Superman, Marvel and the heroes’ journeys

Bill Knight column for Thurs., Fri. or Sat., May 31, June 1 or 2, 2018

With the popularity of recent superhero movies (“Justice League,” “Black Panther,” “Avengers: Infinity War,” “Deadpool 2” and “Ant-Man and The Wasp”), it seems appropriate to celebrate the “birthday” of the hero that arguably started it all: Superman.

Created by two Cleveland guys, Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster, Superman first appeared in Action Comics #1 in June 1938, so he’s 80. If you’re a stickler, he celebrated his birthday on June 18 (the date the Kents found him). And, OK, if you’re REAL anal, DC Comics editor Julie Schwartz after the 1980s reboot “Crisis on Infinite Earths,” said Supe’s birthday is February 29, Leap Day.

But for a lot of us comic fanboys, June is it – which is why one of the Illinois tie-ins to the Man of Steel is happening this week in downstate Metropolis. The Massac County town, pop. 6,500, is the only U.S. community named Metropolis, and it’s home of the Super Museum as well as its free Superman Celebration June 7-10.

Other Illinois angles are Plano’s brick wall next to the train tracks reading Smallville, left over from filming 2013’s “Man of Steel” there; and Galesburg’s being the birthplace and long-time home of Helen Lescher Bessolo, mother of TV’s original Superman George Reeves, who often visited her there.

Apart from a regional angle, the Big Blue Boy Scout ushered in a universal revival of heroes, too.

Longtime Marvel Comics creator Stan Lee years ago explained that modern superheroes resonate with people’s ancient yearnings.

“It seems to me that every human being has heard and read fairy tales when young,” Lee said. “As a youngster you want to believe the fantasy, and you never outgrow the enjoyment. But when you grow up, the only outlets are the comic-book superheroes.”

A problem for movies, of course, has been making a live-action superhero somewhat believable. Michael Keaton’s “Batman” was terrific, as was Toby Maguire’s “Spider-Man” and most efforts over the last 10 years – contrasting with flops such as “Nick Fury, Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D.,” with David Hasselhoff, “Steel,” and too many others.

Still, whether on big screens or small, books or comics, Superman and the hundreds of superheroes that followed are like most folklore or fairy tales – from King Arthur to Ulysses – using universal symbols and stories that literature professor and mythology expert Joseph Campbell called “the hero’s journey,” a pattern to the narratives: A hero ventures forth from the ordinary world into a place of wonder and danger; amazing forces are encountered, things get bad, a mentor helps, things get worse, and a decisive victory is finally won and the hero returns from the quest with the power to help others.

Comics themselves are traced to 1933, when Eastern Color Printing published “Funnies on Parade,” a free, eight-page booklet of original works with newspaper characters such as Mutt and Jeff, and Joe Palooka. Since then, comics have been defined as magazine collections of visual images and text systematically placed to tell stories, usually with narrative structure and recurring characters. The late, great comic creator Will Eisner (“The Spirit”) said comics were “sequential art … a distinct discipline, an art and literary form that deals with the arrangement of … images and words to narrate a story. The reader is required to exercise both visual and verbal interpretive skills. The regimens of art and literature become superimposed.”

In other media, Superman goes back to the 1940s, when Max & Dave Fleischer (who did classic Popeye and Betty Boop cartoons) produced 17 quality Superman cartoons. That coincided with radio’s “Adventures of Superman” from 1940-1951 and two Superman movie serials starring Kirk Alyn in 1948 and ‘50 (after “The Adventures of Captain Marvel” in 1941 and “Batman” in 1943 and “Batman and Robin” in ‘49).

Reeves’ syndicated TV series followed 1952-58, but there were few good films until 1978’s “Superman: The Motion Picture,” which established the genre as commercially viable.

Today, Marvel seems to dominate Hollywood’s superheroes, with 22 films in 10 years, with two more approved, plus 14 TV series and digital and short-film releases. However, Superman/DC made 24 movies and dozens of TV shows before re-booting with “Man of Steel,” and it’s made five, including “Wonder Woman,” and five more are planned, including “Aquaman” this year.

Throughout, there’s something extraordinary and enjoyable about a human being transformed into a powerful character able to do things that his/her alter ego (and viewers) cannot – “with powers and abilities far beyond those of mortal men,” as TV’s narrator reminded us.

While celebrating the Last Son of Krypton, note that this year is also the 40^th anniversary of the Christopher Reeve “Superman: The Motion Picture.”

            “Up, up and away!”