Superman (franchise)
The American comic book character Superman has appeared in many types of media. Since his first comic book appearance in 1938, Superman has appeared in radio, television, movies, and video games each on multiple occasions, and his name, symbol, and image have appeared on products and merchandise.
Portrayals
Among the actors who have played Superman/Superboy are:Portrayed by
Voice only
Radio and audio
- 1940s: The Adventures of Superman – radio series starring Bud Collyer and Joan Alexander
- 1966: The Adventures of Superman – vinyl LP featuring Bob Holiday as Superman
- 1970s–1980s: various Superman-related vinyl albums from Peter Pan Records
- 1993: Superman Lives! – BBC Radio Light Entertainment, BBC Radio 5; Superman is voiced by Stuart Milligan
- 1995: DC Comics Super Heroes – Attack of the Elementals – audio drama featuring the Justice League; Superman is voiced by David Earl Waterman
- 2008: The Never-Ending Battle – Graphic Audio; Superman voiced by James Konicek
Film
Animated film
- 1941–1943: Fleischer Studios/Famous Studios' Superman theatrical cartoon – series of 17 shorts initially starring Bud Collyer
- 1945: She-Sick Sailors - - as comic book. Olive Oyl's seen reading the superman comics. The rest of this Popeye short is then parody of Superman.
- 1992: ' – direct-to-video, featuring Maurice LaMarche as Superman
- 1999: The Iron Giant – - as comic book.
- 2006: ' – direct-to-video film utilizing character designs from Superman: The Animated Series; starring Tim Daly and Dana Delany
- 2007: ' – direct-to-video from DC Comics featuring Adam Baldwin as Superman
- 2008: ' – direct-to-video featuring Kyle MacLachlan as Superman
- 2009: ' – direct-to-video featuring Tim Daly as Superman
- 2010: ' – direct-to-video ; Superman is voiced by Mark Harmon
- 2010: ' – direct-to-video ; Tim Daly reprises his role as Superman
- 2010: ' – direct-to-video ; Only referenced through Amazo
- 2010: ' – direct-to-video short featuring George Newbern as Superman.
- 2011: All-Star Superman – direct-to-video featuring James Denton as Superman
- 2012: Mad – When their fellow heroes feel under-appreciated, they appeal to Superman, Batman, and Wonder Woman about being called "Super Friends."
- 2012: ' – direct-to-video featuring Tim Daly as Superman
- 2012: Superman vs. The Elite – direct-to-video featuring George Newbern as Superman
- 2013: ' – direct-to-video two-part adaption of the graphic novel featuring Mark Valley Superman only appears in the second part.
- 2013: ' – direct-to-video featuring Matt Bomer as Superman
- 2013: ' – direct-to-video featuring Travis Willingham as Superman
- 2013: ' – direct-to-video featuring Sam Daly, following in his father Tim's footsteps as Superman
- 2014: The Lego Movie – Animated film featuring Channing Tatum as Superman.
- 2014: ' – direct-to-video featuring Peter Jessop as Superman
- 2014: ' – direct-to-video featuring Alan Tudyk as Superman
- 2014: ' – TV special featuring Nolan North as Superman
- 2015: ' – direct-to-video featuring Jerry O'Connell as Superman
- 2015: ' – direct-to-video featuring Nolan North as Superman
- 2015: ' – direct-to-video featuring a reimagined version of Superman who is the son of General Zod.
- 2015: ' – direct-to-video with Nolan North reprising his role as Superman
- 2016: ' – direct-to-video with Nolan North reprising his role
- 2016: Justice League vs. Teen Titans – direct-to-video with Jerry O'Connell reprising his role
- 2017: Justice League Dark – direct-to-video with Jerry O'Connell reprising his role
- 2017: The Lego Batman Movie – Animated film featuring Superman with Channing Tatum reprising his role.
- 2017: DC Super Heroes vs. Eagle Talon – Animated film featuring Kenichi Suzumura as the voice of Superman.
- 2018: The Death of Superman – direct-to-video featuring Jerry O'Connell as Superman
- 2018: Teen Titans Go! To the Movies – Animated film featuring Nicolas Cage as the voice of Superman.
- 2019: Reign of the Supermen – direct-to-video featuring Jerry O'Connell as Superman
- 2019: ' – Animated film featuring Superman with Channing Tatum reprising his role.
- 2019: Justice League vs. the Fatal Five – Animated film featuring George Newbern as Superman.
- 2019: ' direct-to-video featuring Jerry O'Connell as Superman
- 2020: ' - direct-to-video featuring Jason Isaacs as Superman.
- 2020: ' – direct-to-video featuring Jerry O'Connell as Superman
- 2020: '' – Animated film featuring Darren Criss as the voice of Superman.
Live-action film
- 1948: Superman – a serial in 15 chapters starring Kirk Alyn and Noel Neill; recounts origin story, then fights the Spider Lady
- 1950: Atom Man vs. Superman – serial in 15 parts starring Kirk Alyn, Noel Neill and Lyle Talbot; Fights Atom Man, Lex Luthor
- 1951: Superman and the Mole Men – feature film, starring George Reeves and Phyllis Coates
- 1954: Stamp Day for Superman – short film featuring George Reeves and Noel Neill promoting Stamp Day for the U.S. Treasury
- 1978: Superman – directed by Richard Donner and starring Christopher Reeve, Marlon Brando, Gene Hackman, Margot Kidder, Ned Beatty and Valerie Perrine
- 1979: The Return of Superman is an adaptation of Superman from Turkey
- 1980: Superman II – directed by Richard Lester and starring Christopher Reeve, Gene Hackman, Margot Kidder, and Terence Stamp
- 1983: Superman III – directed by Richard Lester and starring Christopher Reeve, Richard Pryor, Annette O'Toole and Robert Vaughn
- 1984: Supergirl – spin-off directed by Jeannot Szwarc and starring Helen Slater, Faye Dunaway, and Marc McClure
- 1987: ' – directed by Sidney J. Furie and starring Christopher Reeve, Gene Hackman, Margot Kidder, Jon Cryer and Mariel Hemingway
- 2006: Superman Returns – directed by Bryan Singer and starring Brandon Routh, Kate Bosworth, Kevin Spacey and James Marsden
- 2006: ' – New edit of Superman II, featuring around 80% new footage originally shot by director Richard Donner, including material featuring Marlon Brando
- 2013: Man of Steel – directed by Zack Snyder and starring Henry Cavill, Amy Adams, Russell Crowe, Kevin Costner, Diane Lane, Laurence Fishburne and Michael Shannon
- 2016: – directed by Zack Snyder, the film is a sequel/follow-up to Man of Steel featuring the first meeting between Superman and Batman. Also starring Amy Adams, Jesse Eisenberg, Diane Lane, Laurence Fishburne, Jeremy Irons, Holly Hunter, and Gal Gadot.
- 2017: Justice League – directed by Zack Snyder, this film is a follow-up to Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice. Cavill reprised his role as Superman. Also starring Ben Affleck, Gal Gadot, Jason Momoa, Ezra Miller, and Ray Fisher.
- 2019: Shazam! – directed by David F. Sandberg, the film features Superman in a cameo at the end; he was portrayed in a brief role by stunt double Ryan Hadley.
Television
Live-action television
- 1952–1958: Adventures of Superman – starring George Reeves, Phyllis Coates and Noel Neill
- *1957: I Love Lucy - episode "Lucy and Superman" featured Reeves as Superman
- 1961: The Adventures of Superboy – unaired TV pilot starring Johnny Rockwell
- 1965: The Joey Bishop Show - episode "The Sergeant's Testimonial", Joey says to Ellie, "Any friend of Superman's is a friend of mine."
- 1975: It's a Bird...It's a Plane...It's Superman – TV special version of the Broadway play starring David Wilson and Lesley Ann Warren
- 1988–1992: Superboy – series starring John Haymes Newton, Gerard Christopher, and Stacy Haiduk
- 1993–1997: – series starring Dean Cain and Teri Hatcher
- 2001–2011: Smallville – series starring Tom Welling as Clark Kent
- 2016-2018: Arrowverse – series guest-starring Tyler Hoechlin as Superman. Superman first appeared in the pilot of Supergirl portrayed by Kevin Caliber.
- 2018: Krypton – series focuses on Superman's grandfather.
- 2020-: Superman and Lois – series starring Tyler Hoechlin as Superman and Elizabeth Tulloch as Lois Lane.
Animated television
- 1966–1969: Various Superman series by Filmation – Bud Collyer as Superman and Bob Hastings as Superboy
- *1966: The New Adventures of Superman
- *1967: The Superman-Aquaman Hour of Adventure – included three Justice League of America shorts
- *1968–1969: The Batman-Superman Hour
- 1969: Superman is mentioned by Ernie in the television promotional special This Way to Sesame Street when he discusses to Bert about celebrities visiting the street including Burt Lancaster, James Earl Jones, Mahalia Jackson, Batman, Kermit the Frog, and Carol Burnett.
- 1970: Lennie Weinrib voices Superman in a Sesame Street sketch for a lecture of words beginning with "S" which happens to be the character's favorite letter of the Alphabet.
- 1972: Superman / Clark Kent and Lois Lane all appear in The Brady Kids episode "Cindy's Super Friend".
- 1973–1985: Various Super Friends series produced by Hanna-Barbera; Danny Dark as Superman
- *1973: Super Friends
- *1977: The All-New Super Friends Hour
- *1978: Challenge of the Super Friends
- *1979: The World's Greatest Super Friends
- *1980–83: Super Friends
- *1984: '
- *1985: '
- 1988: Superman – TV series based on the "new" DC Comics Superman; produced by Ruby-Spears; starring Beau Weaver and Ginny McSwain. Animated by Toei Animation, Japan
- 1996: – TV series, voiced by Tim Daly
- 2005: Krypto the Superdog – TV series; Superman voiced by Michael Daingerfield
- 2006–2008: Legion of Super Heroes ; featuring Yuri Lowenthal as Superman
- 2007–2008: The Batman – Superman is featured in the two-part season five premiere, "The Batman/Superman Story" and the two-part series finale, "Lost Heroes"; George Newbern reprises the role
- 2010–2013-2018: Young Justice ; features Nolan North as Superman
- 2016–2018: Justice League Action a series featuring a rotating cast of Justice League members including Superman played by Jason L. Lewis.
- 2019-present: DC Super Hero Girls ; featuring Max Mittelman as Superman
- 2019: Harley Quinn ; featuring James Wolk as Superman
DC Animated Universe
- Superman first appears in. As with the comics, he is the sole survivor of Krypton's demise, caused by Brainiac in this continuity. He is portrayed with the same powers and weaknesses, but like average people of Earth cannot breathe in space and thus requires a space suit. He also wears a special lead suit for protection against kryptonite. Superman's reputation becomes jeopardized in the two-parter Legacy, where he gets brainwashed by Darkseid and set upon Earth, losing the trust of many, including Professor Hamilton and giving Lex Luthor an advantage. His baby age, who only appears in The Last Son of Krypton, the first episode, is voiced by Jesse Batten. His teenaged self, who only appears in The Last Son of Krypton, as well as the episode New Kids in Town, is voiced by Jason Marsden. Tim Daly voices the adult character.
- Superman next appears in the Batman Beyond two-parter The Call. He wears a different suit of black and silver, but is shown to have aged slower than anyone on Earth, due to his Kryptonian DNA, as Bruce Wayne jokes about. He is first shown disguised as a bystander that is taken hostage by Inque, but he quickly reveals himself and takes her out. He then shows up at the Batcave to recruit Terry McGinnis, the new Batman, into the Justice League, apparently in order to help him find a traitor within the league. Bruce and Terry both discover the traitor to be Superman himself, and Bruce gives Terry a piece of kryptonite, referring to the events of Legacy. However, it is then discovered that Superman had been under the control of a starfish-like alien that he had saved a long time ago. Terry frees Superman, and the two help the rest of the league send the aliens back. Superman was voiced by Christopher McDonald, the voice of Jor-El in the DCAU, due to an idea that Superman sounds more like his father as he ages.
- Superman next appears in Justice League, now voiced by George Newbern. Daly was supposed to return, and had even done initial recordings, but was ultimately too involved with other television shows and had to be replaced. Superman, having already got back his reputation that Darkseid had put at stake, forms the league, along with Batman. He begins to wonder about what might happen to him after the events of the Justice Lords, what with his counterpart giving into the urge and killing Luthor. Superman was originally designed with a shine in his hair, along with wrinkles and squintier eyes in order to make him look more detailed, but was redesigned again with his look from Superman after it was not well received.
- Newbern returns to the role of Superman in Static Shock, where he helps the title character battle against Toyman. In this series, Superman is given full eyes with blue irises, compared to his other appearances within the DCAU.
- Superman is again voiced by Newbern in Justice League Unlimited. In this series, he nearly gives into the urge to become like his Justice Lord counterpart, attempting to lobotomize Doomsday, who he instead finally banished into the Phantom Zone, much to the questioning of Batman and the general public. His doubts about not being like his Justice Lord counterpart are fleshed out in Divided We Fall, where a mechanical duplicate of his counterpart points out about his trust from the public and his power. Superman insists that he is not like his counterpart at all. Most noteworthy is after Flash apparently died defeating the Lex Luthor/ Braniac hybrid, he brought Luthor to eye level and said: "I'm not the man that killed President Luthor. Right now, I wish to heaven that I were, but I'm not." It was because of this, Superman considered shutting down the Justice League, only to be talked out of it by Green Arrow. During the series finale, Destroyer, Superman briefly gets the upper hand on a resurrected Darkseid. He explains "I feel like I live in a world made of cardboard.", saying that he thus is always taking care of not to attack too hard or he might kill someone. With Darkseid, however, he says "But you can take it, can't you big man. What we have here is a rare opportunity for me to cut loose, and show you just how powerful I really am." and punches Darkseid hard into the sky, through several buildings, and knocks him back into the ground, creating a huge crater. Darkseid then stuns Superman using the Agony Matrix, which causes him to feel extreme pain in every part of his body, and is about to kill him with a kryptonite knife when he is saved by Luthor, whom had agreed with Superman to stop Darkseid, or in his case, get revenge on him for taking a piece of Brainiac from him.
Superman/Batman
Video games
- 1978: Superman by Atari for the Atari 2600
- 1984: Superman III for the Atari 8-bit family of computers
- 1985: ' by First Star Software for the Commodore 64
- 1987: Superman by Kemco for the Nintendo Entertainment System
- 1988: Superman: Man of Steel by Tynesoft for the Commodore 64
- 1988: Superman by Taito; Arcade game
- 1992: Superman: The Man of Steel by Virgin Interactive for the Master System
- 1992: Superman by Sunsoft for the Genesis
- 1994/1995: The Death and Return of Superman by Sunsoft for the Super NES and Genesis
- 1995: Justice League Task Force by Acclaim for the Super NES and Genesis
- 1998: Superman by Titus for the Game Boy
- 1999: Superman by Titus for the Nintendo 64
- 1999: ' by Brilliant Digital for PC
- 2002: ' by Midway for the Game Boy Advance; Superman is a playable character
- 2002: ' by Infogrames/Atari for the Xbox
- 2002/2003: ' by Infogrames/Atari for the PlayStation 2 and GameCube
- 2003: ' by Infogrames/Atari for the Game Boy Advance
- 2003: ' by Midway for the Game Boy Advance; Superman is a playable character
- 2005: Justice League TV Games unit by Jakks Pacific; Superman is playable in some games, non-playable in others
- 2006: Superman: The Greatest Hero by VTech for the V.Smile system
- 2006: Superman TV Games unit by Jakks Pacific
- 2006: Justice League Heroes by Eidos for the PlayStation 2, Xbox and PlayStation Portable; Superman is a playable character, and is voiced by Crispin Freeman
- 2006: Superman Returns by Electronic Arts for the PlayStation 2, Xbox & Xbox 360 featuring voices from the cast of the film
- 2006: Superman Returns by Electronic Arts for the Nintendo DS
- 2006: ' by Electronic Arts for the Game Boy Advance
- 2008: Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe by Midway for the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360
- 2011: DC Universe Online by Sony Computer Entertainment for the PlayStation 3 and Microsoft Windows
- 2012: ' by Traveller's Tales for the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360
- 2013: ' by NetherRealm Studios for the PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, Wii U, Windows, PlayStation Vita, and PlayStation 4
- 2013/2014: Scribblenauts Unmasked by 5th Cell for Wii U and Nintendo 3DS
- 2014: The Lego Movie Videogame by Traveller's Tales for the PlayStation 4, Xbox One, PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360
- 2014: by Traveller's Tales for the PlayStation 4, Xbox One, PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360
- 2015: Lego Dimensions by Traveller's Tales for the PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Wii U, PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360
- 2017: Injustice 2 by NetherRealm Studios for the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One
- 2018: DC Unchained by FourThirtyThree for Android
- 2018: Lego DC Super-Villains by Traveller's Tales for the PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, and Microsoft Windows.
Theatre and live performances
- 1940: New York World's Fair – Broadway actor Ray Middleton played the Man of Steel in his first public appearance on July 3 for "Superman Day"
- 1966: "It's a Bird...It's a Plane...It's Superman" – a Broadway musical; lyrics by Lee Adams, music by Charles Strouse; starring Bob Holiday and Jack Cassidy
- 2010: "The History of Invulnerability" – a play about the creation of Superman and the childhood of one of his creators: Joe Shuster
- 2012: "Holy Musical B@man!", a parody musical done by internet theatre troupe StarKid Productions featured Superman portrayed by actor Brian Holden.
Literature and printed media
- 1942: The Adventures of Superman by George Lowther
- 1971: Man of Steel, Woman of Kleenex by Larry Niven
- 1978: ' by Elliot S! Maggin
- 1981: Miracle Monday by Elliot S! Maggin
- 1983: Superman III by William Kotzwinkle
- 1991: "Übermensch!" by Kim Newman
- 1993: ' by Louise Simonson, illustrated by Dan Jurgens and José Luis García-López
- 1994: The Death and Life of Superman by Roger Stern
- 1996: by C. J. Cherryh
- 2005: It's Superman! by Tom De Haven
- 2005: Superman Returns, by Marv Wolfman
- 2007: The Last Days of Krypton by Kevin J. Anderson
- 2009: Enemies & Allies by Kevin J. Anderson
Newspaper
Attractions and theme park rides
- , roller coaster at Six Flags Magic Mountain.
- , roller coaster at Six Flags Over Georgia, Six Flags Great Adventure, and Six Flags Great America.
- , roller coaster at Six Flags Discovery Kingdom
- Superman – Ride of Steel, roller coaster at Six Flags America.
- , roller coaster at Six Flags Fiesta Texas.
- Superman el Último Escape, roller coaster at Six Flags México.
- Superman la Atracción de Acero, roller coaster at Parque Warner Madrid
- Superman Escape, roller coaster at Warner Bros. Movie World.
- tower ride at Six Flags Over Texas and Six Flags St. Louis.
Art
- 2007: :File:Herbert-Superman.jpg|Beautiful Superman, a sculpture by David Herbert, exhibited in 2008 in The Hague Sculpture in The Hague.
Parodies
- The cartoon Underdog in which Shoeshine boy becomes "Underdog" with the help of an energy pill.
- The cartoon series Groovy Goolies featured dim witted Frankie as "Super Goof".
- Walt Disney's Goofy did a parody of Superman with the help of "super goobers" in which Goofy became "Super Goof" clothed in red underwear with "SG" and a blue cape and endowed with Super ears: Super sight; Super strength, Super voice and super flying-Goofy's crime fighting always interrupted his date with Clarabelle Cow.
- Warner Brothers' Daffy Duck did a parody of Superman as Stupor Duck.
- The 2019 superhero horror film Brightburn is a dark deconstruction of the Superman character.
Merchandising
- Sunnyland Refining Co., in 1981, marketed jars of creamy and crunchy peanut butter using the familiar image of Superman. In the 50th anniversary publication Fifty Who Made DC Great, it was noted that this was DC's first licensing deal for a brand of food.
- A Superman pinball machine was produced by Atari in 1979.
- Superman is part of the DC Deckbuilding Game by Cryptozoic Entertainment