SUPERMAN (character)

Superman is the D.C. Comics comic book superhero created by Jerry Siegel & Joe Shuster who first appeared in Action comics #1 in 1938. The Superman franchise has spread to almost all forms of media including books, television shows and several films. Considering his popularity, it took a surprisingly long time for a live-action film to be made about Superman. In 1940, Republic Pictures approached DC Comics about doing a serial based on Superman but the negotiations broke down and, after they lost the rights due to legal issues, Republic ended up making a serial based on Captain Marvel in 1941. In 1948, Columbia Pictures finally made the first live-action Superman serial, called "Superman", and two years later, they made a sequel called "Atom Man vs. Superman". Although Superman was not the first superhero character, he popularized the superhero archetype and defined its conventions. Superheroes are often judged by how closely they resemble the standard established by Superman.