Superman was Originally a Villain: #superman
724Did you know Superman was originally a villain?!
Back in 1933, Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster introduced The Reign of the Superman, featuring a power-hungry villain who gained abilities through a science experiment. The Reign of the Superman, featuring a telepathic villain, Bill Dunn, who gains temporary powers from a chemist’s experiment. Dunn dreams of ruling the world but loses everything when the effects wear off. The story flopped, leading Siegel and Shuster to reinvent Superman as a hero by 1938.
When sales flopped, they switched gears, and by 1938, Superman debuted as the hero we all know today.
His iconic look? Inspired by circus strongmen—tight bodysuits, capes, and even trunks over their outfits! And his abilities? Based on nature: ants for strength, grasshoppers for leaping. Pretty cool, right?
But here’s the plot twist: Superman wasn’t just a random creation. Siegel drew heavy inspiration from Gladiator, a 1930 novel by Philip Wylie about Hugo Danner, a man with super strength, speed, and unbreakable skin. Sound familiar? Siegel denied this for years, but later admitted it in an unpublished autobiography.
The early Superman was more of a vigilante, tackling mobsters and corrupt cops. Kryptonite? That came later during the Superman Radio shows and broadcasts in the 1940s, not initially from the comics. And by the 1950s, Superman had evolved into the sci-fi legend we recognize today.