Superman through the ages

Superman has, as a result of his nature as DC's flagship, had relatively little happen to him in terms of creative team turnover. When you examine DC's other major properties, editorial direction, creative teams and general tone are much more varied in them than the Super-titles.

Both approaches I think are a blessing and a curse. On the one hand, consistency can give you a solid framework on which to build new tales and cultivate reader loyalty, on the other hand, it can be limiting as well.

For the sake of my being lazy and this post, we're going to call that consistency a blessing, because it makes it easier for me to write this look back at the character's evolution. I know this sort of article has been done to death, and I'm far from the historian Mark Waid or Les Daniels are, but I've never done it. A brief (well, not really, but brief as compared to the many books on the subject) look at what I perceive to be the nine major eras of Superman comics in his 70 years.








1 Siegel and Shuster's social crusader


Whitney Ellsworth was editing and Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster were the creators of the day. Well, obviously. Lots has been said about this Superman. Fewer powers, evolving costumes, and the American way that he fought for weren't exactly what we know Superman for today. This Superman wasn't afraid to demolish a ghetto to force the city to build more adequate housing for the poor, or trap the idle rich owner in his own mine to teach him a lesson about safe working conditions. He fought for worker's rights and took on crooked arms dealers who sought to artificially escalate conflicts for his own gain. He was a good guy, but far from mild mannered. (As a note, the lesser powers didn't last. Influenced by the radio show and Fliescher cartoons, Superman was flying after just a year of two of leaps, and his vision powers were introduced less than a year after his debut.)

As America went to war, Superman was less critical of politicians and the government's flaws and more about the spirit of the nation as it pulled together during WWII. You can call it a watering down of the character, but at the time, the nation needed its heroes' support, and Superman was one of them.

This Superman was the power fantasy that let us get back at the bullies, be admired by the girl and just plain fight for what was right. The pulp hero boy scout.

2 The early fifties and The Adventures of Superman


The Mort Weisinger era, phase one. By this time Superman's powers had evolved closer to levels we know today. Wayne Boring was the signature artist, creating the larger than life, barrel chested icon for the era. His adventures, though, were a bit dry. The early fifties were HEAVILY influenced by the George Reeves Adventures of Superman series. That series, sadly, was heavily influenced by its lack of budget. So this Superman tackled a great many gangsters and scientists with plots that weren't so magnificent, mostly in reflection of what was happening on the show. (Man you would not believe how much that amazing cast carried that show.) There were some gems in this time, including Siegel's classic Return to Krypton, but for the most part, this was a pretty dry era for Supes.

It's also of note that this is when the Superman family of titles to expanded to include Jimmy, Lois and Superboy into their own titles.

3 Mort Weisinger and the creation of a mythology


Mort Weisinger, the creative tyrant. As the 50s and the Adventures of Superman ended, the most colorful era of the man of steel began. Weisinger, when freed from the restraint of the popularity of the tv series, demanded his creators go crazy. He wanted to learn more about Krypton. He wanted bigger and bolder threats. He wanted an increasingly powerful Superman facing crazier threats in increasingly crazy plots.

Writers Siegel, Otto Binder and noted sci fi author Edmond Hamilton would spend the late 50s and 60s constantly spinning the wild, often gimmicky plots and tales that would serve to create the amazing mythology of Superman. Tales of Krypton, the Phantom Zone, Kandor, the Super-pets, Brainiac, Parasite, Metallo, The Legions of Super Heroes, 31 flavors of Kryptonite, Bizarro World and countless other elements. This was the crazy sci-fi era for the character, with the definitive and graceful art of Curt Swan.

I love this Superman, goofiness, gimmicky plots and all.

While Swan was THE artist of the day, I would be remiss to not mention Kurt Schaffenberger who drew a great many stories across the many titles and was the definitive Lois Lane artist (Sadly, most Lois stories where I Love Lucy-esque plots where she'd play some trick on Supes only to be taught a lesson in the end. Fun occasionally, but they got a bit samey pretty quickly.)


4 Julie, Elliot and Neal. Plus a jerk named Steve Lombard


When Weisinger retired, Julie Schwartz stepped in the carry Superman through the 70s and early 80s. His era, with the brilliant Denny O'Neil, Elliot S! Maggin and Carey Bates as chief architects, saw more character driven stories than we ever had before. Eschewing the more fantastic elements, or using them in a more straightforward manner, the was a more layered Superman played in the most serious way we'd seen him yet. This era also saw Superman's powers reduced in an effort to make him more relate-able, and made many of his conflicts internal and more personal.

We'd also see him modernized. Lois would become stronger and more independent, Jimmy would be a more rebellious youth, and Clark Kent would move from that venerable old newspaper to being a news anchor on television with childhood sweetheart Lana Lang. Also working at that television station WGBS? Jerkass supreme Steve Lombard; sports guru and bully for the increasingly mild mannered Clark Kent.

Artistically this era would see Swan doing the best work of his career and Neal Adams providing some GORGEOUS covers and occasional interiors. This era would end with Superman stories that were kind of all over the place, with DC trying to find out who the Superman of the 80s truly should be. Some hit or miss there.

As a personal aside, the Superman of the late 70s is the Superman I grew up on, despite having grown up in the 80s. So this era is special to me. As objectively as I can be about it, I'll add it's just done so well. There are some amazing comics in this time.

5 The Byrne Era


The most radical change yet. Superman before this revamp was hardly just one take on the character through out his history, but this is the first time we saw a complete and total re-invention done all at once. Mike Carlin took over as head of the Superman titles, bringing in John Byrne and Marv Wolfman to rebuild the Superman myth from the ground up.

This Superman came from an emotionless Krypton and was truly its only survivor. He wasn't as powerful as he was before, and he's not as smart as he used to be. Lois is often antagonistic and bullheaded, and Luthor, the criminal and mad scientist, is now an evil businessman. His adoptive parents survive well into Superman's adulthood, and he's forsaken much of his Kryptonian heritage. It was a concentrated effort to make him more man than Superman. Lots loved it, lots hated it. His rogues gallery was simplified and complicated at the same time, much of the mythology created during the 60s and refined during the 70s was jettisoned entirely.

Byrne was the captain of this ship for the first couple of years defining both the stories and look of the books, and his Marvel roots were showing. The characters were all flawed and the soap opera elements were cranked up. The less powerful Superman made for less fantastic, more grounded tales. After his departure, Roger Stern, Wolfman, and Jerry Ordway would continue telling tales of much the same Superman Byrne had created.

6 Gimmicks, gimmicks, gimmicks


The Jurgens Era. As the 80s closed up, Dan Jurgens would come to prominence on the titles as writer and artist when the Death of Superman captured the world's attention on a slow news day. The Superman of the 90s was very much built on the foundation laid by Byrne. Superman became TOO flawed, at one point in this era even becoming suicidal during the "Death of Clark Kent" arc. There were some quality tales in this time, but due to the success of the Death Of Superman, it was truly defined by the constant need for gimmicks and events in an attempt to one up itself and keep things going. The Death and Return, The Death Of Clark Kent, the electric Superman, The Wedding of Lois and Clark and several others.

And as this was the 90s, comics were getting darker. Superman's villains were turned into things pretty far removed from the original versions in some instances.

During this time you pretty much had to buy every Superman comic to read any Superman comic. There were four monthly titles, and the end of each one lead directly into the next title, which meant you had to buy the Superman comics weekly to keep up. Louise Simonson, Jon Bogdanove, Jackson Guice, Jerry Ordway and Tom Grummet were the other major contributors of this era, but it was Jurgens' show.

One of the most lasting legacies of this era is the expansion of the Superman family to include Steel, Kon El, and Professor Hamilton, and some very solid additions to his rogues gallery in Cyborg and Doomsday.

7 Putting the 90s behind us


Eddie Berganza was taking over editorial at the end of the 90s and the beginning of the 00s, and it was decided Supes needed a new direction. Enter Jeph Loeb, Joe Kelly and later Joe Casey as the main writers and a whole new look for Superman with Ed McGuinness and Mike Weiringo's cartoony styles becoming the default look for the titles. Doug Mahnke was also working on the book at this time, his darker but still excellent style making a stark contrast to the other two guys.

This Superman was more powerful than the Byrne/Jurgens eras, and effort was made to make them much more accessible than the continuity driven mire of the previous 15 years or so. Things were also getting brighter. Superman's stories were more action packed and not afraid to be fun while never going as camp as the 60s were. The soap opera elements were toned down, and we even got Krypto and Silly Bizarro back. Superman became less self-involved and simply much more likable, as did most of the cast.

The titles were more independent of one another, and when they did all get together things like Return to Krypton and Emperor Joker were well received. This era would be short lived; coming to a close not long after the less than popular "Our Worlds At War" crossover.

I've a real fondness for this era, as it worked within the rules and continuity of the previous two eras, but wasn't afraid to take some chances and go in new directions. And most of it looked great. I've a particular love for Joe Kelly's time on Action Comics.

8 Start throwing names at the wall and hope something sticks


The goodwill and increase in sales ushered in by the Loeb/Kelly revamp didn't last long, and sadly what followed was odd time for Superman. This is the most inconsistent time for Superman ever as Berganza would bring in Chuck Austen, Gail Simone, Jim Lee, Brian Azzarello, Greg Rucka, Michael Turner, John Byrne, and a host of others in just a few years trying to find what would 'fix' Superman. This was all in the midst of several major DC crossovers, further muddying the waters. No one knew what was in continuity, no one knew who would be working the titles months from now; it was a mess.

Superman had no one voice, so it's really hard to say who he was these few years.

9 Johns, Morrison and Busiek save the day


Then came time to wipe the slate clean. Bring in several top tier creators who genuinely love the characters, and let them start over. Don't ignore everything that came before or be slave to it. Let them pick what works best, and tell new stories with them. And it was good. Kurt Busiek, Geoff Johns, Grant Morrison, and sadly only for short time Darwyn Cooke, would usher in a whole new era of for Superman. In addition to those brilliant writers, super star artisits Carlos Pacheco, Time Sale, Frank Quietly and Gary Frank would make sure the books looked amazing.

The titles now are seeing the best reviews pretty much ever, and are truly an amalgam of all that's come before from the comics, movies, tv series, novels, and every other thing Superman's been a part of. It's a sort of mini-golden age for Superman, and it makes me happy.