Top 5 Things You Didn’t Know About Superman

Anticipation for James Gunn’s new Superman movie is sky high. The teaser trailer was the most viewed trailer in the history of both DC and Warner Bros. Like a lot of you, I watched the trailer when it went live on YouTube, and it inspired me to write my first post. Fans are definitely hyped for a new Superman movie , but what kind of Superman will we see on the silver screen?

Over the years, there have been various iterations of Superman in movies, tv shows, comics, etc. Remember when Kal-El was experiencing all kinds of weird energy and had to wear a blue suit? Or who could forget Old Man Superman?

To prepare for the release of Superman (2025), I have been reading a lot of Superman comics. I started with Big Blue’s first appearance in Action Comics #1, and I was surprised by how different he was portrayed then, compared to now.

Here are the top 5 things you didn’t know about Mr. Smallville as depicted in Action Comics #1.

1. Baby Kal-El Wasn’t Raised By The Kents

A lot of what makes Superman relatable was how he was raised as a child, and by who. We all know the story of how Ma and Pa Kent found him and raised him like their own. In Action Comics #1 that doesn’t happen. Instead, a “passing motorist” finds baby Kal-El and turns the child over to an orphanage. Nothing else is explained after that, which leaves the reader’s imagination to wonder how Kal-El came to be Clark Kent.

2. Superman Couldn’t Fly

How many times have we seen Superman taking off and flying through the air? Or hovering as if he was weightless? Interestingly, Supes never had those abilities during his debut issue. He was only able to leap 1/8 of a mile and hurdle a twenty-story building.

3. Clark Kent Worked For The Daily Star, Not The Daily Planet

As far back as I can remember, Clark Kent always worked for the Daily Planet as a newspaper reporter. However, for a period of time, the newspaper company was initially called the Daily Star. As reported by Popverse, “The Daily Star name comes from the Toronto Daily Star, where Superman co-creator Joe Shuster worked as a newsboy before his family relocated to Cleveland, Ohio in 1924. However, after Superman’s success and national newspapers began running daily comic strips starring the character, the Daily Star was rebranded as the Daily Planet in 1940’s Action Comics #23, without an in-universe explanation.”

4. Superman Wears Blue Boots or Maybe a Blue Onesie?

At first I thought it was a coloring error, but each page showed Superman with blue boots, or maybe wearing a blue onesie. I was perplexed because the cover showed him wearing red boots. So where did the blue boots/onesie come from? I did a little digging, and it looks like Superman’s outfit wasn’t faithfully adhered to from the start, and it evolved over time. Looks like the first time Superman put on his red boots was Action Comics #6. So was Kal-El fighting crime in a blue onesie for five issues? I’ll let you decide.

5. Superman Fights Crime Like Batman

When you think about the type of crime Superman fights, you don’t think about domestic violence or political corruption. You think about robots, aliens, and other uncanny threats. However, in this issue, Superman took on street-level crime and used fear tactics like Batman to save the day.

Over the years, Superman’s costume, upbringing, and powers have been altered to fit the times. Regardless of how many revisions he goes through, I think we can agree that he will always define what a superhero is supposed to be.

Check out the podcast I did with my life-long friend as we discussed the new Superman suit that James Gunn and David Corenswet came up with and was teased in this promo image.