Superman Begins

Saturday Stories

April 20, 2019

Superman Begins

By Jonathan Aquino

I

My favorite superhero of all time, Superman, first appeared on this month 81 years ago. This was on April 18, 1938 in the first edition of Action Comics with a cover date of June 1938. The creators Jerome Siegel and Joe Shuster had already the core element – a baby from a doomed planet who has been sent to Earth with super powers. This is the iconic comic book that has been sold for $3,207,852 in 2014 on eBay. Nicholas Cage had another mint copy that was sold for $2,161,000 in 2011 in an online auction. So I'm happy that I have my own copy without having to spend millions.

II

In the original story, the infant was turned over to an orphanage. There was no mention of Jonathan and Martha Kent and Smallville. Which is funny because, many years later, when he was about to be killed in "Batman vs. Superman," they discovered that their mothers were both named Martha. The boy still grew up to become a reporter named Clark who works for The Daily Star – not The Daily Planet. But there is a fearless reporter named Lois, but no last name, just Lois. In a party, she slapped a gangster named Butch Matson, and he got back by kidnapping her. Superman ran after them, shook them out of the car, and he threw the car away.

III

I remember the narration from the vintage cartoons reruns – "Faster than a speeding bullet!" ... "More powerful than a locomotive!" ... "Able to leap tall buildings in a single bound!" Then a group of people would be exclaiming – "Look, up in the sky!" ... "It's a bird!" ... "It's a plane!" ... "It's ... Superman!" In the comic book, Superman could "leap 1/8 of a mile" and "hurdle a twenty-storey building." He can also "run faster than an express train," but "nothing less than a bursting shell could penetrate his skin." Apparently, Superman was not completely invincible in those days – not yet The Man of Steel.

IV

But there was no kryptonite back then, either. Life in 1938 seems simple. It was the time of great world leaders like U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt and Philippine President Manuel L. Quezon, and the Commonwealth, the transitional administration where the Philippines would cease to be a colony of America, and finally become a sovereign nation. It was mandated by the Tydings–McDuffie Act, but which also made Filipinos in the U.S. as aliens to be immigrated. In the popular "Maritess vs. the Superfriends" skit by Filipino-American stand-up comic Rex Naverette, a Filipina named Maritess says that Superman is also an alien, but he was not being deported. Why? She said: "Because he's white!"

The Story of Superman

Maritess vs The Superfriends

Manila, Queen of the Pacific

President Manuel L. Quezon

Hon. Manuel L. Quezon Tribute Video

Photo courtesy of Amazon