The Jewish 100: A Ranking of the Most Influential Jews of All Time (51 page)

Siegel and Shuster had met through Jerry’s cousin, who was the editor of their school newspaper at Glenville High. Siegel was a fanatic science-fiction fan, while Shuster enjoyed the study of art and drawing. Jerry was already publishing his own science-fiction magazine off a mimeograph machine. Siegel and Shuster began to collaborate, producing a bald-headed villainous superman who bore a strange resemblance to Superman’s future nemesis, Lex Luthor.

Reacting to the horrible news from Europe and the spreading blight of Depression in America, Siegel gradually formed the idea of another superman who would help the downtrodden, stand tall for justice, and defeat the bad guys. This superhero would be an alien from a much larger planet than Earth, warmed by a red sun. Unlike Flash Gordon, who rocketed to the planet Mongo to fight a fascist-style dictator named Ming, Superman was launched toward Earth in an experimental rocket ship just as his doomed planet, Krypton, exploded into fragments. Reversing the science-fiction plot typical of the day of the good space cowboy rescuing fair alien maidens from evil tyranny, Superman had journeyed to our planet to rescue us from ourselves.

Rising like a phoenix from the ashes in an interstellar resurrection, Superman arrived on our planet to be raised in the Midwest and become a real American. Fearing that people would be scared of him, his foster parents taught him to hide his true identity. Ma and Pa Kent raised their Clark to use his great strength to “assist humanity.” Siegel found in Clark Kent’s personality a soul mate. Hiding behind glasses, an able but shy writer, clumsy with the girls, was a superhero (and ladies’ man—Lois and Lana could not get enough of him). Siegel had also adapted the device of the secret identity then common in pulp fiction. It would become a requirement for all superheroes to come.

Jerry and Joe tried to sell their character to newspapers for five years as a comic strip. Rejection followed rejection. They secured a job with what would become Detective Comics (DC), producing words and pictures for such unforgettable titles as
Dr. Occult, Slam Bradley, Spy, Radio Squad,
and
Federal Men.
When printer-publisher Harry Donenfeld needed material for his new
Action Comics,
they were in the right place at the right time. Superman was not even on the cover of the first issue, but became the first comic book superhero to carry his own magazine successfully. Readers could not have enough of him. Within a year Siegel and Shuster were celebrities and had their own
Superman
magazine along with the
Action
series to tell the tales of America’s greatest hero (and later the
World’s Finest
comics, originally called
New York World’s Fair).
The Superman series inspired DC to commission the creation of other superheroes, resulting most prominently in the creation of Batman and Robin (by Jewish cartoonist Bob Kane). Much later, Superman would inspire another Jewish marvel, Stan Lee, to create Spider-Man and a legion of other superstars.

The early Superman stories (now available in a splendidly bound DC Archives edition) were written and drawn out of Siegel and Shuster’s Cleveland studios. For ten years they enjoyed moderate financial success as employees of DC Comics.

The Superman character was licensed out and became an incredible moneymaker.
The Adventures of Superman Collecting
by Harry and Amanda Murrah Matetsky lists the incredible amount of “Super Stuff” marketed under the Superman logo. Prize collectibles, jigsaw puzzles, Krypto-Rayguns, dolls, adventure cutouts, bubble gum, valentines, big bread, fan clubs, pinball machines, and filmstrips were but some of the merchandising. Color cartoons of the Man of Steel were produced by Fleischer Studios at great expense for the early 1940s ($100,000). Patriotic posters and war bond ads proclaimed Superman’s support of the war effort against Nazi “supermen.”

After the war a popular duo of movie serials were produced starring Kirk Alyn. Siegel and Shuster attempted in 1948 to regain full rights to the Superman character and enjoy the full fruits of their creative genius. Donenfeld fired them after their unsuccessful lawsuit. Years of struggle and hardship followed. Shuster’s sight failed him. For a time the talented artist who had drawn ecstatic visions of leaps and flowing capes worked in the Post Office to support his family. Siegel briefly worked for DC again in the 1960s. Recognition again and some financial support from a more benevolent corporate regime came only late in life (and largely, not soon enough for Shuster).

The Superman character, however, continued to flourish through the 1940s and 1950s in popular radio and television shows starring respectively Bud Collyer (later of
Beat the Clock
and
To Tell the Truth
fame) and George Reeves (late of
Gone With the Wind).
The immense success of the films with Christopher Reeve (no relation to George Reeves) confirmed the appeal of Superman across generations and led to the blockbuster success of the Batman films.

The comic book and superhero industry has expanded through what their creators would only have viewed as cosmic explosions. Wonder women, barbarians, hulksters, and mutant amphibians have enthralled youngsters now for over fifty years. Yet despite all the commercialism, Superman remains an enduring symbol of America’s finest values.