Although we make take this knowledge for granted, many people know the story and background history of Superman. The character isn’t exactly new, though: Superman has been around since 1938. Given the amount of time that has elapsed and how there have been many versions of the Superman story, we thought it would be helpful to take a moment and give you, the reader, a recap of who and what Superman is.
The man with three identitiesSuperman is really three men in one, although they share the same mind, body, and spirit. Let’s look at each of these three identities:
Kal-El of KryptonKrypton was a large planet orbiting a red giant star many, many light years away from Earth. Krypton had developed a strong and powerful civilization with scientific advancements beyond our own. Krypton was just starting to experiment with space travel when a terrible tragedy occurred.
Scientist Jor-El had discovered that the planet Krypton was unstable and likely to explode. He and his wife Lara had conceived a young child, named Kal-El and he was very worried about the future of his young son. He built a spacecraft and sent the infant Kal-El to distant Earth. Thus, the character known as Superman was an alien, from a destroyed world far from Earth.
Clark KentThe infant Kal-El’s spacecraft crashed in a field in Kansas. Farmer Jonathan Kent and his wife Martha were the only witnesses to the crash. Finding an infant boy with no apparent parents, they took him home and raised him as their own son. They named him Clark. Initially they did not know that the boy was an alien – they assumed he was human. Little Clark Kent was raised like any other American boy, unaware that he was really Kal-El of Krypton.
Note: in some versions of Superman’s origin story, Kal-El was wrapped in blankets that were used to make his uniform. In others, the famous Superman symbol, the stylized S, was included in the spacecraft, either on the outside of the hull or as an artifact inside the ship.
However, over time, Earth’s lower gravity and yellow sun allowed little Clark Kent to gain super powers. Over time, with the help of these amazing abilities of strength, speed, invulnerability, and flight (among others), Clark Kent learned of his alien heritage.
SupermanThe third facet of the Superman identity is Superman, the superhero. Clark Kent (aka Kal-El of Krypton) decided that he needed to use his amazing abilities for good. His family helped him create the now famous red and blue uniform with the Superman shield. This uniform was created so as to protect his Clark Kent identity and to prevent his loved ones from harm by vengeful criminals.
So Superman, three men in one, balances alien heritage with a human upbringing and the powers and responsibilities of a superhero. The Superman symbol ties his Kryptonian heritage with his awesome abilities with a human sensibility and sense of responsibility.
