June of 1938 saw the debut of the most popular superhero of all time: Superman. Whether you love him or hate, him one cannot deny that the Man of Steel has had a far greater impact on comic books and other forms of media than any other character. Created by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster, both sons of Jewish immigrants, Superman made his debut in June of 1938 in Action Comics #1, which is now held as the most valuable comic book in the world; a 9.0 Grade copy having been sold on eBay for 3.2 million dollars in 2014.

Superman began branching out into other media first in the radio serial The Adventures of Superman in 1940, starring Bud Collyer as the Man of Steel himself. During World War Two, the radio serial would receive positive reviews from soldiers and civilians alike who all tuned in to listen to the tales of “truth, justice, and the American way.”

Superman would continue in radio until 1951, but this would not be the end of his career either on or off the page. On September 19, 1952, the pilot episode of The Adventures of Superman aired, starring George Reeves as the Kryptonian, Jack Larson as Jimmy Olsen, John Hamilton as Perry White, and Phyllis Coates as Lois Lane during the first season, only to be replaced by Noel Neill for the remaining five seasons of syndication. The show received positive reviews from both critics and audiences alike, with a great many fans having become convinced that George Reeves was indeed Superman. One story goes to say that a fan was so convinced he pulled a gun on the actor to test his invulnerability. Reeves was reportedly able to talk the man down by telling him that the bullet would bounce off of his chest and hurt someone in the audience.

Superman would have several small screen iterations including a cartoon produced by Max Fleischer and Paramount studios which was produced from 1941 to 1943. Though the cartoon was well received by audiences and critics and has been reproduced on DVD, Superman was the last cartoon produced by Fleischer studios before being taken over in 1942 by Famous Studios. All entries in the series are currently under public domain, however, Warner Bros. Entertainment currently owns the various ancillary rights, as well as the original 35mm master elements, as Warner has owned DC Comics since 1969.

Superman remained largely in the comics after the cancellation of the television series until being resurrected on the big screen in 1978. Directed by Richard Donner with Christopher Reeve as the title character, Superman was released on December 15^th of 1978 to both critical and viewer acclaim, further proving the movie’s tagline, “You will believe a man can fly.” With its then cutting-edge special effects and witty writing, the film was quickly hailed as a masterpiece and remains in many fans’ hearts to this day. Starring Marlon Brando as Jor-El, the father of Superman, Gene Hackman as Lex Luthor, filming quickly began on Superman II. However, partway through filming, Richard Donner was removed as director and replaced with Richard Lester. The change in director didn’t harm the film much, as Superman II was released on June 19, 1981, once more to critical and viewer acclaim. However, in 2006, an updated and recut version of the film was released entitled Superman II: The Richard Donner Cut, which contained the main plot elements of the original cut of the film but had been modified with much of Donner’s original footage.

Superman appeared to be on top of the world, but this reign would be short-lived. On June 17, 1983, Superman III was released, starring Richard Pryor alongside the Man of Steel, however where the first two films were universally praised, the new release received harsh criticism from moviegoers and critics alike, which caused Warner Bros. Entertainment to pull Richard Lester from the director’s chair and replace him with Sidney J. Furie. This would, unfortunately, spell the end of Superman’s big screen reign.

Superman IV: The Quest for Peace was released on July 24, 1987 and was quickly deadpanned by everyone. With a budget of 17 million dollars, it only made 36.7 million at the box office. Superman IV was plagued by poor special effects, sub-par acting by all involved, and action that didn’t seem all that exciting. Just as the first film remains a gold standard for fans, Superman IV is often called the worst super-hero movie of all time, not just the worst Superman movie of all time.

Superman would remain off the big screen for almost twenty years, both due to the sour taste left in audience’s mouths from the previous film, as well as an injury incurred by actor Christopher Reeve in 1995 that left him paralyzed from the neck down. However, DC Comics was not daunted and managed to bring Superman back to life apart from the pages of the comic book.

Having been retconned in 1986 with the finale of the 12 issue spectacular Crisis On Infinite Earths, Superman had a slightly different outlook on life, but was still the same Superman fans had loved for years. And in 1996, Warner Bros. Animation released Superman: The Animated Series as a follow up to the critically acclaimed Batman animated series that had been released in 1992. The series starred Tim Daly of Wings as the Man of Steel, and laid the groundwork that many claim the modern superhero comic and animation industry is built on. The series ended in February of 2000 but was followed up by the Justice League animated series in 2001. Superman would continue on the silver screen with animated adventures in Justice League and Justice League Unlimited in July of 2004. As the series ended in 2007, it brought an end to the animated universe that had begun with Batman in 1992, but the increased popularity of Superman in the animated adventures caused Warner Bros. to revisit the idea of a big screen adventure for the Man of Steel.

On June 28, 2006, Warner Bros. released Superman Returns, directed by Brian Singer and staring Brandon Routh as Superman, and Kevin Spacey as Lex Luthor. The film served as a fifth installment in the Superman film franchise, despite not being called Superman V. While not holding any direct ties to the previous four films, it is widely held that it is meant to be a direct sequel to Superman IV. Unlike its predecessor, however, Superman Returns managed to regain the favor of audiences and critics who viewed the film as a loving tribute to the character. It wasn’t enough to reboot the entire franchise, however, and Superman would remain away from theater screens for nearly a decade.

On the silver screen, however, Superman was doing tremendously. Aside from the hugely successful animated franchise, which continued with animated features and television shows such as The Legion of Super Heroes, October of 2001 saw the release of the television series Smallville. Smallville focused on a younger Man of Steel, starting when Clark Kent was still in high school, and just beginning to discover the full range and potential of his powers. The series received universal acclaim, with both old and new fans of Superman appreciating the never before seen take on the classic characters. As well as showing Clark Kent’s coming of age, it gave viewers a glimpse into the origins of Lex Luthor, Lois Lane, as well as a host of other Superman villains and heroes, including several other members of the Justice League.

The show even was able to work Christopher Reeve in as the recurring character in the second and third seasons, Dr. Virgil Swann; a loving tribute which was appreciated by fans worldwide. When asked what he thought of the show in general, Reeve expressed his immense approval with the series’ take on the character he’d brought to life all those years ago.

With the end of Smallville in May of 2011, Superman was left only within the pages of the comic books until two years later. With the success of the critically acclaimed Dark Knight Trilogy, directed by Christopher Nolan, Warner Bros. gave the green light to a Superman reboot which would give birth to a brand-new DC film franchise that would hopefully contend with Marvel. On June 14, 2013, Zach Snyder released Man of Steel, which retold the story of Superman’s origin with a modern view of the character, which not only showed us the full scope of Superman’s power, but a modern take on how the human race would react to such a being in our midst. While Man of Steel was not received well by critics, it scored well with audiences and gave Warner Bros. the faith to continue with their planned DCEU.

March 25, 2016 saw the release of Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, which marked the first time Batman and Superman had been featured together in a live action film. Like its predecessor, Batman v Superman received poor reviews from critics but high praise from moviegoers, and still managed to make more money than any Marvel movie to date, raking in over 870 million dollars at the box office. With its release on Blu-Ray came the release of the Ultimate Edition of the film, which increased the runtime from two and a half hours to approximately three hours and received better marks from critics than the theatrical release of the film.

Superman would remain out of the DCEU until his return in Justice League, released on November 17, 2017. Par for the course for the DCEU, Justice League was marked low by critics but high by audiences, despite its change in director partway through. While Zach Snyder had originally begun directing the film, in March of 2017 he announced that he would be stepping down from directing in order to be with his family in the wake of his daughter’s suicide. Joss Whedon, creator of Firefly and director of The Avengers and Avengers: Age of Ultron, was brought in to finish directing the film for Warner Bros. However, where Superman II was able to go through a change in director with very little to show for it, the change is much easier to feel in Justice League. This hasn’t stopped the DCEU from continuing, as 2018 is slated to see the release of Aquaman.

Despite the rocky road that Superman has been on in recent years, the character has been going strong, both in comics and in other animated features. Eighty years later, and we still look to the Man of Steel for tales of adventure, excitement, and hope, and there is no doubt in my mind that we will continue seeing these tales for another eighty years to come.