Rare Item Reveals Just How Radically Different 'Superman' Almost Was
A rare item sold at an auction has revealed that Superman — and potentially comic book history — could have turned out drastically different.
And that’s not some multiversal nonsense.
Heritage Auctions sold a number of legendary Superman memorabilia on Thursday, and they included some genuine whoppers.
The crown jewel of the auction is the legendary “Action Comics No. 1,” widely regarded as one of the most important artifacts in comic book history.
That book was the first appearance of the Big Blue Boy Scout, and effectively paved the path for superhero comics. It was, in every sense of the word, a game-changer.
Well that tome sold for a tidy $6 million according to IGN, which should speak to the comic book’s rarity.
A different item that was sold, however, revealed just how close both Superman, and potentially the modern comic book industry, could have been radically altered.
One of Superman’s co-creators, Jerry Siegel (Joe Shuster is the other co-creator), had fallen on some hard times getting Superman to lift off (pun intended).
In an attempt to get some traction on the project, Siegel reached out to artist Russell Keaton in 1934 and that letter sold for a tidy $264,000.
Within that letter, however, were some fascinating insights into what Superman was originally planned as.
Perhaps the most drastic departure from the Superman we got came with the hero’s origin.
Comic book fans are well-acquainted with Superman’s origin story: He is an alien from the planet Krypton, which suffers a cataclysmic event. Before the planet is destroyed, Kal-El (Superman’s Kryptonian name) is sent away in a spaceship that crashes in Smallville, Kansas. There, Jon and Martha Kent discover the crashlanded baby and raise him as their own, naming him Clark.
The rest is, quite literally, history, but it could have been so different.
Siegel’s original origin for Superman involved him being a time traveler. Instead of being sent from a doomed Krypton, Superman was planned to have been sent from a doomed future Earth.
Also, Superman’s powers wouldn’t be from the yellow sun, but from the fact that those far-future humans had developed super-strength and super-speed.
Another dramatic change? Superman was never planned to have a costume.
Yes, the iconic red and blue “S” emblem might not have been a thing — which just feels completely antithetical to the ethos of Superman, given that his emblem is often treated as a beacon of hope.
Superman, last portrayed by Henry Cavill on the silver screen, will be given yet another iteration when a pricey reboot of the franchise is launched in 2025.
Truth and Accuracy
We are committed to truth and accuracy in all of our journalism. Read our editorial standards.
