Talk:Superman - Misplaced Pages

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Superman is a former featured article. Please see the links under Article milestones below for its original nomination page (for older articles, check the nomination archive) and why it was removed.

This article appeared on Misplaced Pages's Main Page as Today's featured article on March 31, 2004.

Article milestones
Date	Process	Result
December 15, 2003	Featured article candidate	Promoted
February 3, 2007	Featured article review	Kept
February 11, 2012	Featured article review	Demoted
July 22, 2018	Good article nominee	Not listed
Facts from this article were featured on Misplaced Pages's Main Page in the "On this day..." column on June 1, 2004, June 1, 2005, June 1, 2006, April 18, 2012, April 18, 2013, April 18, 2015, April 18, 2016, April 18, 2017, April 18, 2018, and April 18, 2021.
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Fictional character biography Missing

How come this article doesn't have a Fictional character biography like Batman or Wonder Woman or many other comic book characters?

https://en.wikipedia.org/Batman#Fictional_character_biography

https://en.wikipedia.org/Wonder_Woman#Fictional_character_biography 173.66.8.230 (talk) 19:49, 8 June 2023 (UTC)

To avoid fancruft. It used to have one but I deleted it. Kurzon (talk) 20:29, 8 June 2023 (UTC)

Why isn't Martha listed as a parent 2607:FB91:168A:632C:7DA0:FA33:F8C7:D4F5 (talk) 18:12, 30 July 2023 (UTC)

Frome the lede: He was found and adopted by farmers Jonathan and Martha Kent, who named him Clark Kent. DonQuixote (talk) 19:35, 30 July 2023 (UTC)

Quickrunfast

@Quickrunfast: Superman wasn't much inspired by Jewish mythology. I read every interview with Siegel and Shuster I could find and they never went into Jewish mythology, and they were quite open about their creative process. Also, the persecution of Jews in Germany didn't inspire any specific aspect of Superman. Kurzon (talk) 14:30, 3 July 2023 (UTC)

Respectfully, there's been quite a few books that were dedicated to the topic and the quote that I cite is real and says just that. The updated also removed the myth of Superman as Ubermensch (since that was lex Luther). Quickrunfast (talk) 22:09, 3 July 2023 (UTC)

Also, sometimes people forget that the "Old Testament" is Jewish — so there's the Moses story origin myth, Samson strength, "kal-el," and the later Jewish myth of Golem. Quickrunfast (talk) 02:13, 4 July 2023 (UTC)

@Quickrunfast: When I researched for this article a few years ago, I was very interested in this very topic and looked hard for hard evidence and didn't find any. All I could find to support it was speculative stuff by writers who were arguing from circumstantial evidence. Simcha Weinstein was one of these. He's a rabbi and I suspect he was trying to make Judaism look cool by arguing Superman is Jewish. He pointed out circumstantial things such as the similarities with the Moses myth and the name Kal-El possibly being Hebrew. But I wanted hard evidence, namely something Siegel or Shuster said in an interview, and I didn't find any. What's more, Siegel and Shuster weren't practicing Jews. They both married Christian women. When I emailed Simcha Weinstein for comment, he just brushed me off, he didn't want to argue with me.

Simply citing a book is not enough to validate a claim. You can find a citation to support anything if you're not discerning. In fact, I found citation to refute the Judaism connection: in Les Daniels' 1998 book, he wrote:

"There are parallel stories in many cultures, but what is significant is that Siegel, working in the generally patronized medium of the comics, had created a secular American messiah. Nothing of the kind was consciously on his mind, apparently: his explanation for dropping Superman down from the sky was that "it just happened that way."And Shuster echoed him: "We just thought it was a good idea."

See what I mean? Kurzon (talk) 12:14, 4 July 2023 (UTC)

Again, I did cite an article that contained a quote from one of the *creators of Superman*.

Suspecting that one author is trying to make look "Jews look cool" is unsupported and (essentially) an ad hominem attack based on the authors identity. Even if we suppose you are true, it still does not invalidate what the creators have said — surely they are the authority on the subject of their creation, right.

If you have have evidence to the contrary, please feel free to add. Quickrunfast (talk) 14:59, 24 August 2023 (UTC)

Missing tv appearances

My Adventures with Superman - 2023 HBO/Adult Swim Legion of superheroes - 2006 kidsWB Young Justice (reoccurring appearances) 142.181.136.147 (talk) 03:20, 30 August 2023 (UTC)

SOFIXIT Babysharkboss2 (talk) 19:41, 19 September 2023 (UTC)

The first superhero

Can we say that Superman was the first superhero. The Phantom can be just considered a fictional "hero" not "superhero" same can be said who appeared before Superman. Support if you agree with me oppose if you disagree. Vote now! Kazama16 (talk) 22:13, 21 September 2023 (UTC)

I think the article as it is discusses the issue with appropriate nuance. Kurzon (talk) 11:05, 22 September 2023 (UTC)

I provided source for saying "Superman was the first superhero with superpowers" so this part of sentence shouldn't even be a problem. Kazama16 (talk) 07:27, 24 September 2023 (UTC)

Also The Phantom wasn't the first superhero that was important or popular worldwide. Superman was the first superhero to get mainstream recognition so saying "Superman was the first "major" superhero" can't be considered wrong. Kazama16 (talk) 07:33, 24 September 2023 (UTC)

Simply having a source doesn't make statement gold because if I search long enough I will eventually find another source that contradicts yours or has more nuance. Mandrake the Magician and Ogon Bat have superpowers and if they had been released after Superman, they would certainly have been labelled superheroes. Kurzon (talk) 07:48, 24 September 2023 (UTC)

Okay find a better source than Guinness book of world records that says Ogon Bat and Mandrake the Magician were the first superheroes that have superpowers. Kazama16 (talk) 09:55, 24 September 2023 (UTC)

@Kurzon and I'm not saying that Superman was the first superhero, I'm using the word "major". Just saying that he can be considered the first "major" superhero ever created. Kazama16 (talk) 09:58, 24 September 2023 (UTC)

@Kazama16 "Major" needs to be defined then. If we take the meaning of "significant" or "important", arguably Doc Savage fits the bill being seemingly the inspiration for many of the characteristics Superman is known for (the article did mention the creators were heavily inspired by prevailing pulp magazines). Doc Savage's real name is Clark Savage Jr., his nickname is the Man of Bronze and he was originally billed as “Superman", and even has a secret base -- which is located in the far-off Arctic -- known as the Fortress of Solitude. IMHO to make the lede more accurate, Superman should actually be credited as the first COMIC BOOK superhero with superpowers. Doc Savage actually preceded Superman, debuting originally in its own Doc Savage Magazine in 1933, then a 1934 radio teleseries in 1934, and only appeared in comic form in 1940. And then there's the obscure Hugo Hercules, an actual comicstrip hero with superstrength from the 1920s....----Zhanzhao (talk) 11:50, 25 September 2023 (UTC)

Doesn't matter if Doc Savage preceded Superman or not because Doc Savage is not considered a superhero. Hugo Hercules's superstrength is not really same as superpowers. Many examples of superpowers are Telekinesis, Teleportation, X-ray vision, Phasing, Telepathy, Atmokinesis, Shapeshifting and many other so just having superstrength is like simply having strength so it shouldn't even be considered a superpower and even a common man have strength it means that he has superpowers? Absolutely not. I have a very reliable source (Guinness world records) that says Superman was the first superhero with superpowers here's the source .Find a better source than Guinness world records that says Hugo Hercules was the first superhero with superpowers. Kazama16 (talk) 14:44, 25 September 2023 (UTC)

Hugo Hercules's strength feats include lifting a car with a man over his head. IF that isn't considered a super-power.... But digress. I just want to point out that its better to qualify the statement of Superman being the first superhero with superpowers being one made by many even specifically mentionining the Guiness Book link, but it's not an all-encompassing statement. I.e.Ogon Bat was mentioned above, one of the link say he is the first superhero as well. The definition of "Superhero" doesn't seem to be very clearly defined too. ----Zhanzhao (talk) 06:39, 26 September 2023 (UTC)

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