Spotlight On Superman |

Superman was created in the mid-1930s by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster.  He made his first public appearance in June 1938 in Action Comics #0ne.

Superman was born Kal-El on the planet Krypton, Jor-El and Lara… Jor El was one of the leading Kryptonian scientists and as such was a key member of the Science Council, the body that governed the planet.

Although no one is certain of the time, Jor-El determined that the planet’s core had become unstable and he thought the planet would soon be destroyed.  The planet underwent a series of earthquakes and tremors, which Jor-El saw as evidence for his theory.

To prepare for the destruction of his world, the brilliant scientist built a working prototype of a spaceship that could travel faster than the speed of light.  His model was very small, but in his mind he knew that larger models could be built and save the entire population of the planet.

To prepare his theory, Jor Al approached the Scientific Council.  He told them that his discoveries showed that the planet was doomed and that the ongoing earthquakes were a sign of impending catastrophe throughout the world.  He also showed them his prototype ship that could help them avoid the end.

The board just laughed at the scientist.  They told him that quakes and earthquakes were merely a matter of subsidence or adjustment of the planet and posed no real danger.  They even claimed that Jor-El’s great intellect had driven him mad.

Jor Al left the council feeling frustrated and angry about the council’s refusal to see what was going on.  He took the prototype.  As soon as Jor-El left the boardroom, one of the most powerful earthquakes to ever hit the planet took place.  Buildings collapsed, mountains became volcanoes, and streams became rivers or molten lava.

Jor Al knew immediately that it was too late.  He ran home and put the prototype spaceship on his launcher.  Jor Al thought that if he could act fast enough, he would at least save his wife and child.  He told Lara to get her and the baby ready for the trip.

The ship was soon completed and so far the home of Jor-El and his family had been spared.  Lara quickly returned with Kal El, wrapped in red, blue and yellow blankets.  Jor Al angrily asked Lara why she wasn’t ready to travel yet.  Lara told him that his place was at his side, and that the baby would have a better chance if she wasn’t on the boat.  There was no time to argue. In fact, there are only a few precious moments left.  Jor El quickly placed his grandson on the ship, making sure the child was safe and the blankets were tied securely around him.

Jor-El has found a possible planet to send his son to: Earth.  He had done research and knew that there was at least one form of human on the planet.  Trusting that this child would be found and cared for, Jor-El would record the coordinates of Earth.  Each parent hugged their child, then Jor-El opened the ships and sent them out to sea.  It was a miracle of time when the ship overcame the attraction of the planets and jumped at the speed of light; exploding the planet Krypton and scattering pieces of itself throughout the galaxy.

The ship quickly made its way through the vastness of space and eventually made an emergency landing on Earth, in the United States and Kansas.

Jonathan and Martha Kent were a middle-aged couple.  Jonathan had a good farm, and Martha was a farmer’s wife who cooked, cleaned, preserved, and tended the small livestock.  The couple was very much in love, but they were also sad because they could not have children, even though they wanted to.

One cold winter day, as a couple was returning home from a visit to the nearby town of Smallville, they were surprised to see a strange object fall from the sky.  Jonathan stopped the van he was driving and they both watched as the object crashed into one of the back fields.

Without hesitation, Jonathan hopped on his truck and took the dirt road to the field.  The two men jumped out of the car and ran to where the object struck.  Several rows of corn burned and a crater formed where the object crashed.  They slowly approached the crater and heard the cry of a frightened child.

Without worrying about her own safety, Martha ran to the facility.  We found some kind of vessel and Martha could see the baby lying in it.  Martha gently touched the metal and thought it was cool.  Then she carefully took the baby and her blankets in her arms.

Jonathan quickly followed her and saw the woman he loved holding a baby in his arms.  Not to mention that they knew what they were doing.  Jonathan quickly made sure the fire was under control and extinguished.  Then, while Martha was still holding the baby, he quickly lifted the boat into his truck.  They both went upstairs and drove as fast as they could to the barn, where Jonathan unloaded the boat and hid it as best he could.

Martha took the baby into the house.  That’s when the worst snowstorm in Kansas history hit.  Smallville and the surrounding area were covered in heavy snow for nearly three months.  The Kents decided to keep the baby, which they soon learned was a boy.  They made up a story where Martha’s sister died and left the baby.  They took the baby just before the hurricane hit.  No one wonders why Martha never mentioned she had a sister.  A couple named Baby Clark and Kal El have found a home on Earth.

Over the years, the boy began to grow up. Slowly he began to do unusual things.  He found his strength and speed amazing.  He could take a tractor and drive the train without breaking a sweat.  As he grew older, he discovered that his eyes could see at amazing distances and his ears could pick up conversations miles away.  He had to learn to control many of these activities because the amount of noise became unbearable for him.  He had to learn to focus his vision so that he paid attention to what was in front of him.  This became even more relevant when he discovered he could see through things.

Walking home from school one day as a teenager, Clark Kent decided to climb to the top of an old corn bunker on his father’s property to get some exercise.  When he reached the top, his foot slipped and he fell.  For a few seconds the young man panicked, but in his mind he stopped his fall and began to rise into the air.  Clark soon discovered that he could control direction and speed.  Yes, that boy can fly.

Clark graduated from high school and attended Metropolis University, where he studied journalism.  Soon he graduated and started looking for a job.  His desire was to become a journalist, to follow what was happening in the world, to go and help where he was needed.

Jonathan and Martha Kent raised Clark well.  Clark understood the value of hard work and the importance of helping others in any way possible.  Although the Kent family kept Clark’s developmental abilities hidden, he was often able to help those in need without giving anything of himself.

It was while he was in Metropolis that Clark was unveiled.  A plane with several important people on board began to fall from the sky, including the famous journalist Lois Lane.  Without hesitation, Clark took off, took the plane in his hands and gently lowered it to the ground.

As soon as the plane landed, Clark was surrounded by people who wanted something from him.  He was pulled, pushed and shouted at.  Lois Lane quickly boarded the plane and tried to make her way through the crowd, but there were too many of them.  Soon the noise and the crowd began to get on Clark’s nerves, and he jumped up and headed back to his parents’ farm as fast as he could.

Clark and his parents quickly discussed the problem.  They knew the disguise was necessary now that Clark was in the spotlight.  Jonathan bought her an old pair of glasses with single lenses.  Clark could use them if he wanted to live his normal life.  His mother took the blankets he arrived in and made a suit out of them.  On one of the panels of the ship Clark had landed on, there was a strange symbol, an S-shaped shield.  Martha used it as the centerpiece of the shirt.  Clark felt foolish when he first wore the costume, but he also remembered that in the 1940s there were mysterious men who wore colorful costumes when they fought crime and helped others.

Clark went back to Metropolis to discover that he was already famous.  Lois Lane published the story of her rescue from a plane crash.  The whole town, yes, the whole world was talking about the man Lois Lane called Superman….

Lois Lane worked at the Daily Planet, Metropolis’ best-selling source of information.  Clark realized that with his journalism degree, he could use Lois’ story.  He quickly typed the article in which he was interviewed and gave it to Perry White, one of Planet’s employees.  Clark told Perry that he had an exclusive interview with Superman and that he would give it to The Daily Planet if Perry hired Clark as a reporter.  Clark was even smart enough to take a picture of him in his new suit as proof.

The next day, the Daily Planet published its first interview with this powerful man.  Clark Kent became the new reporter of the Daily Planet and Superman was born….

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