10 Weird things you did not know about Superman? Request Please

[jhutton2]

Hello fellow boardies! I have decided to write an article about weird facts about Superman that most poeple probably don't know. I already have a few ideas from my many Supe comics I have read over the years, but wanted the feedback of the community here as the collective knowledge should provide the trappings for a good piece.

 

Any facts you provide, if you can possible provide me with a reference of where the info comes from (even an issue number of the comic, movie reference etc.) this would be a huge help to me as I want to make sure my facts are correct.

 

Thanks in adavance for any help that can be provided. Please pass along to any Supe fans who you think might enjoy adding their contribution to the thread!

 

Best Regards,

 

Jason

 

[koollectablz]

Superman suddently posesses the power of telekenisis when the scriptwriter can't think of a better way to get him out of trouble.

 

Ref: Superman III, when the giant computer ties him up in wires and he can't reach the bottle of acid he brought with him.

[jhutton2]

Awesome start, thank you! keep em coming!!

[Ares]

Kryptonite was introduced in the radio Series not in comics

[Ares]

The characters of Daily Planet editor Perry White, copyboy Jimmy Olsen and police inspector Bill Henderson were created for the radio series.

 

The Man of Steel regularly teamed up with Batman and Robin on the airwaves before the trio joined forces in the pages of Superman and World's Finest.

[Ares]

Originally the S-shield had only meant Superman but another interpretation was that it stood for his family crest in the Superman movie. Currently it is the Kryptonian symbol for "Hope" and in the Kryptonian alphabet a version of it simply translates to the letter "S". Also if you hold the symbol upside down it no longer means "Hope" but "Resurrection".

[Phicks]

Robert Redford and Bruce Jenner were both considered for the lead role in the 1979 Superman film.

[VintageComics]

I used to think Superman's powers were in his cape.

 

[VintageComics]

Robert Redford and Bruce Jenner were both considered for the lead role in the 1979 Superman film.

 

Redford was the Brad Pitt of his day. They even look like father and son.

 

 

[Ares]

As originally conceived and presented in his early stories, Superman's powers were relatively limited, consisting of superhuman strength that allowed him to lift a car over his head, run at amazing speeds and leap one-eighth of a mile, as well as an incredibly dense body structure that could be pierced by nothing less than an exploding artillery shell

 

When making the cartoons, the Fleischer Brothers found it difficult to keep animating him leaping and requested to DC to change his ability to flying; this was an especially convenient concept for short films, which would have otherwise had to waste precious running time moving earthbound Clark Kent from place to place

[comicparadox]

Superman was turned down for military service in a WW2 story because he inadvertantly used his x-ray vision and read the eye chart in the next room.

[jhutton2]

I used to think Superman's powers were in his cape.

 

 

Dont think I can use that in the article, but its very funny

[VintageComics]

Superman was turned down for military service in a WW2 story because he inadvertantly used his x-ray vision and read the eye chart in the next room.

 

I remember reading that.

 

[jhutton2]

As originally conceived and presented in his early stories, Superman's powers were relatively limited, consisting of superhuman strength that allowed him to lift a car over his head, run at amazing speeds and leap one-eighth of a mile, as well as an incredibly dense body structure that could be pierced by nothing less than an exploding artillery shell

 

When making the cartoons, the Fleischer Brothers found it difficult to keep animating him leaping and requested to DC to change his ability to flying; this was an especially convenient concept for short films, which would have otherwise had to waste precious running time moving earthbound Clark Kent from place to place

 

Some good ideas here! Thanks!!

[jhutton2]

Need some more strange facts please, thanks boardies for you help!

 

Jason

[valiantman]

Superman's "saran wrap" trick during Superman II was never used before or since, because it was dumb.

[Ares]

http://torontoist.com/2008/05/historicist_its_1/

1) Metrpolis Was based on Toronto

Joe Shuster (1914-1992) spent the first decade of his life living in a number of locations surrounding Kensington Market in Toronto. By the age of 9, Shuster brought in money as a newsboy for The Toronto Star. The family moved to Cleveland in 1924, though many relatives stayed in Toronto

Toronto left a lingering impression on Joe that he incorporated into his sketches for Superman, which he noted in a 1992 interview with his former employer.

 

Cleveland was not nearly as metropolitan as Toronto was, and it was not as big or as beautiful. Whatever buildings I saw in Toronto remained in my mind and came out in the form of Metropolis. As I realized later on, Toronto is a much more beautiful city than Cleveland ever was…I guess I don’t have to worry about saying that now.

 

2) The Daily Planet was based on the Toronto Star

The Star even found its way into the strip. “I still remember drawing one of the earliest panels that showed the newspaper building. We needed a name, and I spontaneously remembered the Toronto Star. So that’s the way I lettered it. I decided to do it that way on the spur of the moment, because The Star was such a great influence on my life.” Not until 1940 would Clark Kent’s employer suddenly switch its name to The Daily Planet.

[Rocketeer]

..One of his often used powers in the early silver age that got him out of many jams, was the power of super-ventriloquism,...he could throw his voice anywhere to sound like anyone he wanted,...

[AtlasFan]

Superman's glasses.

 

How is it that people don't recognize that Clark Kent and Superman are the same person when he either puts on or takes off his glasses?

 

In the golden age, it was explained that Superman could actually change the shape of his face (like putty). The glasses were only a prop to make Clark look more timid. In the early days of the strip, Clark and Superman's face were drawn a bit differently.

 

Over time, this was forgotten and Superman & Clark always had the same face (except for the glasses).

 

It was finally explained in the late 70s that Clark's glasses (made from the Kryptonian window of the rocket that brought him to earth) in conjunction with Superman's ability to hypnotize, project an illusion in people's mind that somehow make Clark look different & more timid than Superman. This was proven when Clark asks a sketch artist to draw a picture of himself and he looks a lot different than Superman wearing a pair of glasses.

 

Apparently, this hypnotic effect still persists for an unspecified period of time when Superman temporarily looses his powers.

[CAMPER49]

During the Bronze Age, I recall Superman's favourite meal to be Beef Bourguignon with ketchup.

I believed this varied over the ages though.