The birth of an american super
The birth of an american superThe Birth of an American Super Hero
Heroes have been an important part of American history. They gave adults and especially young children something to strive for and believe in. Some heroes are real and some are imaginary. Real heroes can be presidents, soldiers, or even a parent. The imaginary hero’s can be from books, comic books, or movies. One of the most popular hero’s of our time is an imaginary hero created for the pages of comic books. The creation of this hero we all know as Superman took hard work, creativity, determination, and plenty of luck.
Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster were the two Jewish-American teenage boys who created Superman. Jerry Siegel was the writer and Joe Shuster was the artist. Siegel and Shuster met at the age of sixteen while working on their high school newspaper. They made a number of attempts creating the Superman character. The first attempt utilized a bald middle aged man with advanced mental abilities. The next attempt was closer to the Superman we now know. He was younger and had hair but was not an alien with super powers. “The ultimate version of Superman was born one night in 1934, when Siegel found new ideas coming so fast that he couldn’t sleep” (Daniels 21). Seigel and Shuster collaborated on these ideas and created comic strips created for the Sunday comics.
Seigel’s new Superman came from a planet called Krypton. “This was the first benevolent alien created” (Daniels 21). He wore tights for a futuristic appearance and the cape was added to give the effect of motion. Superman was middle aged to give the appearance of responsibility and experience. Superman’s dual identity was also created that night in 1934.
Clark Kent was the bespectacled alter ego of Superman. Clark Kent was the mild mannered reporter that no one suspected had super powers. Superman was also known by another name. The name was given to him by his Kryptonian parents. That name was Kal-El. Seigel and Shuster were very creative in their name choices. “The Kryptonian name Kal-El has meaning in Hebrew. El as an affix translates to mean ‘of God,’ and the morpheme Kal translates to mean either ‘with swiftness’ or ‘everything’. Kal-El translates to mean either ‘with the swiftness of God’ or ‘all that God is’ (Nachbar 342). The Kent of Clark Kent also has significance in Hebrew. “Kent is a form of the Hebrew kana which means ‘I have found a son’” (Nachbar 342). The translation fits in the story of Superman because Jonathan and Martha Kent found little Kal-El and his spaceship and adopted him as their own son....
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