Superman is a fictional superhero created by writer Jerry Siegel and artist Joe Shuster that appears in DC Comics. He is considered a cultural icon, first appearing in Action Comics #1, and has since then been in television, film, video games, and radio.
He is recognizable by his blue suit, red cape and tights, and the red and yellow S-symbol on his chest. When he appeared he revolutionized the comic book industry, and create the superhero genre. His superpowers include flight, invulnerablity, heat vision, and super strength, amongst others.
In his comic book backstory, he was born Kal-El from the planet Krypton who was sent to Earth by his parents before its destruction. He was raised in Smallville, Kansas as Clark Kent, and became aware of his alien origin and donned on the cape as Superman, fighting crime in his adopted hometown of Metropolis. His most famous archenemy is industrialist Lex Luther, who has gone toe-to-toe with Superman without having any super powers whatsoever. As Clark Kent, he is a reporter at the Daily Planet along with Superman's girlfriend Lois Lane and his best friend Jimmy Olsen. His secret identity as a news reporter draws little suspicion from the public, and only a handfull of trusted friends know his alter ego.
His major weakness is Kryptonite, a type of stone from his home planet, and he also becomes weakened in the presence of a red Sun. His enemies, besides Lex Luther, include Braniac, an android that shrunk and stole Kandor, the capital city of Krypton, and General Zod, a military leader of Krypton that was sent to the Phantom Zone for attempting to overthrow the planet's government, thus surviving its destruction. He was later freed and tried to takeover Earth. Superman is also a founding member of the Justice League, and is good friends with Batman and Wonder Woman.
Superman has been portrayed by Christopher Reeves in Superman: The Movie and its three sequels, by Brandon Routh in Superman Returns, and by Henry Cavill in Man of Steel, and its sequels. A younger version of himself was played by Tom Welling in the TV series Smallville.
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