50 Facts About Superman

Hello interweb, Nate here.  So I thought it would be interesting to start doing this series that I’ve been thinking of for a while: Top 100 Facts.  I thought that would be interesting…but I could barely get to 50 facts so I think 50 is enough XD.  In this series, I pic a superhero, a supervillain, or a team and list 50 facts about the character(s).  So I decided to test this new series with the very first superhero: Superman.  Note: these facts are in no specific order.

1. Superman was created by Jewish writers Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster in 1933  but the character wouldn’t appear in comics until 1938 where it was sold to Detective Comics (now known as DC Comics) for $130.
2. 

   2.

   The original concept of Superman would have him be featured as a bald telepathic villain bent on world domination.

3. According to Joe Shuster, Superman is inspired by heroes such as Hercules and Flash Gordan.
4. Many of Superman’s supporting cast did not debut with the Man of Steel.  Jimmy Olsen debuted in 1938’s Action Comics #6 and Perry White debuted in Superman in 1940.
5. When Superman first debuted, his only powers were being “Faster than a speeding bullet. More powerful than a locomotive. Able to leap tall buildings in a single bound”.  Over the years his more iconic powers started taking shape.  His X-Ray vision would be introduced in Action Comics (Vol 1) #11 in 1939 and his heat vision would be introduced in Superman (Vol 1) #59 in 1949 and was explained as a product of “the heat of his x-ray vision”.   His ability to fly was created for the 1940’s Superman cartoon as it was difficult to animate him bending his legs to jump.
6. Superman is strong enough to carry a book of infinite pages.  Meaning that he literally has no limit to his strength.
7. Despite the fact that Superman can fly millions of times faster than the speed of light, Superman still isn’t faster then the Flash.
8. Superman has had several strange powers over the years.  This includes: shapeshifting, shooting miniature versions of himself from his hands, super-hypnosis, and super-ventriloquism (as a side note, I actually managed to spell “ventriloquism” correctly on my first try).
9. Most of Superman’s powers has been explained as him harnessing solar radiation from Earth’s yellow sun.  This is why he wouldn’t have any powers on Krypton as Krypton has a red sun.
10. Superman actually doesn’t need to eat or breathe air as he can live off of solar energy alone.
11. You may wonder how his costume is able to remain fairly undamaged in most battles.  This is due to his bio-electric aura that us just above his skin, protected his skin tight costume as well as helping his invulnerability.
12. 

    12.

    Superman’s most recent power is the “Super Flare”.  This occurs when all of the solar energy in Superman’s body is released at once causing a huge explosion.  After the use of this power, Superman is powerless for the next 24 hours.

13. Kryptonite actually did not debut in the comics but actually first showed up in the Superman radio show.  The voice actor for Superman wanted some time off so they needed to find a way around his absence.  So in 1943, the episode The Meteor From Krypton introduced Kryptonite to the mythos but Kryptonite still wouldn’t be introduced to the comics for another six years.
14. On the same radio show, Superman fought the Klu Klux Klan
15. There are actually more than just one type of Kryptonite out there and each version has different effects:
    • Green Kryptonite = Causes great pain, weakens powers, and can be fatal if exposure lasts long enough
    • Red Kryptonite = Randomly effects Superman in different ways such as: transform into a dragon, become evil, causes excessive hair growth, temporary amnesia, gained telepathy, etc.
    • Gold Kryptonite = Permanently removes Superman’s powers and it’s impossible to get them back
    • White Kryptonite = Only harmful to plant life
    • Yellow Kryptonite = Does nothing
    • Black Kryptonite = Splits a Kryptonian’s personality into two separate people
    • Silver Kryptonite = Causes similar affects of Cannabis
    • Blue Kryptonite = Same as Green Kryptonite but only effects Bizzaro Kryptonians (Google it)
    • 

      15. Pink Kryptonite (Click to enlarge)

      Pink Kryptonite = Never confirmed, but it was heavily implied to turn Kryptonians into homosexuals

    • Purple Kryptonite = Effects Unknown
    • Magno Kryptonite = Tracks down other objects from Krypton
    • Jewel Kryptonite = Increases the psychic powers of people in the Phantom Zone (Google it)
    • Red/Green Kryptonite = Created by Brainiac and mutated Superman
    • Opal Kryptonite = Drive Kryptonians to insanity
    • Crimson Kryptonite = Crimson Kryptonite was given to Lex Luthor from Mr. Myxlptlik and removed Superman’s powers.  The only way for Superman to get his powers back is if Lex Luthor told Superman that he obtained it from Mr. Myxlptlik which he did when Superman was Clark Kent
16. Kryptonite isn’t Superman’s only weakness as he has been shown to be vulnerable to Magic.  Also since Superman gains his powers from our yellow sun, a red sun will slowly take his powers away.  Also, Superman’s X-Ray vision is obstructed by lead.
17. Superman’s original arch-enemy wouldn’t be Lex Luthor but the telepathic primate: Ultra-Humanite.
18. In Action Comics #700, Superman actually renounces his American citizenship to fight America’s foreign policy.
19. 

    19.

    In the 70’s, there was a comic titled Superman’s Girl Friend Lois Lane which had a story arc where Superman turned Lois Lane into a Black woman for a day.

20. 

    20.

    In the Amalgam Comics (which were comics coming out in the 90’s that combined DC and Marvel heroes), Superman was combined with Captain America to create Super-Soldier

21. In the 90’s, a canceled Superman movie was going to be produce that would be directed by Tim Burton and star Nicholas Cage as Superman/Clark Kent.  While the movie was never made, Cage was still paid $20million.
22. Many of Superman’s love interest over the years has had the initials L.L. including: Lois Lane, Lana Lang, Lori Lemaris, and Lyla Lerrol.  Another interesting thing to note is that Supergirl’s alter-ego is Linda Lee.
23. Lois Lane temporarily had Superman’s powers in the graphic novel All-Star Superman.
24. 

    24.

    Superman is currently dating Wonder Woman.

25. George Reeves, the man who played Superman in the 50’s, claims that a a young boy wanted to shoot him with a gun to see if the bullet would bounce of his chest.  Reeves then told the boy that would be dangerous as it would ricochet off of him and hit someone else.  It’s unknown how true this story is though.
26. Klark Kent’s glasses are not the only thing that hides his true identity.  It has also been explained in the comics that Superman changes his body language, deepens his voice, and acts differently than Clark Kent.  It has also been stated that since Superman doesn’t wear a mask, many people don’t even know that Superman has a secret identity.
27. It has been explained that the reason Superman doesn’t wear a mask is to gain peoples trust as it’s easier to trust someone when you can see their face.
28. Superman has some strange alternate universe versions of himself.  This includes a centaur Superman, Amish Superman, Communist Superman, Tarzan Superman, Black Superman (who was actually the first Black president in his universe), a Nazi Superman named Overman, and Bruce Wayne/Superman; where Batman’s parents not only live but adopts Superman after the original Bruce Wayne dies.
29. Speaking of Nazis, the Nazis hated Superman during WWII due to the American propaganda Superman comics were full of at the time.
30. 

    30.

    Superman actually owns a Kryptonian dog named Krypto: The Superdog.  Interestingly enough, Krypto actually gained an animated series later on.

31. The original reasoning for Lex Luthor’s hatred towards the Man of Steel was that Superman made Lex bald.  As you can probably guess, they have made better reasons for Lex’s hatred.
32. Before Clark Kent was Superman, he was known as Superboy.  This was changed in the New 52 so that Clark Kent/Superboy never happened.
33. Superman was once bitten by Dracula but because his cells hold so much solar radiation Dracula exploded.
34. There has been six different Supergirls throughout Superman’s history.
35. 

    35.

    Superman once held Thor’s hammer, Mjolnir, during a crossover comic.

36. Due to Superman’s photographic memory and his super speed, Superman can read enough books fast enough to gain a PhD level knowledge within a certain field in seconds.
37. Superman does not drink alcohol
38. Superman was once a vegetarian
39. Superman’s favorite movie is To Kill a Mockingbird
40. Superman’s middle name is Joseph
41. Superman and Lois Lane’s first kiss occurred in Superman #3 in 1940
42. Superman’s birth parent’s names are Jor-El and Lara-El
43. Superman once went on a double date with Spider-man.
44. Making the “S” symbol on your chest is American Sign Language for “Superman.
45. Speaking of the symbol, the Superman “S” symbol has been explained several times as being the El family crest or even a symbol of hope.
46. Batman has a piece of Kryptonite entrusted to him by Superman in case Superman ever goes rouge.
47. 

    47.

    While the DCAU gave birth to the Batman villain Harley Quinn, it also gave birth to the Superman villain known as Livewire whose basically a gender-swap Electro.

48. According to Martha Kent in the Justice League cartoon, they would wrap up Superman’s Christmas presents in lead to prevent him from taking a sneak peek.
49. Superman wore a mullet in the 90’s
50. Superman’s identity is currently public knowledge.

 

Well that was 50 Facts about Superman!  So what do you guys think?  Like I said, this was originally going to be 100 facts but I just couldn’t enough facts and I barely made it to 50.  So let me know in the pole below if you want more of these 5o facts and comment below if you have a suggestion for my next 50 facts!