needs.

There have also been a number of characters called Superboy. The original Superboy, introduced in 1944, can be summed up by the catchphrase "the adventures of Superman when he was a boy." This Superboy is no longer in current publication, as it is now established that Clark Kent does not become a superhero until adulthood. However, a new Superboy character who is a clone of Superman was created in the early 1990s; adventures featuring this character continue to be published as of 2004.

In Metropolis, Superman enjoys a close relationship with the Police Department. This especially applies to the Special Crimes Unit (SCU), a police unit that deals with superpowered threats, led by Captain Margaret Sawyer with Dan "Terrible" Turpin as her second-in-command.

At some points in his history, Superman has a pet dog, Krypto, who has powers and abilities just like his master's. In the original Pre-Crisis origin of the character, Krypto is Kal-El's pet dog back on the planet Krypton, who is accidentally sent to Earth in a test run for Kal-El's own trip. Krypto has all the physical abilities of a Kryptonian in a yellow sun environment as well as an improved intelligence raised to roughly that of a human child in complexity and sophistication. John Byrne's Post-Crisis reboot did away with Kal-El's pet and the test flight, but Krypto was recently re-introduced into continuity after following Superman home from a false Krypton built as a trap by one of Superman's enemies. This Krypto has only a normal canine intelligence which means he fights like an animal with his total strength. That typically makes him too dangerous to keep outside the Fortress of Solitude without close supervision by a sufficiently powerful keeper like Superman.

Superman has a limited rogue's gallery of recurring supervillain enemies, but they include:

  • Lex Luthor: The Pre-Crisis version is a criminal scientist who has an all consuming vendetta against Superman. The Post-Crisis version is a corrupt head of a mega corporation who had a similar grudge and used his company's vast resources to fulfill it. He was later elected President of the United States much to Superman's chagrin.
  • Brainiac: The Pre-Crisis version is an alien android bent on conquest and Superman's death. The Post-Crisis version is an alien entity who is an organic being with similar ambitions of conquest.
  • Morgan Edge, a crime boss in Metropolis.
  • Mr. Mxyzptlk: An extra-dimensional alien with overwhelming power who delights in tormenting Superman and will only leave when Superman fulfills a challenge, usually making Mxy express his name backwards.
  • Parasite: A superpowered man who can absorb the powers, strength and memories of any organic being and naturally wants Superman's power for himself.
  • Bizarro: An grotesquely flawed duplicate of Superman who clumsily tries to emulate the original and causes a great deal of damage in the process.
  • Metallo: A criminal cyborg who prefers using kryptonite as a reliable power source which makes him a deadly threat against Superman.
  • Phantom Zone Prisoners: In the Pre-Crisis setting, these prisoners are kryptonian criminals who hate Superman as the son of their prison's creator and become extremely destructive when they periodically escape into Earth's yellow sun environment.
  • Intergang: A heavily armed organized crime cartel armed with incredibly powerful weapons supplied in part by the extraterrestrial supervillain Darkseid.
  • Doomsday: A mindless, impossibly powerful, raging monster that "killed" Superman during the Death and Life of Superman storyline.

Additional reading

Here are a few trade paperbacks, available at most bookstores that shed an important light on the character:

Written just a year before Smallville, this book tells the tale of Superman as a young man in a timeless, Rockwellian america from confused lad to superpowered metropolite. Sale + Loeb are at the top of their form in this book, with an amazing script and gorgeous watercolors beyond compare.

A fully painted epic in the style of Marvels, this is the story of Superman the day after tomorrow. Superman has retired, along with many of the greats of the DC universe and given way to a new breed of reckless, morally ambiguous superheroes. What happens when superman comes out of retirement?

  • The Death of Superman/World Without a Superman/The Return of Superman - written and illustrated by various creators, notably Dan Jurgens

The DC stable is out in full force as it tells the story of Superman's death and the world's (and his loved ones') reaction as well as his eventual return.

An Elseworlds Superman story based around the premise, "What if Superman had been raised in the Soviet Union?" Instead of fighting for the American Way, Superman takes a firm belief in workers rights and the struggle for global equality, and sets out to promote communism throughout the world.

Adaptations in other media

The Superman character has made the transition to radio, television and movies, all on multiple occasions. Among the actors who have played the role are George Reeves, Christopher Reeve, and Dean Cain.

There have also been numerous animated cartoon series starring the Man of Steel. They can be summarized as follows:

Cultural influences

Both Superman's name and the premise of his character owe a large debt to the concept of the Übermensch, developed by the 19th century philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche, and elaborated upon by George Bernard Shaw. Superman is a staple of American pop culture.

DC Comics has copyrighted variations on the "super" theme, such as "superdog" and "supergal" to circumvent parody or product confusion. Nevertheless, a great many imitations and parodies of Superman have appeared over the years. One of the first Superman imitations, Fawcett Comics' Captain Marvel, sparked legal action because of its similarities to Superman. Several spoofs of Superman that have become famous (at least among children who grew up at the time of their popularity) include Mighty Mouse, Underdog, and Super Goof.

In the 1990s, comic book artist and writer Rob Liefeld created a Superman pastiche and starred him in his own comic book series, called Supreme. The series sold moderately well at first, but sales dwindled until the series was taken over with issue #41 by writer Alan Moore. Moore produced about fifteen issues of Supreme that paid homage to the classic "Silver Age" Superman before his 1985 retcon.

One of the few fictional characters explicitly modeled on Superman that DC comics allowed to stand without litigation is the comics character Hyperion, from Marvel Comics's superhero team, Squadron Supreme. The Squadron Supreme was created by comics writers at Marvel comics to allow them to do unofficial JLA/Avengers crossovers; the "new" Squadron Supreme characters were thinly veiled versions of their DC JLA counterparts. Hyperion stood in for Superman, the Whizzer stood in for The Flash, etc. DC in turn introduced the "Assemblers of Angar", a thinly-veiled Avengers pastiche. The character of Hyperion has recently been revamped in a new Marvel comics series, Supreme Power. The first issue of this series is in many ways a new take on the Superman mythology, an original story that pays homage to the Superman mythos.

Superman is believed to have been inspired in part by Philip Wylie's 1930 science fiction novel Gladiator, about a man whose superhuman strength inspires him to help the human race, but who is instead spurned by humanity precisely because of his power. Other sources cited as inspirations include Doc Savage and The Shadow.

Superman parodies

See : Superdupont, Superlópez

Superman has been a popular subject for music since the 1980s. Some artists, such as Our Lady Peace, and Five for Fighting have chosen to interpret the character as lonely, and burdened with the responsibility of protecting others. Other artists, such as The Kinks focus on the aspirations of normal humans to emulate the character of Superman. Regardless of the evaluation of the character, these songs tend to strike a chord with listeners, and many have leaped to the top of the charts. Some examples of Superman-themed music include:

  • "Superman", a 2003 single by Eminem, from his album The Eminem Show.
  • "Superman" is also a popular 2000 single by the band Five for Fighting; the song, better known as "It's Not Easy To Be Me", is clearly sung from the point of view of Superman, although his name is never mentioned. (The song's opening line is "I can't stand to fly," alluding to Superman's ability to fly. Other sections of the song refer to the "It's a bird, it's a plane, it's Superman!" catch-phrase.)
  • "Superman" by Lazlo Bane-This song appears as the theme song to the TV series Scrubs
  • Superman is also central to the 2000 hit "Kryptonite" by 3 Doors Down, which mentions him explicitly in the lyric, "If I go crazy, will you still call me Superman?"
  • "Superman" is the title of a song first recorded by The Clique in 1969, and later made famous when R.E.M. covered it on their 1986 album Life's Rich Pageant.
  • The Crash Test Dummies' first hit single was the song, Superman's Song, which is sung like a funeral dirge. The song compares Superman to Tarzan.
  • The Kinks had a hit song called Superman in which the chorus is sung, "I wish I could fly like Superman."
  • Matchbox Twenty alluded to Superman in one of their early hits, "Real World," which has the lines "From some other planet/ I'd get this funky high on a yellow sun."
  • Genesis mentions Superman in their song Land of Confusion: "Ooh Superman, where are you now/ when everything's going wrong somehow?/ The men of steel, the men of power/ are losing control by the hour."
  • Miguel Bosé also had a song in English titled Superman during the 1970s.
  • American pop-punk band Trusty sings from the point of view of a washed-up, powerless Superman in 'Kal-El.'
  • Our Lady Peace has had two songs which refer to Superman. The first is "Superman's Dead". The second is "Made of Steel", which does not mention Superman, but mentions the listener wanting a "hero" and that the speaker isn't "made of steel", alluding to the common title Superman holds as "Man of Steel".
  • The song "Jimmy Olsen's Blues" is a single from the Spin Doctors 1991 CD, Pocket Full Of Kryptonite. The song is written from the perspective of Jimmy Olsen, who is in love with Lois Lane and is jealous of Superman's attention. The album shows a phone booth on the cover.

Other songs, which seem to have a subtle Superman connection, may or may not be directly about the comic hero:

  • "Hero" is the name of a song by Chad Kroeger. The opening line, "I'm so high, I can hear heaven," may refer to Superman's ability to fly. The remainder of the song, however, seems to speak more generally about heroes (likely "superheroes" of some comic type). Since the song is played in the film, Spider-Man, many assume the lyrics pertain that specific character. Addendum: This song is about Superman. It was actually written as the theme for "Smallville", but was rejected by the producers in favor of "Save Me" by Remy Zero.
  • "Ordinary", by Greg Jones, includes a chorus in which the speaker sings "I'm much too strange for this ordinary world," after a verse saying "just focus on clouds, and blue sky", possibly a reference to Superman's ability to fly.

See also

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