Superman was inspired by the legend of the Hebrew indestructible Golem Nothing else

That's false. Superman has nothing to do with the evil golem character from jewish stories who is mindless and the turns on his creators. Superman is instead inspired by eugenics science of the 1930s, along with Jon Carter, Gladiator, and Harold Lloyd films for Clark Kent, with athletic tights. That's what Siegel & Shuster created.

I tell people who say they don't like Superman to read the Jerry Siegel '30s-'40s comics reprints. Watch the Bud Collyer/Fleischer/Filmation cartoons, George Reeves and Superman versus the Ku Klux Klan. Most people only know the campy over-powered Christopher Reeve and teen-angst Smaillville and depressed/brooding reckless joyless Henry Cavill reboot.

Well, the Fleischer cartoons followed a simplistic format. Watching one can be entertaining, but watching more than two you get the sense that you're watching the same story over and over again.

The Fleischer Superman cartoons was one of my childhood favorites to watch.

You're right, I've still got a bunch.

Mark Edwards Not so much. DC comics printed the phonetic pronunciation once at least some 50 odd years ago. I was lucky enough to have an uncle who shared his comic books and got a chance to read it then.

You aren't alone... The mix-l-plick pronunciation drives me crazy...

Daniel Gear never heard that one. Most of the people I know ((if they know of the imp at all) just skip over it l lol.

I used Windows voice to see if it could pronounce "Mxyzptlk" -- what I got sounded more like "rrfff."

You know your supershit.😛

Yeah, if Auperman had any direct inspiration it was Moses with the whole "sent away in a basket/escape pod" origin. I guess you could argue the concept of superheroes takes inspiration from the demigods of Greek myth. But I don't think Suoerman was copying any of them specifically. Especially since Greek demigods usually have tragic lives and often cause as much harm as good.

Molemen flew around too when the cameras were not turning!

Calvin you are right. Great memory!

carol tenge well, it could be my great memory, but it's more likely because I have the entire series on DVD, and it hasn't been all that long since I saw it.

I remember Superman rescuing one of the Mole Men who had fallen off a dam.

Yup, also The Lone Ranger, Rin Tin Tin, Roy Rogers, Highway Patrol, Branded with Chuck Conners, and the other TV heros of my childhood. Born 1956

One way or the other you saw the 3 great entities. Wish someone wd do a vid on the UK edition of this whole genre in & of itself and in comparison to the US.

Amos andy

PHORNOS Amos andy

Just add gasoline......

Saw dust

WHAAAAAT! LOL!!

Louis Hamilton Lol to be fair that previous comment is 3 years old

Why did he lose out? He ended up being Homer Simpson! Who even knows who Ken Osmond is anymore?

William Avitt He would have been 'Homer' regardless of whether or not he stayed on 'Beaver" Ken Osmond was so 'type-cast' he really didn't have a chance to perform anymore after 'Beaver' was canceled. (when I wrote 'lost out' I meant in terms of income over the run of the show...which would have been considerably more than Shearer made doing 'bit roles' 'walk-ons' and the occasional commercial Five years of paychecks when you're a young teen is 'pretty good' in my book!)

Gerry Nightingale You don't know that he still would have been Homer Simpson had he been Eddie Haskell. What's to say Harry wouldn't have seen the same typecasting that Ken Osmand got? So yeah, he would have gotten 5 years of steady paychecks, but may have missed out on 25+ years of steady paychecks and risiduals from being one of the most beloved characters on probably the single most successful primetime television series (animated or otherwise). I think Harry made out just fine

William Avitt I don't know how to respond to the scenario of "If Shearer had stayed as 'Haskell' he may not have been "Homer". That's equivalent to saying 'there's no point in doing anything...we're all going to die at some point, so why bother?' *************** Have you considered that Shearer is performing a 'voice-over' for the character of "Homer?" He's NOT on-camera' himself! Matt Groening developed the character of "Homer" long before Harry Shearer auditioned for the 'voice-role'. Shearer was NOT "Homer" on the old "Tracy Ullman Show", which is where "The Simpsons' made their debut...and Homer's basic personality traits were already 'in-place'. (Btw...Ken Osmond has done plenty of 'voice-overs' in the last fifty years...but there is no way to know in advance 'what will be a hit' like "Scooby-Doo", etc.)

Harry is not Homer... Dan Castellana is.

whos got it now?

Making him a god is boring..that's DC's problem..too many overpowered heroes. He basically took Captain Marvel's powers after they sewed and won...Captain Marvel (Now legally Shazam) became more popular that Superman and DC wasn't having it. After they won they kept adding powers. He really should just be able to jump far and be strong, that's it.

+Joseph Bentley As far as characters that carry their own titles, who is overpowered besides Supes? Three heroes comparable in power, Shazam, Martian Manhunter, and The Spectre all don't currently have their own titles. Besides that anyway, the best superman stories IMO aren't when he has to fight to the death or meets some one as strong as he but when his ideals and loved ones are threatened and he must choose how to use his amazing powers, or when it's revealed that for all his powers there are many things he can't do or change.

+Joseph Bentley - You're absolutely right that the 'god' comparisons make him boring--but not that Superman 'took C. Marvel's powers after they sued'--or that Cap was 'more popular' (his one and only claim to this, a notable one, is that Cap's sales peaked at 2 million for his self-title, to Superman's 1.6 million...plus more than a million 'Action', of course, which detail is less mentioned; otherwise, Cap also had much less, well, popularity: not only was his movie serial an embarassing bust, whereas Superman's was an immense success, Superman was a cultural icon in four mediums, the creative model for all other secret-identitied-tights-wearing-superheroes, and the reason, via 'Action Comics' ' huge sales in 1938-9, that Newsstands started distributing comics beyond Tarzan-strip-compilations. 'Cap' also sold just to kids (for obvious reasons)--ACTION and 'Superman' sold to a broad range of age-groups, and 'Cap's' superhuman powers and musculature, with invulnerability and super-strength at the center and a black head of hair--crossed the line in how much they took from Superman--the suit would finally end when an entire page-layout was of Cap's was shown to be shamelessly stolen from a Superman book (along with evidence Cap had borrowed plot and other elements, and with declining sales, Fawcett settled: Fawcett payed a half-million damages, rather a lot in a 5c/book industry, and agreed never to publish again. Technically they didn't 'lose')...

+Joseph Bentley - But that's not the whole story--Superman's powers expanded for several reasons (the popular Fleischer cartoons thought it easier and better to make him fly in 1941), but competition with 'Earth's Mightiest Mortal' was one of them in the early to mid-forties; and the 'Superman Family' was a copy of the 'Marvel Family'--a pretty big borrowing. The power competition (like Stallone and Scharzenegger competing to use bigger guns in the late 1980s through 1991 action films) happened while 'Cap' was still around...though Supes kept expanding after Fawcett stopped publishing at the end of the 40s; around that time, Superman arguably adopted (with Siegel and Schuster booted in 1947) some of the Marvel kitschyness, as it sanitized to defend against Wertham's attack. Arguably. But that's the end of any influence Cap had on Supes. Cap, on the other hand, was widely understood as a wish-fulfillment book where kids could transform themselves into a -very- Superman-like figure...and the various material borrowed from Superman books testified to Fawcett's own opinion of what they were doing. To paraphrase Jane Austen, the honor and influence between Superman and 'Cap' was nearly all GIVEN, not received. So...come on.

Unfrozen Cave Bear Interesting stuff. I didn't know all that. The thing about Captain Marvel is that he totally sucks. I always hated the whole thing about a little kid turning into a big (adult) hero. He would still be a dumb little kid who almost any enemy would be able to out-think. But that's just my opinion. I see how he had pretty good sales so obviously some kids liked him.

Why was Jimmy having breakfast with Clark? Did he spend the night?

The prop wall section was of weaker break-way material. The door was sturdier because it still had to function as a door. The real question was why he had to sometimes shield his eyes from bullets with his hand. As the movie portrayals advanced visual effects, all that would change: kzfaq.info/get/bejne/fLJ-ZseBst-8lZs.html

And in a year from now, 2016 will be the first time for Batman and Superman being in a live-action featured film together called "Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice" with Wonder Woman, Cyborg and Aquaman in it, starring Ben Affleck as Batman, Henry Cavill returning as Superman, Gal Gadot as Wonder Woman, Ray Fisher as Cyborg and Jason Momoa (Ronon from Stargate: Atlantis) as Aquaman which will have a minor part in the film. And I would say it's about time and I hope it's good. :) I have been waiting a long time for Batman and Superman to finally being in a movie together. And in 1993 there was a new Superman series called "Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman" starring Dean Cain as Superman and Teri Hatcher as Lois Lane (my favorite Superman series) then 1997 Superman: The Animated Series (also known as the New Batman Superman Adventures on Kids WB) and later in 2001 Justice League animated series featuring Superman on Cartoon Network (then 2004 it was re-titled as Justice League Unlimited, in a way it was a continuation of Batman and Superman's animated series and also connected to Batman Beyond) and Smallville starring Tom Welling as Clark Kent and it was a hit series which lasted to 2011,10 seasons and probably inspired others to do Arrow, the new Flash and Gotham series (which I'm all currently watching). Oh yeah and in 2010 there was Young Justice animated series which both featured Superboy (Conner Kent, a hybrid clone of Superman and Lex Luthor) and Superman.

Actually, Superman: The Animated Series first aired on KidsWB in September 1996.

Oops my mistake. You're right. I don't know why I was thinking of 1997. Lol I think I confused myself with The New Batman Adventures (Season 4 of Batman: The Animated Series) which I also watched then Batman Beyond later. I know it aired in 1997 and it's the same year where Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman was also canceled after 4 seasons. I wonder what would have happen if Lois & Clark went to 5 seasons since at the series finale a baby was delivered to them.

Ryan Kadlec good idea 💡

It's funny everyone calls "Superman Returns" a failure when it outperformed "Batman Begins" at the box-office.

Bob Hope Thanks for the memories.

By the power of GREY SKULL!!!

Sarah Lindsey that was John Erwin who voiced Prince Adam and He-Man and the Masters of the Universe.

It was the creators said that was one of their influences

It was the creators said that was one of their influences

It was the creators said that was one of their influences

John Carter was another new epic hero--hit all those King Arthur, Jesus, Moses characters who fight for the good with spectacular somethings far beyond those of mortal men, each in their own epic story, with a mysterious birth origin and tremendous skill at arms and usually some other stuff. John Carter's different, less serious, more modern innovation, using early science fiction pulp instead of prophecy, magic, or, say, a reforged excalibur analogue of immense fame, named 'Wrath' that can kill even the greatest dragon-giant--if you're germanic hero Sigurd the Volsung, Dragonslayer, possessed after taking care of the dragon of something extra beyond dragon gold, a little twist fate nudges in for him: conversation with the wisdom of the natural world, including the speech of birds, and more. Or...jump real good---and strong. They're all related. Yes, Superman borrowed the gravity discrepancy thing from Barsoom and its epic hero John Carter--a clever modernization of often legendary characters. Yes, Siegel and Schuster knew that character and totally reborrowed super-jumping and strength created by evolution on a high-gravity world. No magic, just technofantasy! But Superman drew from a lot of those other names, too--I'm sure he and Schuster loved Barsoom, but in the five years after Superman fictionally saved Siegel's father from death in a petty robbery and the time they went to print, he took what fit and expanded from many places--plenty of early Tarzan in there, New Deal humanistic spirit, the concept of a hyper-evolved human with mind and body the same but much perfected compared to our own--not perfected in that he was perfect, just awesome. He's got the social responsibility, the supremely powerful champion Samson who defended the Israelites until character flaws, but he was even more larger than life than Samson, and his darkness and distinctive urgency to help came from the almost unspoken realization you put together that...he was the last of his kind and had lost two sets of parents. And dutifully acted like a geed 70% of the time, so he could work when he needed to. Didn't whine about being the last Son of any race of mortal men, didn't take more than occasional surreptitious glee at confusion over him. If he stumbled onto a bad housing situation, there would shortly be a very fine set of apartments available via his strength, speed, and engineering talent as the son of the greatest scientist of a race of a planet of supermen. -Carter inspired an important early concept or three, including genre-shifting into sci-fi. But there were a lot more sources, and a lot more S&S brought to him on their own. "Bad writers borrow, and steal. Great writers, imitate, then improve." -TS Eliot "And while failure is an orphan, success has many fathers." -Anonymous ancient, I think.

Jews*

Superman was created here in my home town Cleveland

How so?

WRONG

​@@dignerds just a paranoid troll trying to stir up trouble for no reason.

@@theunknowncommenter725 WRONG I simply read up a few articles examaning the possible surface and below-surface symbolism of certain pop-culture icons and phenomenons.

​@@Angyali Paranoid fools. Every single one of them. Don't listen to them.

+Robert Wow, you're the first person to ever make that joke! It's not like it's an annoying cliché or something! You're so clever!

deepvoodoo Who said I was joking?

***** well you'd have to be otherwise you're a complete idiot. After all, he doesn't wear his "jocks" outside of his costume when he's dressed normally. And they're not really jocks since they're baggier than jocks and have belt loops. And morons who think they're smart always think they're impressing people by making jokes about Superman.

deepvoodoo He wears his costume under his suit and regardless of how one view another’s underwear they are jocks, and jocks can be baggy, and belt loops can be added, but they are still jocks. And seeing that Superman isn’t real, jokes will be made; only an idiot will become upset over a Superman joke.

***** The people who created Superman are real, Jerry Siegel, Joe Shuster, the people who wore his suit are real, George Reeves, etc. insulting Superman is basically insulting those dead men, which is in extremely poor taste. Only an idiot will make a stupid Superman joke and then try desperately to defend it. Pathetic.

Gladiator was about a man who had been experimented on when he was a child, and grew up to have Super Powers. He was lonely as a kid, and he built his own Fortress in the woods to play in, made out of knocked down redwood trees, that he had gathered himself. He ran into many tragic situations, because of his Powers, and was never able to lead a normal life. At the end of the story, he seemed to have destroyed himself, by allowing a bolt of lightning to strike him. There are many parallels to the Superman story in this science fiction tale, including a scene where the Hero lifts a car with one hand.

A humanoid beyond the norm...a more modest degree of super strength, vastly different plot and character arc...until a couple of decades ago, Moses, Hercules, Samson would be mentioned, but Doc Savage wasn't even considered worth mentioning. I'm not particularly convinced myself--even though I am fell aware Savage once impressively picked up, what was it--a tractor, right. He has more in common with Sir Gawain, Rama, Samson or Cuchulainn. Or...Egil Skallagrimsson, for that matter. You need a little more. -Also: steel? not in the same category as Gold, silver and bronze. In fact, it's perfect if you follow Hesiod through those ages of man to our own, men driven by heavy labor, want, pain, hardship The fabled Age of the Men of Iron: us. Steel, the perfect optimistic variation on the metal to be the right metaphor. Oh--and no one every says "It's truly sad no one reads 'Gladiator' anymore. Book had so much to offer! In a slight contrast, the early Superman stories showed comics could be a profitable medium sold at news stands. By the millions, along with a hundred and more other characters who were all Superman ripoffs or rewrites to varying degrees. Hundreds of books with each their own costumed and secretive hero, all blazing in four-color glory in newstands or on floats above a thousand parades (those were just Superman). Or....on FDR's desk during the war, whatever. But yeah, Doc Savage...totally just a rip off of...he's the one who's fat and bounces around in the 30th century, yes?

The Man of Steel vs The Man of Bronze? Both named Clark. Both had a hide-a-way in the Arctic Circle named the Fortress of Solitude? Sorry but the writers of Superman ripped off a great deal from Doc Savage. Bitch all you want about it.

@@bjbell52 Actually, Batman took a bit of inspiration from Doc Savage as well. Doc Savage had his own Secret Headquarters, filled with a lab and crime fighting equipment, his own vehicles, including an early version of a helicopter, and an automobile with hidden weapons. And Doc even had a rope hidden in his belt, and a grappling hook. He also carried gas pellets, flash grenades, and other exotic weapons, that were hidden in his outfit. Sounds a bit like Batman, doesn't it?

@@darkwolf-22 Oh you mean hidden in Doc's UTILITY BELT....Opps, I meant vest. Doc, like Bruce, was one of the richest people in the country. Doc, like Bruce, was train from childhood to be the best crime fighter, physically and mentally. Doc was eventually called Detective, just like Bruce. I somewhat agree with what you said about the secret Headquarters. Batman's headquarters were a secret. Doc had a secret lab in his Fortress of Solitude but his headquarters with all the crime fighting equipment was known to be on the 86th floor of the tallest building in New York City. Sometimes Monk might use his own lad and the vehicles were kept in a secret location - The Hidalgo Trading Company.

Samson was obviously based on Hercules. There's actually quite a lot of Greek Mythology in the Bible.

This documentary made a lot of use of public domain material, like the Stamp Day for Superman lost episode, or some of the old Superman Kellogg's commercials. You're right, they did skip around a lot of Superman's history, probably because they couldn't pay for some of the footage they would have needed to have shown. For instance, when they covered the Christopher Reeve Era of Superman, they didn't show any clips, not even a trailer, from any of the movies.

Louis Hamilton not transgender he was transspecies

@@michaellindsay2010potayto potahto

you're somewhat right, schuster/seigel more than likely read those books as KIDS.....

Soulbrother Heuck WHAAAT!!!!!sorry padawan🐕

The Christopher Reeve Superman gave up his legacy and responsibility for one night of pussy

Soulbrother Heuck For us baby boomers, George Reeves will always be Superman!!!

Soulbrother Heuck agreed Christopher Reeves bring back superman to live you feel that the man was real you fly, from now on every actor who plays will be compared with him. ❤️💕💕💕