Superman was originally a villain! In the early 1930s, Jerry Siegal and Joe Shuster collaborated on a comic in which a mad scientist transformed a regular person into someone who could read and control minds and who used his powers for evil and his own gain. The comic was titled, "The Reign of the Super Man."
The first Superman comic in which the super hero appeared as we all know him, came out in 1938, as Action Comics #1. It is the most valuable comic book in the world.
The original falling out between Superman and his arch enemy, Lex Luther was because Superman cost Luthor his hair! As teenagers, they were working on a scientific experiment when a fire in the lab began. Superboy (then) blew out the fire with his "super breath" but the spread of the chemicals caused Lex Luthor's permanent hair loss and Luthor vowed revenge!
There really is a hometown of Superman! It's the small town of Metropolis, Illinois. The newspaper is even named "The Planet," although it's a weekly newspaper instead of a daily newspaper. Each year, Metropolis hosts a Superman Celebration as Superman and comic book enthusiasts gather! Metropolis boasts a huge statue of Superman, a Superman Museum, and a statue of Noel Neill, who played Lois Lane in the TV series with George Reeves, in addition to other attractions.
After a storyline in 1945 where Superman visited an "cyclotron" which smashed atoms, the FBI, fearing a leak involving the development of the nuclear bomb in WWII, visited the editorial offices of the comic.
Superman celebrates his birthday as June 1st, the day he landed on Earth. Clark Kent celebrates his birthday on June 18th, the day he was adopted by the Kent family.
Long before the Civil Rights Movement, Superman took on the KKK in episodes for the radio show, in which Superman challenged the KKK's Grand Scorpion, preaching tolerance over racial purification.
The S on Superman's outfit is not really an S at all, but a symbol honoring the family name of his birth father, Jor-El. It only looks like an S!
Originally, Superman stood for just "Truth and Justice," but around the time of World War II, the "and the American Way" was added in the radio broadcasts and eventually in the TV show.
The characters Perry White and Jimmy Olsen, along with the storyline about the element Kryptonite, came from the radio show, not the comic.
Although Superman first appeared, in his present character, in 1938, he didn't gain the ability to "fly" until 1941.
Clark Kent's middle name is Joseph.
Superman gave Batman a piece of Kryptonite, to to used if Superman ever got "out of control."
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