Superman’s (AKA Clark Kent) Middle Name Is Joseph. What’s that?! There in the sky? Is it a bird? Is it a plane? No! It’s the Man of Tomorrow! Superman has gone by many names over the years, but one thing has remained the same. He has always stood for what’s best about humanity, all of our potential for terrible destructive acts, but also our choice to not act on the level of destruction we could wreak. Superman was first created in 1933 by Joe Shuster and Jerry Siegel, the writer and artist respectively. His first appearance was in Action Comics #1, and that was the beginning of a long and illustrious career for the Man of Steel. In his unmistakable blue suit with red cape, and the stylized red S on his chest, the figure of Superman has become one of the most recognizable in the world. The original Superman character was a bald telepathic villain that was focused on world domination. It was like a mix of Lex Luthor and Professor X. Superman’s powers include incredible strength, the ability to fly. X-ray vision, super speed, invulnerability to most attacks, super hearing, and super breath. He is nearly unstoppable. However, Superman does have one weakness, Kryptonite. When exposed to this radioactive element from his home planet, he becomes weak and helpless. Superman’s alter ego is mild-mannered reporter Clark Kent. He lives in the city of Metropolis and works for the newspaper the Daily Planet. Clark is in love with fellow reporter Lois Lane. He grew up in Kansas after being found as a baby and adopted by a farmer and his wife. His earth family gave Clark strong moral beliefs and ethics to help him stay on the good side and give him the courage to fight evil. His original arch enemy was a telepathic ape called Ultra-Humanite. Superman’s arch enemy is evil genius Lex Luther. Lex Luther doesn’t have any superpowers, but has a sort of super genius enabling him to come up with ways to fight Superman. He uses technology, threatening innocents, henchmen, and Kryptonite as ways of controlling or fighting Superman. Over the years Superman has had numerous enemies including the Puzzler, Neutron, his cousin Kru-El, Effron the Sorcerer, and the Galactic Golem. His original name on the planet Krypton was Kal-El. Superman was actually killed by the villain Doomsday in a 1993 comic. He was later brought back to life. Superman’s middle name is Joseph. He is around 6’4″ tall and weighs 225 pounds. His secret headquarters is called the Fortress of Solitude. He gave Batman a piece of Kryptonite to be used if Superman ever got out of control. According to Joe Shuster, Superman was inspired by heroes such as Hercules and Flash Gordon. Clark Kent’s glasses aren’t the only thing that hides his true identity. It’s been explained in the comics that Superman also changes his body language, deepens his voice and acts differently than Clark Kent. In 1945, the United States government had to cover up a Superman comic about scientists splitting the atom to create an atomic bomb as scientists at the Manhattan Project were working on the real thing. The ‘S’ logo printed on Superman costume doesn’t mean Superman, but it actually stands for ‘Hope’ and ‘Hero.’ However, when turned upside-down, it means ‘Resurrection.’ ‘Superhero’ is patented. The word ‘Superhero’ is patented by Marvel & Detective Comics (DC). They both have copyrights on this word and had a long rivalry over this word. However, they set aside their differences in 1979 and agreed upon using this word. The Royal Canadian Mint prints official coins of Superman in Canadian Currency Kryptonite was actually not in the original comics. It was invented for the 1940s radio show because the voice actor wanted some time off and they had to find a way to explain his absence. In the 90s, Nicholas Cage was paid $20 million for a Tim Burton directed Superman that never got made. Sources: Days of the Year Ducksters Tons of Facts Oh Fact Factinate.