A Super Reboot: The history of Superman's TV Appearances
A new Superman movie — the first in eight years — opens in theaters today, starring a new actor in the role and a new director behind the camera.
Here’s a look at the origin of the Man of Steel and a few of his most notable animated and live-action appearances.
'Look, Up In The Sky ...'
Writer Jerry Siegel and artist Joe Shuster met in 1931 as 17-year-old high school students in Cleveland. They shared an interest in science fiction stories, magazines and Douglas Fairbanks movies, and teamed up to create a “Tarzan” parody for their school newspaper.
Eager to become published, the pair created their own magazine — what would later be called a fanzine they called, simply, “Science Fiction.” For their third issue in January 1933, Siegel wrote a short story he called “The Reign of the Superman” that was illustrated by Shuster.
From “The Reign of the Superman” in January 1933 ...
In that story, a mad scientist uses a meteor from outer space to create a serum that gives unusual talents to a test subject, allowing him to, at first, read minds of other people and, later, to control their thoughts.
The super-powered villain will entertain no rivals, so when the delighted scientist prepares to swallow some of the serum himself, the Superman kills him. However, the effects of the chemical soon wear off, returning the Superman to normal.
Siegel and Shuster’s desire to enter the entertainment field grew. They pitched a number of comic strip ideas to newspaper syndicates but found no success.
In 1934, Siegel — inspired by the heroism of Flash Gordon and Zorro, revived his Superman idea. This time, they’d make Superman a hero with physical powers, rather than mental ones, so the results of their work could be more visual. They gave him tights and a cape, like a circus performer. And they made him the ultimate immigrant, having rocketed to Earth as an infant from a doomed planet.
They also used their own newspaper background to give Superman an alter ego: He’d work at a newspaper, which would help him keep on top of events that would need the attention of a super-powered hero.
Siegel and Shuster continued to pitch their creation as a newspaper comic strip even as they began working on comic books owned by other creators. In early 1938, the editor of Detective Comics saw the pair’s Superman comic strips and suggested they convert their comic strip work so it could be published in magazine form. He offered them $130 for their trouble.
The result was a 13-page story — plus a cover illustration — for Action Comics No. 1, which hit newsstands in April 1938. Before long, newsstand dealers began asking not for Action Comics, but “for that magazine with Superman in it.”
Within a year, Action comics was selling a half-million copies. Superman began appearing in a second, self-titled comic magazine.
... to “Action Comics, five years later.
Notable Appearances of Superman on Screens Both Big and Small
1941-1942, Fleischer Cartoons
Starting just three years after Superman made his comic book debut, Max and Dave Fleisher, who had animated Popeye and Betty Boop, made 17 color cartoon Superman shorts.
1948-1950, Kirk Alyn
After repeated attempts to make a live-action Superman film, Columbia Pictures finally succeeded. Vaudeville singer Kirk Alyn played Superman in two movie serials.
1951-1959, George Reeves
Reeves, who had played a small role in “Gone With the Wind,” was hired to star in a feature-length Superman film and then in a syndicated TV series that would run for six seasons.
1966-'88, Various Animated
A number of series featuring Superman populated Saturday morning TV lineups. Bud Collyer, who had voiced the Man of Steel in a 1940s radio show, repeated his role.
1978-87, Christopher Reeve
The experienced Broadway and soap opera actor starred in four big-budget films and is still considered by many fans to be the definitive cinematic Superman.
1993-97, Dean Cain
The ABC TV series “Lois & Clark” put a whole new spin on the Man of Steel, focusing instead on Clark Kent, his job as a reporter and his relationship with Lois Lane.
2001-11, Tom Welling
This time, a 24-year-old model was cast as a teenage Clark Kent who was discovering his gifts and wondering how to use them. “Smallville” ran on the WB and then the CW for 10 seasons.
2006, Brandon Routh
“Superman Returns” was a sequel to the first two Christopher Reeve movies, ignoring the second two. The plot called for an older Superman, but Routh was only 26 years old.
2013-2017, Henry Cavill
Cavill made three appearances as Superman — two of them in movies that also featured Batman and Wonder Woman. Poor box office results led to canceled sequels.
2016-2024, Tyler Hoechlin
Hoechlin played Superman in the CW series “Supergirl” but was soon spun off into his own series, “Superman & Lois,” in which the married couple and their sons move to Smallville.
2025, David Corenswet
The latest film was written and directed by James Gunn, who had great success with the “Guardians of the Galaxy” films and the “Peacemaker” TV series for HBO Max.