How Superman Was Born a 'Violent Socialist' Rebel and Became the Standard American Hero

The new Superman movie, directed by James Gunn, hits Brazilian theaters on Thursday (10/7). But, since the first trailers were released, superhero fans have been debating whether the man of steel played by David Corenswet is faithful to the one in the comics.

Is he too serious? Too "deconstructed"? Should he still wear those red trunks over his blue tights?

Behind these debates, there's a consensus that some elements of Superman are non-negotiable: he needs to be faster than a speeding bullet and stronger than a locomotive. He needs to come from the planet Krypton and live in a city called Metropolis. And, of course, he needs to fall in love with Lois Lane.

Furthermore, Superman has to be noble, upright, and perhaps even a little square.

While characters like Batman and Wolverine are popular because they break the rules, Superman has to be the straight-laced, law-abiding, all-American "good guy."

But it wasn't always like this.

The first Superman stories were written by Jerry Siegel, drawn by Joe Shuster, and published in 1938 by DC's Action Comics (or National Allied, as the company was then called). In that version, he was a much more rambunctious and, in some ways, more modern character than he is today.

He was a "brutish Superman who took no prisoners, who made his own law and enforced it with a punch, who intimidated enemies with an evil smile and a dark stare," writes comic book writer and historian Mark Waid in the introduction to a collection of early issues of Action Comics .

"He wasn't a super cop. He was a super anarchist."

If this rebellious, brawling Superman were introduced today, he would be celebrated as one of the most subversive superheroes.

"I had no idea the character was like that until I started writing my book," said Paul S Hirsch, author of Pulp Empire: A Secret History of Comic Book Imperialism.

"I was surprised when I saw that. He was basically a violent socialist."

The first issues of Action Comics confirm this interpretation. When something goes wrong, Superman breaks down doors, hangs suspects out of windows, and even jokes: "See how easy it is to crush your watch with the palm of my hand? I can do the same with your neck."

Some of the people attacked by this "loud outlaw" are gun-toting thugs, but they are usually less glamorous than a movie villain—a domestic abuser, a cruel orphanage superintendent—and mostly rich people who don't need to rob banks.

There's the mine owner who skimps on safety measures, the construction magnate who sabotages his competitors, the politician who buys a newspaper to turn it into a propaganda machine.

In other words, instead of being a typical American costumed hero, the 1938 Superman was a left-wing revolutionary.

How Superman Emerged from His Creators' Experiments

"I just love those old editions," Matthew K Manning, writer of Superman: The Ultimate Guide, told the BBC .

"They are clearly the work of young men frustrated with the injustices of the world, and rightly so. It's important to remember that these were two Jewish men coming of age just before the outbreak of World War II. There was a lot of anger. And suddenly, they had this figure who could voice their concerns and hold the corrupt accountable."

Siegel and Shuster were high school classmates in Cleveland, Ohio, USA. Growing up during the Great Depression, they defined Superman in the first issue of Action Comics as "a champion of the oppressed, sworn to dedicate his existence to helping those in need."

"We were young, and if we wanted to go to the movies, we had to sell bottles of milk, so we felt like we were down there and could empathize with people," Siegel said in Superman: The Complete Story, written by Les Daniels.

" Superman grew out of our feelings about life. And that's why, when we saw so many similar comics coming out, we felt like they were imitating the Superman format, but something wasn't there, which was this tremendous sense of compassion that Joe and I had for the underdog."

Not that Siegel and Shuster were the only comics professionals with this liberal view. "The comics industry was founded largely by people who were prevented from working in more 'legitimate' fields because they were Jewish, immigrants, people of color, and women," Hirsch explains to the BBC.

"It was a creative ghetto where a lot of very talented people ended up because they couldn't get a job in advertising on Madison Avenue (in New York), and they couldn't write for Life Magazine," he continues .

"Many of these people were radicals—or at least unconventional—and DC was founded by men who fit that profile very well: they were recent immigrants and had left-wing sympathies from growing up in New York City at that time."

Still, few comic book characters were as militant as Superman.

In one early episode, he demolishes a series of tenements to force authorities to build better housing (a risky strategy, by the way). In another, he confronts the gambling industry for bankrupting addicts.

He also declares war on everyone he holds responsible for traffic deaths. In this installment, he terrorizes reckless drivers, kidnaps the town's mayor for failing to enforce traffic laws, and destroys the inventory of a used car dealership and a factory where defective cars are assembled.

"It's because you use inferior metals and parts to make bigger profits at the cost of human lives," he warns the owner.

Were Superman's protest campaigns strictly legal? No, but they were entertaining, boldly political, and turbulent—and, nearly 90 years later, they remain a fascinating account of everyday life in 1930s America.

Quickly, however, Superman turned his attention to mad scientists and giant monsters—and away from the less privileged masses of Metropolis.

After just a few issues, his "opponents were larger than life, and while this made for thrilling comics, his days of social crusading were a thing of the past," writes Mark Waid.

What was the kryptonite that undermined Superman's social conscience?

Hirsch argues that it was a combination of two elements. One was the "pasteurization" that occurs when sales of any commercial property soar.

"Superman becomes incredibly popular from the moment they get the sales figures for the first issue," he explains.

"So they quickly realize what they have on their hands and don't want to jeopardize it. Jack Liebowitz, president of DC, sees that they can sell Superman pillowcases and pajamas, but if Superman is out there throwing people out of windows and threatening to wrap iron bars around their necks, that's not going to work."

Along with that familiar story of a big star selling out, "the thing that ends Superman's radical phase is the beginning of the war," Hirsch says.

"All the immigrants and people of color who were working in this industry wanted to be seen as patriotic. And that makes sense. That's what you had to do to fit in. And even more practically, it's what you had to do to get your paper quota [to print the magazines]. If you were doing things that upset the government in 1941, you might not get the paper."

Another, more personal factor was that Siegel and Shuster lost control of their creation. Shuster's worsening eyesight forced him to let other artists take over the drawings, and Siegel's enlistment in the Army in 1943 reduced the time he had to work on the scripts.

But the worst was yet to come.

Having sold the rights to Superman for $130 in 1938, they were treated by DC as employees rather than revered innovators, and in 1947 they tried—but failed—to regain those rights in court.

Looking back, it's ironic that those early, entertaining stories were about wealthy explorers getting screwed. Siegel and Shuster could have used a champion of the oppressed on their side.

Still, after World War II, Superman wasn't the kind of superhero who would stand up to a sneaky editor. "Superman has constantly evolved over time, which doesn't mean it's always been for the better," says Manning.

"During the McCarthy era of the 1950s, when parents were actively burning comic books and Congress blamed comics for juvenile delinquency, publishers were forced to self-regulate their content under the Comics Code Authority seal. This seal would appear on the cover of every approved comic, marking it as 'safe' for children," he explains.

"Though he had mellowed somewhat, Superman became more of a father figure during this period, no longer interested in real-world villains. Instead, he focused primarily on aliens, beings from other dimensions, and thwarting Lois Lane's latest attempt to uncover his secret identity."

Superman's evolution didn't stop there. At times, he was a politely conservative pillar of virtue, imitated by his fellow DC superheroes as the "big blue boy scout," while at other times, according to Manning, he "recovered some of his original essence... As a vigilante with an eye for social justice."

What about the new movie?

We don't know yet which Superman we'll get, so corrupt politicians and construction tycoons better keep an eye on the sky. It's a bird! It's a plane! It's the Superanarchist!"