Superman turns 80; his red trunks still fit

New York

SUPERMAN turned 80 years old on Wednesday, and DC Entertainment will publish the 1,000th issue of Action Comics, the comic book where the superhero made his debut in back in 1938.

The landmark issue has racked over 500,000 pre-orders and touts the return of a well-known motif of Superman's costume, his red trunks.

The near-invincible flying alien, created by the writer Jerry Siegel and the artist Joe Shuster, was introduced on April 18, 1938, in Action Comics No 1.

The Man Of Steel struck a chord with readers and, faster than a speeding bullet, he became a multimedia sensation, with his adventures chronicled on radio, stage, film and television, and his image on a kaleidoscope of merchandise and collectibles.

"If everybody doesn't know by now who Clark Kent is and who Lois Lane is, you're not paying attention," said Maggie Thompson, a senior editor of the Comic Buyer's Guide, which covered the industry from 1971 to 2013.

As a monthly series, it would have taken Action more than 83 years to get to No 1,000, but the series temporarily became a weekly publication.

Here are some memorable milestones on Superman's journey:

The hero's breakout success took the company by surprise. "They honest-to-God did not know what they had," said Michael Uslan, a comic book historian, writer and film producer.

Superman did not grace another cover of Action until issue No 7, and he took over cover duties consistently with No 19.

Mr Uslan said that sales of Action jumped to 555,000 copies for issue No 15 - from 130,000 copies of No 1.

But there was a noticeable change in tone around this issue, which introduced Susie, the mischievous niece of Lois Lane.

The shift came thanks to competition from the more lighthearted Captain Marvel - whose adventures were in books published by Fawcett Comics.

"Captain Marvel was the only character who surpassed Superman in sales in the Golden Age," or first era, of comics publishing, Mr Uslan said.

This goofier approach led to things like Lois dropping a hot pan on Superman's foot and his hopping around in pain. A lawsuit claiming that Captain Marvel was a Superman copycat eventually put the Man of Steel back on top.

The period's exact start has been up for debate among fans and historians. For Mr Uslan, this issue marks the start of Superman's Silver Age evolution with the debut of his Fortress of Solitude.

Just ahead are the first appearances of Brainiac, a revamped Lex Luthor, Supergirl, Bizarro and some super-pets (Krypto, Streaky and Comet among them).

Brainiac, whose hobbies include shrinking alien cities for his private collection, also brings an unexpected gift: a part of Superman's home world, Krypton.

"Superman is the story of an immigrant writ large," said Peter Sanderson, a comics historian. "Krypton was a lost paradise, a wonderland of vast science, firefalls and jewel mountains. Superman was always longing to return to his home world."

Despite the fact that the comics' primary readers were children, the Man of Steel gets an unhappy look at his future: He's old and forgotten.

And poor Lois! "I'm an old maid," she says. "I wasted my life waiting for you." Still, ever hopeful, she suggests that they share their last years together. Oh, Lois.

The issue struck a chord with Mr Sanderson then, and it still does today.

"It was disturbing when I was growing up to read about a character I cared about being reduced to physical frailty, being forgotten and abandoned, living in isolation, loneliness and apparent poverty," he said.

"Now that I'm in my 60s and looking back on that story about how awful old age can be, it seems even more disturbing."

Written by Alan Moore and drawn by Curt Swan, George Perez and Kurt Schaffenberger, the story delves into the hero's last days, and virtually every major character from his mythos plays a role.

"This is his Ragnarok," Mr Sanderson said. "It aims for an operatic pitch." The story packs an emotional punch, and is a demonstration of Superman's strong morals. "If he feels he has violated his code, he cannot continue," he explained.

One of the soul-crushing moments? Lana Lang overhears Superman confessing his love for Lois, her rival.

Undeterred, she gears up - along with Jimmy Olsen, Superman's pal and a photographer at The Daily Planet - to help during an onslaught at the Fortress of Solitude.

She declares: "Nobody loved him better than us. Nobody!" Despite the calamity, the story ends on a hopeful note.

The theory was that the accumulated history of DC's heroes had grown too convoluted to follow, which made it difficult for new readers to jump in.

Whereas past writers had presented Clark Kent as the disguise and Superman as his true self, Mr Byrne reversed that, making the hero the means to an end for Clark.

Mr Sanderson said: "He adopted the Superman persona to avoid the perils of publicity and celebrity."

Mr Byrne also made clear that Clark was born on Earth. "It was no longer the story of the immigrant who comes to America and who is longing for the old country," Mr Sanderson said. "This is the immigrant who doesn't care for the old country."

With this issue, Action Comics became a team-up series, showing Superman's adventures with other DC heroes. This format ends with No 600, which includes a date with Wonder Woman.

The answer: No. "Lois, for the past few years, I've lived a double life," he said in this issue. Understandably, Lois asks for time to process. "When you go, don't forget to lock the door - or, um, the window," she tells him, still reeling from the news. After breaking off the engagement, she eventually came around and married Clark in October 1996. The marriage coincided with the wedding episode of the TV show Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman.

Written by Grant Morrison and drawn by Rags Morales, this new Action Comics No 1 retold the earliest days of this rebooted Superman, when the hero was raw.

His personality was brash and his powers were developing. A companion series focused on his present-day adventures and introduced a new costume with a high collar, red piping and body armour.

One of the elements missing from his classic look: no more red shorts over blue pants. Fans were torn over what chagrined them more: the wardrobe change or the erasing of Lois and Clark's marriage. (In this new continuity, they were not even dating.)

DC responded with Rebirth, a story written by Geoff Johns and drawn by several artists, with an aim to restoring some of what was lost, including a sense of optimism.

Several series were restarted - again - with No 1 issues, but Action and Detective Comics, where Batman made his debut, returned to their historical numbering, which added the issues of the reboot to the overall total, allowing Action to inch closer to 1,000.

The marriage of Lois and Clark has been restored, and they have a son. But one of the biggest returns was saved for this issue - Superman's iconic bright red trunks. NYTIMES