Man of steel
Superman’s death marks the end of an era
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By Anne Steyer
Staff Reporter_
An era has ended: the arena of
popular culture has been rocked
and the world must bu ry its greatest
superhero.
Superman, the cornerstone of
Detective Comics, died Thursday,
Nov. 19, of mortal wounds sus
tained in his battle with Doomsday,
an evil creaturcofunknown where
abouts.
The man of steel was a mythical
hero with superhuman strength
created in 1934 by Jerome Siegel.
He recruited neighbor and class
mate Joe Shuster to pencil and ink
hisstories, and an American legend
was born.
First published in June 1938, as
the launch pad of Action Comics, a
new line from DC, Superman was
portrayedasan indestructible force
of good.
Over the next 50 years, very little
about Superman changed. He was
faster than a speeding bullet, more
powerful than a locomotive, able to
leap tall buildings in a single bound.
He could fly, he had X-ray vision,
hurricane-strength lung power and
supersonic hearing. His strength
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was matched by none. His costume <
wasthesignatureredandblue with i
the gleaming yellow "S."
In 1986, the man of steel was
revamped and madea little more—
dare it be said — human. He was
not quite so indestructible and he
had moments of doubt and fear.
But he was still a champion of
good. 1
“He always has been a cosmic
boy scout, a nice guy,” said Brian <
Schur, owner of Cosmic Comics, “.
. .and we all know where nice guys
finish."
Over the decades, his history
was revealed to his readers and —
somewhat— to himself. Superman
discovered he was not human but
was born to scientists Jor-El and
Lara on the doomed planet of Kryp
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cocooned in a womb-like capsule.
He landed in Smallville, U.S.A.,
and was discovered by Mr. andMrs.
Kent. He lived a relatively calm and
normal childhood as Clark Kent,
living a hidden life as the crime
fighting Superman.
He continued his secret identity
while, as an adult, employed at the
Metropolis city newspaper, The
Daily Planet.
It was there that he met Lois
Lane, the determined investigative
reporter, whom he would later fall
in love with, reveal himself to and
plan to marry.
' It was in her arms that he spoke
his final words and drew his final
| breath.
Within the DC universe, within
! the city of Metropol is a nd the world
}f comic books, Superman is re
membered as the Earth’s greatest
superhero. To the fictional charac
ers of those worlds, his passing is
i tremendous loss — equivalent to
America’s real life loss of FDR, JFK
ind John Wayne all at once.
To citizens of the real world,
superman’s death is the end of an
sra, the passing of one of America’s
most celebrated icons of popular
rulture.
A worldwide institution, Super
man has been involved in more
thanhalfa century offightingcrime,
appearing in mediums as varied as
novels, comic books, comic strips,
radio shows, animated cartoons,
movie serials, television series five
feature films and a Broadway musi
cal.
o 1 * J •
oupcnuau was ccicuiaicu in
songs from Laurie Anderson to
Barbra Streisand, the Kinks to RKM.
The Crash Test Dummies sang:
'Superman never made any
money/for saving the world from
Solomon Grundy/and sometimes I
despair the world will never see/
another man like him."
Most likely, the world never will.
All of this celebration of a single
hero was catapulted into a phe
nomenal merchandisingcampaign.
His image was imprinted on every
thing from mugs and posters to
beach towels and bedroom sheets.
All this Superman mania had
diminished in recent years, as other
characters’ stories look off. Comic
book sales had dropped, and talk
of another feature film met with
jeers.
But with the massive media at
tention the impending death of
Superman received, interest in the
character resurged. Comic book
collectors and Superman fans, to
gether with all the people who had
loved him in their childhood and
those seeking a financial invest
ment, bombarded comic book
shops nationwide in search of
Superman’s final and fateful battle.
No one had enough copies.
DC reported record sales and
issued a second printing of Super
man #75 the same day the first was
released. DC has announced the
release of a third printing due out
today.
Schu r said his three comic stores
sold out of 1,200 copies in just
under three hours. More than 900
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his stores, and those also have sold
out.
Speculation is rampant about the
fate and future of the man of steel.
Customers in local comic stores
already are anticipating his return.
“Superman is gone now, but
how long is merely conjecture,"
Schur said, “I’d hazard a guess he’ll
be back sometime next year, as a
revised character, a harder, nittier
grillier and darker Superman."
Speculation aside, and regard
lessofthe fallen superhero’s future,
millions of people worldwide are
mourning the passing of a popular
icon, a figure who represented
safety, security and the triumph of
good in a world filled with injustice
and evil.
The world mourns a Superman.
