1 00:00:10,322 --> 00:00:12,522 Speaker 1: This is an iHeart original. 2 00:00:25,002 --> 00:00:28,442 Speaker 2: Welcome back to Very Special Episodes. I'm one of your hosts, 3 00:00:28,562 --> 00:00:31,882 Speaker 2: Jason English. We have something of a bonus episode today. 4 00:00:32,002 --> 00:00:34,922 Speaker 2: I took the kids to see Superman this weekend, and 5 00:00:35,002 --> 00:00:38,122 Speaker 2: on the way home, I was peppering them with Superman lore. 6 00:00:38,842 --> 00:00:42,602 Speaker 2: Some of that Laur I picked up naturally watching reruns 7 00:00:42,602 --> 00:00:46,242 Speaker 2: of the super Friends cartoon. Most of it I learned 8 00:00:46,282 --> 00:00:48,482 Speaker 2: from our good friend Jake Rosson, who wrote a show 9 00:00:48,842 --> 00:00:52,802 Speaker 2: for us called Stealing Superman a few years ago. Stealing 10 00:00:52,842 --> 00:00:56,522 Speaker 2: Superman was made by virtually the same crew that makes 11 00:00:56,642 --> 00:00:58,922 Speaker 2: Very Special Episodes. Jake wrote it, and he's written a 12 00:00:59,002 --> 00:01:03,282 Speaker 2: number of our episodes. Dana hosted, Josh and John and 13 00:01:03,322 --> 00:01:07,802 Speaker 2: Beheed edited and sound designed. Austin factchecked in this episode. 14 00:01:08,242 --> 00:01:11,002 Speaker 2: Zaren even did some of the voice acting. The show's 15 00:01:11,002 --> 00:01:13,922 Speaker 2: about a comic book hest that takes place at Nick 16 00:01:13,962 --> 00:01:17,562 Speaker 2: Cage's y two k New Year's Eve party, and then 17 00:01:17,642 --> 00:01:20,882 Speaker 2: the decade long quest to get them back. The episode 18 00:01:21,122 --> 00:01:23,602 Speaker 2: that we're sharing today doesn't require you to know any 19 00:01:23,642 --> 00:01:28,842 Speaker 2: of that, because it's Superman, the character's origin story, and 20 00:01:28,962 --> 00:01:31,482 Speaker 2: it felt timely this week. I'll go make my kids 21 00:01:31,522 --> 00:01:33,362 Speaker 2: listen to it, and if you want to dig into 22 00:01:33,362 --> 00:01:36,202 Speaker 2: the Nick Cage heist check out Stealing Superman. 23 00:01:40,242 --> 00:01:45,282 Speaker 1: Cleveland, Ohio, nineteen thirty two. The Great Depression is in 24 00:01:45,402 --> 00:01:49,322 Speaker 1: full swing, and it's not exactly a barrel of laughs. 25 00:01:49,882 --> 00:01:54,762 Speaker 1: Economic hardship is everywhere, and people are growing desperate, desperate 26 00:01:54,882 --> 00:01:58,922 Speaker 1: enough to do anything for even a few dollars. Tucked 27 00:01:58,962 --> 00:02:03,482 Speaker 1: into Cleveland Business District is a secondhand clothing shop. It's 28 00:02:03,562 --> 00:02:07,682 Speaker 1: run by a man named Mitchell Siegel. He's a Lithuanian 29 00:02:07,922 --> 00:02:13,602 Speaker 1: Jewish immigrant born Mikhail Segalovitch. The shop does a fair business. 30 00:02:13,962 --> 00:02:18,242 Speaker 1: He's able to provide for his family, his wife, his son, Jerry, 31 00:02:18,802 --> 00:02:23,642 Speaker 1: Jerry's siblings five in all. Mitchell's shop has suits, shirts, 32 00:02:23,722 --> 00:02:29,042 Speaker 1: shoes previously worn, but in this economic climate, affording any 33 00:02:29,122 --> 00:02:32,522 Speaker 1: kind of clothing at all is a luxury. Anyone walking 34 00:02:32,562 --> 00:02:35,882 Speaker 1: through the door is greeted warmly. The two men coming 35 00:02:35,922 --> 00:02:38,962 Speaker 1: into his shop now, just before he starts closing. 36 00:02:38,682 --> 00:02:42,442 Speaker 3: Up, he welcomes, how can I help you, gentlemen? 37 00:02:45,162 --> 00:02:49,202 Speaker 1: They don't answer, huh, that's a very nice, very shop. 38 00:02:49,522 --> 00:02:50,642 Speaker 4: Would you like to try it on? 39 00:02:51,722 --> 00:02:55,802 Speaker 1: The men pull suits from the racks, stretching out the sleeves, 40 00:02:56,482 --> 00:03:00,722 Speaker 1: admiring them Mitchell has a good selection of sizes and colors. 41 00:03:01,202 --> 00:03:03,962 Speaker 1: Maybe this man wants to look good for a job interview, 42 00:03:04,402 --> 00:03:07,442 Speaker 1: maybe he's going to be married, or maybe he has 43 00:03:07,482 --> 00:03:08,402 Speaker 1: something else in mind. 44 00:03:09,402 --> 00:03:17,122 Speaker 3: Rabbit non stop, leave them. 45 00:03:16,322 --> 00:03:19,962 Speaker 1: Please, it's a robbery. One man has grabbed a suit 46 00:03:20,002 --> 00:03:22,962 Speaker 1: and is headed for the door. Mitchell begins to move 47 00:03:23,002 --> 00:03:26,242 Speaker 1: toward them, shouting there's two of them and only one 48 00:03:26,242 --> 00:03:29,402 Speaker 1: of him. They pry the suit from his grasp. Please 49 00:03:29,482 --> 00:03:32,722 Speaker 1: a suit that won't be easily replaced, that could earn 50 00:03:32,802 --> 00:03:37,082 Speaker 1: him money you won't have. The struggle is happening literally 51 00:03:37,162 --> 00:03:41,522 Speaker 1: and metaphorically all across the country. But even though Mitchell 52 00:03:41,682 --> 00:03:45,082 Speaker 1: is one of many here, he's all alone. 53 00:03:46,642 --> 00:03:49,762 Speaker 3: Please no, no. 54 00:03:51,602 --> 00:03:54,642 Speaker 1: The men flee the store, leaving Mitchell on the floor. 55 00:03:55,122 --> 00:03:57,722 Speaker 1: He can't catch his breath and his chest is heavy. 56 00:03:58,322 --> 00:04:01,682 Speaker 1: Does he think he's been shot? Soon his wife will 57 00:04:01,762 --> 00:04:04,762 Speaker 1: learn she's a widow, and his children will be told 58 00:04:04,922 --> 00:04:12,642 Speaker 1: they no longer have a father. For the next six years. Really, 59 00:04:12,682 --> 00:04:16,162 Speaker 1: for the rest of his life, his teenage son Jerry 60 00:04:16,282 --> 00:04:20,162 Speaker 1: will wish someone had been there to protect Mitchell, to 61 00:04:20,282 --> 00:04:23,442 Speaker 1: save him, someone who could shake the thieves out of 62 00:04:23,442 --> 00:04:26,482 Speaker 1: their car as they ran away in terror. Protecting an 63 00:04:26,562 --> 00:04:29,042 Speaker 1: innocent man who only wanted to go to work to 64 00:04:29,122 --> 00:04:34,682 Speaker 1: provide for his family, someone invulnerable. Our story starts with 65 00:04:34,762 --> 00:04:38,922 Speaker 1: a robbery, a copy of Superman's first appearance being taken 66 00:04:38,962 --> 00:04:43,762 Speaker 1: from the home of Nicholas Cage. But Superman's story starts 67 00:04:43,802 --> 00:04:48,122 Speaker 1: here with another robbery, and in the eyes of Jerry Siegel, 68 00:04:48,402 --> 00:04:52,282 Speaker 1: it won't be the last. Superman was taken from him 69 00:04:52,442 --> 00:04:57,722 Speaker 1: over and over again, stolen a thousand times before a 70 00:04:57,762 --> 00:05:08,642 Speaker 1: thief ever set foot on Cage's property. For iHeartRadio, this 71 00:05:08,842 --> 00:05:12,962 Speaker 1: is Stealing Superman. I'm your host, Dana Schwartz, and this 72 00:05:13,242 --> 00:05:24,602 Speaker 1: is episode six Another Planet. In nineteen thirty three, one 73 00:05:24,682 --> 00:05:28,562 Speaker 1: year after his father died, Jerry Siegel walked down from 74 00:05:28,602 --> 00:05:31,602 Speaker 1: his second floor shared bedroom at one hundred and six 75 00:05:31,762 --> 00:05:36,202 Speaker 1: twenty two Kimberly Avenue in Cleveland, headed to Glenville High 76 00:05:36,482 --> 00:05:38,882 Speaker 1: When he was finished for the day, he'd head back 77 00:05:38,882 --> 00:05:42,402 Speaker 1: home and immerse himself in science fiction. In the pulps. 78 00:05:43,122 --> 00:05:47,842 Speaker 1: Those were the digesticized fiction collections with titles like Amazing 79 00:05:47,922 --> 00:05:52,482 Speaker 1: Stories and Private Detective that let the imaginations of their 80 00:05:52,522 --> 00:05:57,082 Speaker 1: authors run wild. The full color covers held big promises, 81 00:05:57,602 --> 00:06:04,082 Speaker 1: rockets to outer space, malevolent aliens, mad scientists. Jerry loved them. 82 00:06:04,362 --> 00:06:07,402 Speaker 1: He breathed in the cheap brown paper and used to 83 00:06:07,482 --> 00:06:11,562 Speaker 1: this kindling for his own imagination. Jerry wanted to be 84 00:06:11,602 --> 00:06:15,042 Speaker 1: a writer, a sci fi writer, just like the ones 85 00:06:15,082 --> 00:06:18,322 Speaker 1: he had admired in the pulps. Everyone knew it too. 86 00:06:18,762 --> 00:06:20,802 Speaker 3: I know. My mom told me the story where she 87 00:06:21,002 --> 00:06:23,802 Speaker 3: was about seven or eight at that time, and she'd 88 00:06:23,802 --> 00:06:26,002 Speaker 3: come over with her siblings. She had a four other siblings, 89 00:06:26,482 --> 00:06:27,922 Speaker 3: and they'd come over to the house and they knock 90 00:06:27,962 --> 00:06:30,802 Speaker 3: on the door, and Jerry would be in his bedroom. 91 00:06:30,842 --> 00:06:32,482 Speaker 3: He had this kind of like an attic bedroom where 92 00:06:32,482 --> 00:06:34,642 Speaker 3: he kept this typewriter and he wrote all kinds of stories, 93 00:06:35,042 --> 00:06:37,082 Speaker 3: even as a young team. And he'd look out the 94 00:06:37,082 --> 00:06:39,122 Speaker 3: window and he'd see them coming up with the driveway, 95 00:06:40,002 --> 00:06:42,282 Speaker 3: and then he would go out to the door and 96 00:06:42,282 --> 00:06:44,162 Speaker 3: they say open the door, and he would say, wait, 97 00:06:44,162 --> 00:06:46,082 Speaker 3: I'm going to use my X ray vision to tell 98 00:06:46,122 --> 00:06:49,242 Speaker 3: you what you're wearing. And he would say, Irv, you're 99 00:06:49,282 --> 00:06:52,442 Speaker 3: wearing a white shirt, and Ruth, you're wearing a blue dress. 100 00:06:52,682 --> 00:06:54,202 Speaker 3: And of course he knew this because he looked out 101 00:06:54,162 --> 00:06:57,402 Speaker 3: of the window, but he wanted to pretend he had 102 00:06:57,522 --> 00:06:59,122 Speaker 3: x ray vision, and they didn't know what x ray 103 00:06:59,202 --> 00:07:02,042 Speaker 3: vision the Eagle was. So he hit all these ideas. 104 00:07:02,042 --> 00:07:04,522 Speaker 3: And this was even before Suberthman. You know, he was 105 00:07:04,562 --> 00:07:05,882 Speaker 3: coming with these different ideas. 106 00:07:08,682 --> 00:07:12,282 Speaker 1: That's Gary Kaplan. Gary is a cousin of Jerry's and 107 00:07:12,522 --> 00:07:15,642 Speaker 1: knows a lot about the family history, which means he 108 00:07:15,722 --> 00:07:19,002 Speaker 1: knows quite a bit about our shared cultural history. 109 00:07:19,722 --> 00:07:22,642 Speaker 3: Well. I remember in the beginning, I didn't even know 110 00:07:22,962 --> 00:07:25,882 Speaker 3: that Superman was a great by a family member. When 111 00:07:25,882 --> 00:07:28,562 Speaker 3: I was really young. I remember what was watching the 112 00:07:28,602 --> 00:07:31,962 Speaker 3: Inventures of Superman on TV with George Reeves. My mom 113 00:07:32,002 --> 00:07:33,722 Speaker 3: walked in the room. She says, you know, that's your cousin, 114 00:07:33,922 --> 00:07:35,242 Speaker 3: And at first I didn't know what she was talking 115 00:07:35,282 --> 00:07:39,042 Speaker 3: about because I knew Superman wasn't real. She says, she's 116 00:07:39,082 --> 00:07:41,922 Speaker 3: my cousin. Jerry. He created a Superman with his friend Joe, 117 00:07:41,962 --> 00:07:43,362 Speaker 3: and I was like shocked. 118 00:07:44,602 --> 00:07:48,362 Speaker 1: In life, there are different kinds of fortune, good and 119 00:07:48,562 --> 00:07:53,482 Speaker 1: bad circumstances. Losing his father was a tragedy, but not 120 00:07:53,642 --> 00:07:57,162 Speaker 1: long before, Jerry Siegel had met someone who would change 121 00:07:57,162 --> 00:08:02,562 Speaker 1: his life, a classmate named Joe Schuster. The Joe Gary mentioned. 122 00:08:03,202 --> 00:08:05,602 Speaker 1: They had actually lived near each other for a few 123 00:08:05,682 --> 00:08:06,842 Speaker 1: years but didn't know it. 124 00:08:07,762 --> 00:08:12,082 Speaker 3: Yes, Jerry lived in the Glenville neighborhood of Cleveland and 125 00:08:12,202 --> 00:08:14,522 Speaker 3: Joe lived in the Kinsman area of Cleveland, and they 126 00:08:14,522 --> 00:08:17,242 Speaker 3: didn't know each other. The neighbors were not too far apart, 127 00:08:17,282 --> 00:08:21,562 Speaker 3: but there were different neighborhoods. And Joe went to Alexander 128 00:08:21,642 --> 00:08:24,642 Speaker 3: Hamilton Junior High and they had a newspaper there, the 129 00:08:24,722 --> 00:08:28,922 Speaker 3: Junior High. And my uncle was editor of that paper 130 00:08:29,122 --> 00:08:31,842 Speaker 3: as a ninth grader, and Joe was an illustrator and 131 00:08:31,882 --> 00:08:34,202 Speaker 3: he did comics for that paper. And this was in 132 00:08:34,202 --> 00:08:35,242 Speaker 3: the early nineteen thirties. 133 00:08:36,322 --> 00:08:39,842 Speaker 1: Jerry and Joe met through another cousin of Jerry's who 134 00:08:39,922 --> 00:08:43,162 Speaker 1: knew Joe's family had moved to Cleveland from Toronto a 135 00:08:43,162 --> 00:08:46,642 Speaker 1: few years earlier, and believed that the two boys would 136 00:08:46,642 --> 00:08:50,322 Speaker 1: get together like a house on fire. That's because Joe 137 00:08:50,682 --> 00:08:54,882 Speaker 1: was also a science fiction fanatic, but he didn't want 138 00:08:54,922 --> 00:08:59,402 Speaker 1: to write for the Pulps exactly. Joe was a born artist, 139 00:08:59,842 --> 00:09:04,722 Speaker 1: an illustrator, self taught mostly from tracing other art, someone 140 00:09:04,762 --> 00:09:08,202 Speaker 1: who might feel more comfortable drawing the covers that enticed 141 00:09:08,242 --> 00:09:12,162 Speaker 1: people from the drug store shelves, or the introductory drawings 142 00:09:12,202 --> 00:09:15,402 Speaker 1: that set the stage for the story to follow. Joe 143 00:09:15,482 --> 00:09:19,522 Speaker 1: would draw on anything, even wallpaper someone had thrown away. 144 00:09:20,002 --> 00:09:22,202 Speaker 3: They had the same type of personalities, and they really 145 00:09:22,242 --> 00:09:24,482 Speaker 3: interered off. They both loved science fiction, and those days, 146 00:09:24,482 --> 00:09:27,762 Speaker 3: science fiction was relatively small compared to today, so it 147 00:09:27,802 --> 00:09:29,962 Speaker 3: was something that only a few people were interested in. 148 00:09:30,522 --> 00:09:33,762 Speaker 3: And they read the pol magazines like Amazing Stories, and 149 00:09:34,242 --> 00:09:36,082 Speaker 3: they loved that kind of stuff, and they wanted to 150 00:09:36,122 --> 00:09:39,482 Speaker 3: do something similar to that, but something really really different 151 00:09:39,482 --> 00:09:41,962 Speaker 3: and new, and they kept coming up with ideas and 152 00:09:42,322 --> 00:09:44,362 Speaker 3: Jerry would write and Joe would illustrate. 153 00:09:45,282 --> 00:09:49,522 Speaker 1: It's hard to explain how serendipitous this meeting was. Jerry 154 00:09:49,562 --> 00:09:53,122 Speaker 1: and Joe were even alphabetized in class close together. The 155 00:09:53,322 --> 00:09:56,202 Speaker 1: universe seemed to want to make certain they would meet. 156 00:09:57,922 --> 00:10:01,482 Speaker 1: Their skills complimented each other perfectly for what was at 157 00:10:01,522 --> 00:10:07,082 Speaker 1: the time a virtually unknown medium, the comic book. In 158 00:10:07,122 --> 00:10:11,962 Speaker 1: the nineteen thirties, comics usually referred to comic strips, the 159 00:10:12,202 --> 00:10:16,562 Speaker 1: sequential art published in newspapers that offered tiny snippets of 160 00:10:16,642 --> 00:10:23,002 Speaker 1: illustrated humor and adventure. Some publishers collected the strips into periodicals, 161 00:10:23,042 --> 00:10:27,602 Speaker 1: and that over time gave way to creating original long 162 00:10:27,642 --> 00:10:32,842 Speaker 1: form illustrated stories, beginning with nineteen thirty five's New Fun 163 00:10:33,002 --> 00:10:36,442 Speaker 1: Number One, which is believed to be the first all 164 00:10:36,562 --> 00:10:40,962 Speaker 1: new collection of comic book stories. Along with Jazz, it 165 00:10:41,002 --> 00:10:44,442 Speaker 1: would be one of the rare homegrown mediums of art 166 00:10:44,682 --> 00:10:45,882 Speaker 1: in the United States. 167 00:10:46,922 --> 00:10:47,522 Speaker 5: But Jerry and. 168 00:10:47,602 --> 00:10:51,002 Speaker 1: Joe weren't thinking of birthing a new medium. They were 169 00:10:51,242 --> 00:10:55,882 Speaker 1: high school kids having fun collaborating. Jerry conjured up sci 170 00:10:55,922 --> 00:11:00,242 Speaker 1: fi tales and Joe visualized them. One of their stories 171 00:11:00,322 --> 00:11:04,002 Speaker 1: was titled Reign of the Superman, which they published in 172 00:11:04,042 --> 00:11:08,362 Speaker 1: their own pulp magazine they named Science Face. It was 173 00:11:08,442 --> 00:11:13,082 Speaker 1: about a maniacal scientist trying to craft an unstoppable monster 174 00:11:13,322 --> 00:11:17,402 Speaker 1: with powers of telepathy, super eyesight, and hearing via a 175 00:11:17,522 --> 00:11:21,482 Speaker 1: special serum. But this superman was a crook, a villain. 176 00:11:22,002 --> 00:11:25,362 Speaker 1: All he wants is money and power. You can see 177 00:11:25,402 --> 00:11:28,922 Speaker 1: the wheels turning how Jerry and Joe were moving towards 178 00:11:28,962 --> 00:11:33,082 Speaker 1: something new and different, something pop culture didn't even have 179 00:11:33,162 --> 00:11:39,482 Speaker 1: a word for yet. As they moved through high school, 180 00:11:39,642 --> 00:11:42,362 Speaker 1: Jerry and Joe absorbed what was happening in the world 181 00:11:42,402 --> 00:11:45,882 Speaker 1: around them. One of the biggest local heroes in town 182 00:11:46,122 --> 00:11:51,002 Speaker 1: was Benny Friedman, a football player for Glenville High the quarterback. 183 00:11:51,562 --> 00:11:54,602 Speaker 1: He was solidly built and had a spit curl falling 184 00:11:54,682 --> 00:11:58,762 Speaker 1: down over his forehead. He wore form fitting tights, and 185 00:11:58,922 --> 00:12:02,802 Speaker 1: in the Olympics all anyone could talk about was Jesse Owens, 186 00:12:02,842 --> 00:12:05,962 Speaker 1: a Cleveland native who was believed to be the fastest 187 00:12:06,002 --> 00:12:10,842 Speaker 1: man alive. Like he had superpowers. There's a synthesis here, 188 00:12:10,962 --> 00:12:15,762 Speaker 1: a translucent glimpse into the creative minds of Jerry and Joe. 189 00:12:15,842 --> 00:12:19,242 Speaker 1: They were being inundated with information about people with physical 190 00:12:19,242 --> 00:12:22,642 Speaker 1: abilities far beyond the norm. At a time the world 191 00:12:22,762 --> 00:12:25,962 Speaker 1: was in desperate need of a figure of hope, a 192 00:12:26,002 --> 00:12:29,722 Speaker 1: figure that began to emerge from a symphony of fiction. 193 00:12:30,242 --> 00:12:33,442 Speaker 1: They had both consumed the dark. 194 00:12:33,282 --> 00:12:34,962 Speaker 3: Offleas that's Coneculent Cripodet. 195 00:12:35,162 --> 00:12:37,562 Speaker 5: Investigating La port come. 196 00:12:37,482 --> 00:12:44,322 Speaker 1: Back, they decided their superpowered antagonist worked better as a protagonist. 197 00:12:44,962 --> 00:12:48,802 Speaker 1: His origin was the stuff of science fiction. Born on 198 00:12:48,882 --> 00:12:51,922 Speaker 1: a planet called Krypton that was about to end, and 199 00:12:52,122 --> 00:12:55,482 Speaker 1: sent off to Earth to be raised by mortals. A 200 00:12:55,602 --> 00:13:00,642 Speaker 1: skin tight costume broadcast his other worldliness. A small curl 201 00:13:00,802 --> 00:13:05,042 Speaker 1: hung over his forehead. He had speed and incredible powers. 202 00:13:05,642 --> 00:13:08,482 Speaker 1: It was an homage to strongmen of the era who 203 00:13:08,522 --> 00:13:10,442 Speaker 1: were famous for feats of strength. 204 00:13:15,042 --> 00:13:17,002 Speaker 3: Joe Schuster was trying to come up with costumes, and 205 00:13:17,082 --> 00:13:19,402 Speaker 3: he said, these county fairs all over the country, and 206 00:13:19,482 --> 00:13:21,882 Speaker 3: he used to have these strong men that would come 207 00:13:21,922 --> 00:13:24,762 Speaker 3: to town. You know, these guys with the handlebar mustaches, 208 00:13:25,122 --> 00:13:27,242 Speaker 3: and they would bend steal on their bare hands and 209 00:13:27,842 --> 00:13:30,482 Speaker 3: break chains, and they'd wear these costumes that would be 210 00:13:30,642 --> 00:13:34,522 Speaker 3: they'd be like tights with swim trunks over the tights. 211 00:13:35,482 --> 00:13:38,362 Speaker 3: And okay, Joe would go to these county fairs where 212 00:13:38,362 --> 00:13:40,122 Speaker 3: they have these strong men and he would take his 213 00:13:40,402 --> 00:13:42,682 Speaker 3: art pad and he would illustrate or he would draw 214 00:13:43,282 --> 00:13:45,762 Speaker 3: these strong men. He would get ideas. Because Superman ended 215 00:13:45,842 --> 00:13:49,042 Speaker 3: up with kind of the costume with people joke it's 216 00:13:49,082 --> 00:13:51,562 Speaker 3: wearing his underpants on the outside, but really that is 217 00:13:51,642 --> 00:13:53,802 Speaker 3: what the strongmen used to have. They have these tights 218 00:13:54,122 --> 00:13:56,202 Speaker 3: and they'd have these boots, and they'd have the swim 219 00:13:56,282 --> 00:13:58,282 Speaker 3: trunks over that, and that's what he decided. 220 00:13:58,002 --> 00:13:58,322 Speaker 4: To go with. 221 00:13:59,002 --> 00:14:02,682 Speaker 1: The S on his chest stood for Superman. It also 222 00:14:02,762 --> 00:14:05,082 Speaker 1: could have stood for Seagull and Schuster. 223 00:14:07,522 --> 00:14:09,402 Speaker 3: It was a few years when they were in eleventh 224 00:14:09,482 --> 00:14:12,522 Speaker 3: grade is when they came up with the Superman idea. 225 00:14:12,882 --> 00:14:16,242 Speaker 3: It wasn't one hundred percent like it is Todayman. The 226 00:14:16,282 --> 00:14:20,002 Speaker 3: original one even half a costume originally, and they drew one. 227 00:14:20,082 --> 00:14:21,922 Speaker 3: It was a publisher actually interested because all the all 228 00:14:21,962 --> 00:14:25,122 Speaker 3: the publishers they were communicating with wouldn't publish anything they 229 00:14:25,162 --> 00:14:26,762 Speaker 3: came up with because they were high school kids, you know. 230 00:14:27,282 --> 00:14:30,202 Speaker 3: And there was a publisher who was publishing a comic 231 00:14:30,282 --> 00:14:32,962 Speaker 3: called Detective Dan, which was really like the first real 232 00:14:33,042 --> 00:14:35,202 Speaker 3: comic book, because all the other comics were really comic 233 00:14:35,282 --> 00:14:37,922 Speaker 3: strips in newspapers, you know, they were syndicated. There weren't 234 00:14:37,922 --> 00:14:40,402 Speaker 3: no comic books originally. So they saw this and I 235 00:14:40,442 --> 00:14:41,842 Speaker 3: thought this would be really cool. This is what they 236 00:14:41,882 --> 00:14:44,482 Speaker 3: would like to do. So they contacted that publisher and 237 00:14:44,522 --> 00:14:46,322 Speaker 3: they said he was interested. But then the company went 238 00:14:46,362 --> 00:14:48,242 Speaker 3: out of business a few weeks later, and they were 239 00:14:48,322 --> 00:14:51,442 Speaker 3: so frustrated the cover they put for Superman, which basically 240 00:14:51,522 --> 00:14:53,882 Speaker 3: he was as Bear tested. Joe Schuster was so upset 241 00:14:53,922 --> 00:14:57,082 Speaker 3: that he destroyed everything except Jerry Siegal managed to say 242 00:14:57,122 --> 00:14:57,562 Speaker 3: the cover. 243 00:14:57,642 --> 00:15:03,242 Speaker 1: That Jerry imagined Superman could be the next comic strip hit. 244 00:15:03,842 --> 00:15:07,362 Speaker 1: It was clear that Superman was a visual character, one 245 00:15:07,402 --> 00:15:11,202 Speaker 1: whose physical abilities needed to be seen, not just described, 246 00:15:11,802 --> 00:15:16,002 Speaker 1: but the New York comic strip. Publishers Jerry queried were indifferent. 247 00:15:16,162 --> 00:15:20,682 Speaker 1: At best. Superman was strange, a weird amalgam of sci 248 00:15:20,802 --> 00:15:23,602 Speaker 1: fi and the kind of street level justice dished out 249 00:15:23,682 --> 00:15:29,962 Speaker 1: by Dick Tracy. Superman was virtually invulnerable, but seemed content 250 00:15:30,082 --> 00:15:33,722 Speaker 1: to punch the lights out of common thieves, thieves who 251 00:15:33,842 --> 00:15:38,682 Speaker 1: might rob innocent shopkeepers. Jerry eventually tried his luck with 252 00:15:38,962 --> 00:15:42,882 Speaker 1: National Allied Publications, which had already published a few of 253 00:15:42,962 --> 00:15:46,162 Speaker 1: Jerry and Joe's stories. And just to be clear that 254 00:15:46,402 --> 00:15:51,122 Speaker 1: publisher later known as d C Comics went through several 255 00:15:51,282 --> 00:15:55,762 Speaker 1: names and was involved in acquisitions early on, will spare 256 00:15:55,842 --> 00:15:58,922 Speaker 1: you the confusion and just refer to them as DC. 257 00:16:00,162 --> 00:16:02,802 Speaker 1: The company was gearing up to begin printing a new 258 00:16:02,962 --> 00:16:08,042 Speaker 1: anthology comic book title Action Comics, and to the point 259 00:16:08,282 --> 00:16:11,562 Speaker 1: to grab a young reader's attention. They took a look 260 00:16:11,642 --> 00:16:15,242 Speaker 1: at Jerry and Joe's submission and believed Superman would be 261 00:16:15,442 --> 00:16:20,002 Speaker 1: a good fit. No one, of course, could predict what 262 00:16:20,242 --> 00:16:24,082 Speaker 1: Superman would bring, that he would be the beginning of 263 00:16:24,242 --> 00:16:25,562 Speaker 1: the superhero age. 264 00:16:27,722 --> 00:16:29,642 Speaker 3: And then they kept working on it, and they sent 265 00:16:29,722 --> 00:16:31,402 Speaker 3: it to other publishers and they came up with the 266 00:16:31,442 --> 00:16:34,642 Speaker 3: Superman costume and so forth, and many other aspects of it, 267 00:16:35,202 --> 00:16:37,442 Speaker 3: including that he was not from Earth originally he was 268 00:16:37,522 --> 00:16:39,722 Speaker 3: from Earth, and how he came to Krypton and had 269 00:16:39,802 --> 00:16:43,002 Speaker 3: a different gravity and that would allow him to be 270 00:16:43,082 --> 00:16:45,282 Speaker 3: able to leap tall buildings of the single bound, and 271 00:16:45,362 --> 00:16:47,362 Speaker 3: so forth, because they wanted to make sure they could 272 00:16:47,722 --> 00:16:50,082 Speaker 3: justify how he could do all these things and lift 273 00:16:50,082 --> 00:16:52,482 Speaker 3: heavy objects because the weight on Earth was different, although 274 00:16:52,522 --> 00:16:55,202 Speaker 3: he couldn't fly in the beginning. But they kept getting rejections. 275 00:16:55,442 --> 00:16:58,642 Speaker 3: They graduated high school in nineteen thirty four, and they 276 00:16:59,042 --> 00:17:01,282 Speaker 3: still worked at it, and they kept trying and trying 277 00:17:01,322 --> 00:17:04,562 Speaker 3: and trying, and they never gave up, and finally, in 278 00:17:04,642 --> 00:17:08,762 Speaker 3: nineteen thirty eight, publisher agreed to publish it, and that 279 00:17:08,842 --> 00:17:11,202 Speaker 3: publisher later became known as DC Comics. 280 00:17:11,682 --> 00:17:15,122 Speaker 1: Harry Donenfeld, who headed up DC, offered the two young 281 00:17:15,242 --> 00:17:20,202 Speaker 1: men the opportunity to write and illustrate their first Superman story. 282 00:17:21,522 --> 00:17:23,762 Speaker 1: Jerry and Joe, who had been trying to break into 283 00:17:23,802 --> 00:17:28,402 Speaker 1: the business of telling stories four years, eagerly accepted, and 284 00:17:28,642 --> 00:17:32,122 Speaker 1: so in April of nineteen thirty eight, the cover of 285 00:17:32,282 --> 00:17:36,642 Speaker 1: Action Comics number one depicted the debut of Superman and 286 00:17:36,802 --> 00:17:40,802 Speaker 1: the birth of the American comic book Superhero. A single 287 00:17:40,922 --> 00:17:45,082 Speaker 1: copy would come to be worth millions of dollars. Back 288 00:17:45,162 --> 00:17:49,362 Speaker 1: then it was ten cents. But that big break came 289 00:17:49,682 --> 00:17:50,322 Speaker 1: with a catch. 290 00:17:51,242 --> 00:17:53,082 Speaker 3: They said, Hey, we're going to publish it, and not 291 00:17:53,202 --> 00:17:56,082 Speaker 3: only that, we're going to give you a ten year contract, 292 00:17:56,242 --> 00:18:00,482 Speaker 3: guaranteed money, guaranteed salary to write and illustrate Superman. Well, 293 00:18:00,522 --> 00:18:03,202 Speaker 3: this was their dream come true. So they were excited 294 00:18:03,242 --> 00:18:05,682 Speaker 3: to agree to that DC and I'll call it DC 295 00:18:05,802 --> 00:18:07,682 Speaker 3: so so we know for the audience. They said, but 296 00:18:07,882 --> 00:18:10,682 Speaker 3: we read to sign you this ten year contract. We 297 00:18:10,922 --> 00:18:14,162 Speaker 3: must own the rights, not you, And they wanted to 298 00:18:14,202 --> 00:18:16,362 Speaker 3: make sure the Superman got published. So they agreed to that, 299 00:18:16,882 --> 00:18:19,162 Speaker 3: and they got a very small conversation for the writing. 300 00:18:21,242 --> 00:18:25,122 Speaker 1: Harry Donenfeld paid Jerry and Joe one hundred and thirty 301 00:18:25,202 --> 00:18:30,162 Speaker 1: dollars and in return, Jerry and Joe gave Harry everything 302 00:18:30,962 --> 00:18:38,922 Speaker 1: Superman to have and hold forever. The contract said forever, forever, forever. 303 00:18:44,082 --> 00:18:46,802 Speaker 1: How can you even measure the success of a genre 304 00:18:47,042 --> 00:18:51,122 Speaker 1: that didn't yet exist? When Action number one hit newstands, 305 00:18:51,202 --> 00:18:54,762 Speaker 1: there was no such thing as a superhero. Sure, the 306 00:18:54,882 --> 00:18:58,762 Speaker 1: Phantom had worn tights and comic strips, and Doc Savage 307 00:18:58,802 --> 00:19:04,282 Speaker 1: had unbreakable skin. But Superman was something else, and readers 308 00:19:04,362 --> 00:19:08,322 Speaker 1: knew it. DC printed two hundred thousand copies of Action 309 00:19:08,522 --> 00:19:13,162 Speaker 1: number one and watched as it sold out. Who knows 310 00:19:13,282 --> 00:19:17,362 Speaker 1: why kids like anything, but that cover of Superman hefting 311 00:19:17,402 --> 00:19:20,162 Speaker 1: a car over his head while people run away from 312 00:19:20,202 --> 00:19:24,162 Speaker 1: him was galvanizing. No one had seen anything like it. 313 00:19:24,962 --> 00:19:29,722 Speaker 5: It stood out one because it was colorful, two because 314 00:19:29,962 --> 00:19:33,482 Speaker 5: of what it had on the cover. I mean, people 315 00:19:33,562 --> 00:19:35,282 Speaker 5: knew what comics were. They well, they didn't know what 316 00:19:35,402 --> 00:19:38,002 Speaker 5: comic books were. You now, they had started to show up. 317 00:19:38,482 --> 00:19:41,402 Speaker 5: They knew what comic strips were, so they recognized, you know, 318 00:19:41,522 --> 00:19:45,082 Speaker 5: that's what this was. But you have this strange picture 319 00:19:45,202 --> 00:19:47,762 Speaker 5: of this guy in this suit, and the suit was 320 00:19:47,842 --> 00:19:51,762 Speaker 5: like nothing else before, and he's lifting this car and 321 00:19:51,882 --> 00:19:54,202 Speaker 5: kind of smashing it and it's a brand new car. 322 00:19:55,202 --> 00:19:59,162 Speaker 1: That's Brad Rica. Brad wrote the definitive dual biography of 323 00:19:59,282 --> 00:20:02,882 Speaker 1: Jerry and Joe. It's called Superboys and it was published 324 00:20:02,962 --> 00:20:03,842 Speaker 1: in twenty thirteen. 325 00:20:04,522 --> 00:20:06,882 Speaker 5: So yeah, I teached once, so I teach a class 326 00:20:07,042 --> 00:20:09,322 Speaker 5: and comics and we always analyze this cover you know, 327 00:20:09,442 --> 00:20:12,322 Speaker 5: what is it about this cover that got kids to 328 00:20:12,442 --> 00:20:15,602 Speaker 5: buy it? Because that's the oldest anecdote in Superman lore 329 00:20:15,762 --> 00:20:18,442 Speaker 5: is that, you know, kids bought this thing and that's 330 00:20:18,482 --> 00:20:21,922 Speaker 5: why comics and Superman took off. And you look at 331 00:20:21,962 --> 00:20:24,602 Speaker 5: that cover and he doesn't even look like a hero, 332 00:20:24,962 --> 00:20:28,122 Speaker 5: and he looks like the villain because there's somebody's brand 333 00:20:28,282 --> 00:20:31,042 Speaker 5: new car and he's destroying it. And who has a 334 00:20:31,122 --> 00:20:36,002 Speaker 5: brand new car in the depression? Nobody but somebody in class. 335 00:20:36,082 --> 00:20:38,442 Speaker 5: And I tried to remember who said it, so I 336 00:20:38,522 --> 00:20:41,282 Speaker 5: feel bad about it, but I'll always acknowledge that somebody 337 00:20:41,402 --> 00:20:43,842 Speaker 5: said it and it wasn't me. They said, no, that's 338 00:20:43,882 --> 00:20:46,682 Speaker 5: not why kids bought this book. And if you look 339 00:20:46,722 --> 00:20:49,042 Speaker 5: at the picture of the cover of Action Comics Want, 340 00:20:49,082 --> 00:20:51,202 Speaker 5: if you know kind of picture in your head, there's 341 00:20:51,242 --> 00:20:54,522 Speaker 5: Superman lifting the car and there's this guy on the 342 00:20:54,722 --> 00:20:58,682 Speaker 5: pottom left who's with his both his hands he kind 343 00:20:58,722 --> 00:21:00,882 Speaker 5: of looks like the scream and both his hands on 344 00:21:01,002 --> 00:21:04,482 Speaker 5: his face and he's running kind of out of the 345 00:21:04,642 --> 00:21:08,282 Speaker 5: cover with a scream on his mouth. Somebody said, that's 346 00:21:08,362 --> 00:21:10,842 Speaker 5: why kids bought it, and the rest of the coustle 347 00:21:10,882 --> 00:21:12,242 Speaker 5: was like, why, what are you talking about they bought 348 00:21:12,242 --> 00:21:13,762 Speaker 5: it because of Superman s he's super cool. 349 00:21:14,402 --> 00:21:18,402 Speaker 1: No matter the reason, Action Comics was a hit, Superman 350 00:21:18,522 --> 00:21:23,242 Speaker 1: became a regular feature, eclipsing any other character within its pages. 351 00:21:23,762 --> 00:21:26,962 Speaker 1: In nineteen thirty nine, he got his own title, and 352 00:21:27,162 --> 00:21:31,202 Speaker 1: he had come from all places, Cleveland, where Brad was from. 353 00:21:32,842 --> 00:21:35,242 Speaker 5: When I got older and I realized, well, they did 354 00:21:35,642 --> 00:21:38,802 Speaker 5: come from Cleveland and they did create Superman here. The 355 00:21:39,202 --> 00:21:42,042 Speaker 5: question that kept nagging at me was, well, how'd they 356 00:21:42,162 --> 00:21:46,202 Speaker 5: do it? Because to me, that's like the Superman, the 357 00:21:46,402 --> 00:21:52,442 Speaker 5: first superhero, really the first superhero. It's the Philosopher's stone, right, 358 00:21:52,522 --> 00:21:55,122 Speaker 5: you know, how did they figure out to put all 359 00:21:55,202 --> 00:21:58,642 Speaker 5: these different things together and have this magic to create 360 00:21:58,962 --> 00:22:01,962 Speaker 5: somebody who wears his underwear on the outside and that 361 00:22:02,082 --> 00:22:04,882 Speaker 5: we all still love, you know, almost eighty years later. 362 00:22:05,162 --> 00:22:07,842 Speaker 5: So to me then it became more of a kind 363 00:22:07,842 --> 00:22:10,642 Speaker 5: of a detective story that I really wanted to know 364 00:22:10,962 --> 00:22:11,682 Speaker 5: how they did it. 365 00:22:12,282 --> 00:22:15,202 Speaker 1: It was Brad who debunked one of the great Superman 366 00:22:15,362 --> 00:22:19,042 Speaker 1: creation myths that Jerry's father had been shot during that 367 00:22:19,242 --> 00:22:20,482 Speaker 1: clothing store robbery. 368 00:22:21,682 --> 00:22:25,242 Speaker 5: What I found is that, in fact, he did obviously 369 00:22:25,402 --> 00:22:27,482 Speaker 5: die that night, but what happened is he had a 370 00:22:27,562 --> 00:22:30,482 Speaker 5: heart attack. Is he was in his clothing store and 371 00:22:30,922 --> 00:22:32,642 Speaker 5: some men came in and they were going to steal 372 00:22:32,682 --> 00:22:35,962 Speaker 5: a suit, and he went to stop them and he 373 00:22:36,362 --> 00:22:39,442 Speaker 5: dropped over of heart failure. And it's hard to say 374 00:22:39,482 --> 00:22:42,242 Speaker 5: whether he was scared or he just you know, didn't 375 00:22:42,242 --> 00:22:44,682 Speaker 5: know what to do. He over exerted himself, but that's 376 00:22:44,722 --> 00:22:47,722 Speaker 5: how he died. And then a year later, like almost 377 00:22:47,802 --> 00:22:50,562 Speaker 5: to the day, is when Jerry comes up with the 378 00:22:50,682 --> 00:22:54,482 Speaker 5: idea for Superman. And I started to see once you 379 00:22:54,642 --> 00:22:57,762 Speaker 5: kind of see that all the early comics, there's all 380 00:22:57,802 --> 00:23:01,762 Speaker 5: these panels where criminals dropped dead of a heart attack 381 00:23:01,962 --> 00:23:04,762 Speaker 5: when they see Superman. A Superman goes, well, they're weak 382 00:23:04,882 --> 00:23:08,002 Speaker 5: and what else could I do. It's also Clark Kent, 383 00:23:08,162 --> 00:23:12,202 Speaker 5: who's in one hand. Is this really meek, mild mannered 384 00:23:12,402 --> 00:23:17,922 Speaker 5: American journalist who feints when there's action nearby turns into Superman? 385 00:23:18,042 --> 00:23:20,202 Speaker 5: And this made me think, this is why Jerry was 386 00:23:20,242 --> 00:23:22,882 Speaker 5: so invested in it, because he put the tragedy of 387 00:23:22,962 --> 00:23:26,482 Speaker 5: his father's death into this character who is not the 388 00:23:26,602 --> 00:23:30,762 Speaker 5: victim of crime but fights crime as this immortal superhero 389 00:23:31,082 --> 00:23:33,882 Speaker 5: forever in the comics and beyond. And it made me 390 00:23:34,002 --> 00:23:37,242 Speaker 5: see Superman as not just this, at least their version, 391 00:23:37,402 --> 00:23:41,482 Speaker 5: not just this commercial thing, colorful thing to sell to 392 00:23:41,642 --> 00:23:45,162 Speaker 5: kids who would go nuts. But really this, for lack 393 00:23:45,242 --> 00:23:47,522 Speaker 5: of a better word, but maybe this is the word. 394 00:23:47,562 --> 00:23:50,562 Speaker 1: As a work of art and his mythology only grew. 395 00:23:51,202 --> 00:23:54,842 Speaker 1: A new radio show followed, which introduced Jimmy Olsen, as 396 00:23:54,882 --> 00:23:59,322 Speaker 1: well as Kryptonite, which weakened Superman. A series of theatrical 397 00:23:59,442 --> 00:24:03,682 Speaker 1: cartoons by animation legend Max Fleischer were produced, and we're 398 00:24:03,802 --> 00:24:06,722 Speaker 1: so exquisite that they don't have equals to this day. 399 00:24:07,402 --> 00:24:11,522 Speaker 1: Superman toys began filling up shelves, model kits and statues 400 00:24:11,602 --> 00:24:14,802 Speaker 1: and decoda rings. Kids were crazy for him and the 401 00:24:14,922 --> 00:24:19,762 Speaker 1: other heroes that followed, Batman, Captain America, Wonder Woman, a 402 00:24:19,922 --> 00:24:23,962 Speaker 1: damn had burst, and out came heroes with grandiose origin 403 00:24:24,082 --> 00:24:28,562 Speaker 1: stories and spandex uniforms, but none were as visible or 404 00:24:28,682 --> 00:24:32,202 Speaker 1: as powerful as what Jerry and Joe had dreamt up. 405 00:24:33,562 --> 00:24:36,002 Speaker 1: For a few years, the two got steady work from 406 00:24:36,122 --> 00:24:39,602 Speaker 1: d C Comics, so much work that the two hired 407 00:24:39,762 --> 00:24:44,282 Speaker 1: artists to help fulfill the need for Superman stories. Superman 408 00:24:44,402 --> 00:24:48,282 Speaker 1: even got the syndicated newspaper comic strip deal Jerry longed for, 409 00:24:49,242 --> 00:24:52,802 Speaker 1: but when they'd asked for more fair compensation, d C 410 00:24:53,082 --> 00:24:56,922 Speaker 1: editors would remind them that Superman belonged to d C 411 00:24:57,922 --> 00:25:00,282 Speaker 1: and if they were sore about it, well, DC could 412 00:25:00,322 --> 00:25:04,282 Speaker 1: find someone else to write and draw him. That scared 413 00:25:04,362 --> 00:25:09,202 Speaker 1: the two, Superman was theirs, if not legally, then creatively 414 00:25:09,362 --> 00:25:14,322 Speaker 1: and emotionally. So they kept working, watching as DC counted 415 00:25:14,362 --> 00:25:19,882 Speaker 1: their money. In nineteen forty, a lone subsidiary company, Superman Inc. 416 00:25:20,282 --> 00:25:25,402 Speaker 1: Made one point five million dollars. Jerry and Joe didn't. 417 00:25:26,682 --> 00:25:30,922 Speaker 5: In my opinion, they knew what they were doing, that 418 00:25:31,082 --> 00:25:34,162 Speaker 5: it wasn't just buying another comics feature. And part of 419 00:25:34,202 --> 00:25:36,762 Speaker 5: this is that Harry Donald Feld had just lost out 420 00:25:36,802 --> 00:25:40,482 Speaker 5: a contract on the Lone Ranger, and the Lone Ranger 421 00:25:40,642 --> 00:25:44,202 Speaker 5: was hugely popular. Everyone was jealous of the Lone Ranger 422 00:25:44,242 --> 00:25:47,762 Speaker 5: because it all came out of one person that every time, 423 00:25:47,922 --> 00:25:49,922 Speaker 5: you know, you would license the Lone Ranger, but you 424 00:25:49,962 --> 00:25:52,202 Speaker 5: would hear it on the radio, you'd watch the cereals, 425 00:25:52,242 --> 00:25:54,922 Speaker 5: you'd read the pulps and the whatever you had to 426 00:25:55,002 --> 00:25:58,122 Speaker 5: pay this guy, just like Disney with Mickey Mouse. And 427 00:25:58,202 --> 00:26:00,802 Speaker 5: I think donald Feld really liked that because when he 428 00:26:01,122 --> 00:26:05,122 Speaker 5: finally lost his contract he was printing Lone Ranger magazines. 429 00:26:05,202 --> 00:26:07,562 Speaker 5: I think he kind of was looking for a character 430 00:26:07,682 --> 00:26:09,602 Speaker 5: that he could do that with, And again that's just 431 00:26:09,762 --> 00:26:12,282 Speaker 5: a theory of my part. But also I think the 432 00:26:12,362 --> 00:26:16,562 Speaker 5: fact that once they got Superman, almost immediately they're turning 433 00:26:16,682 --> 00:26:21,362 Speaker 5: him into what we today would call a transmedia empire. 434 00:26:21,442 --> 00:26:24,842 Speaker 5: They're working on the radio show is what transforms the 435 00:26:25,202 --> 00:26:28,682 Speaker 5: audience for that, and then that just explodes. But I 436 00:26:28,802 --> 00:26:30,882 Speaker 5: think so the other side of it, like you said, 437 00:26:30,922 --> 00:26:33,202 Speaker 5: they work on Superman for ten years, and they make 438 00:26:33,242 --> 00:26:35,522 Speaker 5: a lot of money, and they ask for raises, they 439 00:26:35,562 --> 00:26:38,482 Speaker 5: beg for raises, they get raises. It's a long and 440 00:26:38,602 --> 00:26:42,002 Speaker 5: tumultuous relationship. But they're very well paid. You know. They 441 00:26:42,082 --> 00:26:44,402 Speaker 5: moved to new houses and they're kind of what I 442 00:26:44,562 --> 00:26:49,122 Speaker 5: call Cleveland famous around town and even bigger than that too. 443 00:26:50,242 --> 00:27:02,442 Speaker 1: And then Jerry went off to war. Joe couldn't serve 444 00:27:02,562 --> 00:27:07,002 Speaker 1: because of his poor eyesight, and Superman couldn't either. With 445 00:27:07,122 --> 00:27:09,882 Speaker 1: his powers, it would be easy to imagine him pummeling 446 00:27:10,002 --> 00:27:13,682 Speaker 1: the Axis, but that would minimize the sacrifices being made 447 00:27:13,762 --> 00:27:17,602 Speaker 1: by real heroes. So when Clark Kent tries to enlist 448 00:27:18,002 --> 00:27:21,522 Speaker 1: he fails an eye exam. His X ray vision means 449 00:27:21,562 --> 00:27:24,682 Speaker 1: he accidentally reads the eye chart in the next room. 450 00:27:25,802 --> 00:27:30,242 Speaker 1: While stationed in Hawaii, Jerry contributed to Stars and Stripes, 451 00:27:30,602 --> 00:27:35,482 Speaker 1: a periodical distributed to soldiers. His writing experience largely kept 452 00:27:35,562 --> 00:27:37,962 Speaker 1: him out of action, though he was away from his 453 00:27:38,082 --> 00:27:42,162 Speaker 1: own family. He had married a woman named Joanne, whom 454 00:27:42,282 --> 00:27:45,402 Speaker 1: Joe had used as the physical model for Lois Lane. 455 00:27:46,362 --> 00:27:49,642 Speaker 1: The war was being unkind to Superman in another kind 456 00:27:49,722 --> 00:27:54,082 Speaker 1: of way, thanks to paper shortages. Paper drives were common, 457 00:27:54,282 --> 00:27:58,882 Speaker 1: with households donating their newspapers, magazines, and comics so they 458 00:27:58,922 --> 00:28:02,322 Speaker 1: could be pulped for the war effort. There's no telling 459 00:28:02,482 --> 00:28:06,722 Speaker 1: how many thousands, or even millions of comics were destroyed 460 00:28:06,722 --> 00:28:11,962 Speaker 1: the way, for good cause, obviously, but turned into confetti nonetheless, 461 00:28:12,682 --> 00:28:15,802 Speaker 1: and contributing to a scarcity of these comics that are 462 00:28:15,882 --> 00:28:21,122 Speaker 1: so valued today. The war ended one conflict, but when 463 00:28:21,242 --> 00:28:25,002 Speaker 1: Jerry returned home he was still fighting another, the one 464 00:28:25,082 --> 00:28:29,962 Speaker 1: with d C. He and Joe felt they'd been strung along, 465 00:28:30,202 --> 00:28:33,722 Speaker 1: placated with work and good salaries, while d C had 466 00:28:33,842 --> 00:28:38,482 Speaker 1: profited handsomely from Superman. They suit the company for five 467 00:28:38,642 --> 00:28:42,802 Speaker 1: million dollars based in part on the introduction of Superboy, 468 00:28:43,242 --> 00:28:46,242 Speaker 1: a juvenile version of the character the two had created 469 00:28:46,642 --> 00:28:50,802 Speaker 1: and DC had published without obtaining the copyright to the character. 470 00:28:51,562 --> 00:28:55,762 Speaker 1: The two ultimately settled for one hundred thousand dollars sinsing 471 00:28:56,002 --> 00:29:00,122 Speaker 1: DC had the resources for a long legal fight. As 472 00:29:00,162 --> 00:29:03,682 Speaker 1: a result, Jerry and Joe were persona non grata at 473 00:29:03,802 --> 00:29:08,402 Speaker 1: d C, and that infuriated both men, but Jerry especially, 474 00:29:09,082 --> 00:29:12,362 Speaker 1: and he tended to act on his emotions, which led 475 00:29:12,402 --> 00:29:15,082 Speaker 1: to another story Brad was able to debunk. 476 00:29:18,562 --> 00:29:20,442 Speaker 5: And there were other stories too. There was one that 477 00:29:20,562 --> 00:29:22,842 Speaker 5: took me forever to track down that he put on 478 00:29:22,962 --> 00:29:25,002 Speaker 5: a Superman cape and was going to jump off a 479 00:29:25,082 --> 00:29:28,082 Speaker 5: building in Midtown because he was so upset with the 480 00:29:28,162 --> 00:29:30,162 Speaker 5: way he'd been treated. And I found out that that 481 00:29:30,322 --> 00:29:33,122 Speaker 5: story was wrong, even though you know, there are tons 482 00:29:33,162 --> 00:29:36,762 Speaker 5: of comics professionals to this day who will swear to 483 00:29:36,922 --> 00:29:39,162 Speaker 5: its accuracy. Well, that was Jerry Siegel, it wasn't. It 484 00:29:39,202 --> 00:29:41,842 Speaker 5: was some other guy just doing it for some completely 485 00:29:41,922 --> 00:29:45,362 Speaker 5: other reason. So there's a lot of stories like that. 486 00:29:45,602 --> 00:29:48,522 Speaker 5: And as his wife once called into DC and said, 487 00:29:48,602 --> 00:29:52,522 Speaker 5: we're out of money, we have a daughter, a young daughter. 488 00:29:52,682 --> 00:29:55,522 Speaker 5: Please give him some work and there's just there's a 489 00:29:55,642 --> 00:29:58,162 Speaker 5: lot of that. I think you said it's kind of 490 00:29:58,362 --> 00:30:02,042 Speaker 5: extra legal, but kind of going on in the relationship 491 00:30:02,122 --> 00:30:03,482 Speaker 5: between him and DC. 492 00:30:04,122 --> 00:30:08,922 Speaker 1: And then things got very personal when DC sold the 493 00:30:09,002 --> 00:30:13,042 Speaker 1: television rights to Superman in nineteen fifty. Jerry and Joe 494 00:30:13,202 --> 00:30:17,682 Speaker 1: felt slighted now the character in their view, their character 495 00:30:18,282 --> 00:30:22,042 Speaker 1: was being beamed into millions of households and conquering another 496 00:30:22,202 --> 00:30:25,202 Speaker 1: new medium, and they didn't get a penny for it. 497 00:30:26,082 --> 00:30:30,402 Speaker 1: Having spent the settlement money, Jerry retaliated in whatever way 498 00:30:30,482 --> 00:30:34,042 Speaker 1: he could. He wrote a letter to the FBI admonishing 499 00:30:34,082 --> 00:30:38,122 Speaker 1: the agency to investigate d C, alleging their employees at 500 00:30:38,202 --> 00:30:42,362 Speaker 1: criminal and communist pasts. When the Superman show made it 501 00:30:42,442 --> 00:30:45,642 Speaker 1: to air, Jerry proclaimed he was going on a hunger 502 00:30:45,722 --> 00:30:49,282 Speaker 1: strike to protest what he said was unfair treatment by 503 00:30:49,322 --> 00:30:52,922 Speaker 1: the company, and they began sending him a little bit 504 00:30:53,002 --> 00:30:56,522 Speaker 1: of money, if only to avoid the negative publicity. But 505 00:30:56,722 --> 00:30:59,922 Speaker 1: hadn't Jerry and Joe sold their rights free and clear, 506 00:31:00,082 --> 00:31:04,482 Speaker 1: and of their own volition. They did, but in their eyes, 507 00:31:04,642 --> 00:31:08,362 Speaker 1: what was legal and what was ethical were worlds apart. 508 00:31:09,162 --> 00:31:13,202 Speaker 1: Without income from d C, both men were struggling, Joe 509 00:31:13,362 --> 00:31:16,802 Speaker 1: more so his eyesight, which had long been an issue 510 00:31:16,842 --> 00:31:22,202 Speaker 1: for him, kept getting worse. At one point, he took 511 00:31:22,282 --> 00:31:26,042 Speaker 1: on work as an artist for the underground adult illustration scene. 512 00:31:26,642 --> 00:31:29,642 Speaker 1: These were drawings of a lurid nature that appealed to 513 00:31:29,842 --> 00:31:34,402 Speaker 1: fetish enthusiasts, with men and women bound up and whipped. 514 00:31:36,722 --> 00:31:40,122 Speaker 1: In Joe's drawings of these scenarios, the men looked very 515 00:31:40,242 --> 00:31:43,922 Speaker 1: much like Clark Kent, and the women looked remarkably like 516 00:31:44,122 --> 00:31:47,602 Speaker 1: Lois Lane. It was as though Joe was driven to 517 00:31:47,762 --> 00:31:51,922 Speaker 1: depict them as being victimized, perhaps in the way he 518 00:31:52,042 --> 00:31:55,842 Speaker 1: felt they were being tormented by d C, the way 519 00:31:55,962 --> 00:32:00,162 Speaker 1: he and Jerry were being mistreated. Joe, of course left 520 00:32:00,242 --> 00:32:04,802 Speaker 1: the drawings unsigned, and they weren't identified as his until 521 00:32:04,962 --> 00:32:09,602 Speaker 1: decades later. In the late nineteen fifties, Jerry went back 522 00:32:09,682 --> 00:32:12,802 Speaker 1: to d C as a writer, invited into the fold 523 00:32:12,922 --> 00:32:16,162 Speaker 1: by new editors to resume being a co author of 524 00:32:16,282 --> 00:32:20,962 Speaker 1: Superman's adventures. He set about writing the best stories he could, 525 00:32:21,442 --> 00:32:24,722 Speaker 1: but the arrangement didn't last long, and by the nineteen 526 00:32:24,842 --> 00:32:28,482 Speaker 1: sixties Jerry was once more at odds with the company. 527 00:32:29,082 --> 00:32:33,162 Speaker 1: He pursued another lawsuit to try and reclaim Superman's copyright, 528 00:32:33,722 --> 00:32:37,682 Speaker 1: though the odds weren't good. He and Joe had relinquished 529 00:32:37,722 --> 00:32:42,202 Speaker 1: the rights not once, but twice. A court sided with 530 00:32:42,442 --> 00:32:48,762 Speaker 1: d C. If the relationship was fractured, it suffered permanent injury. 531 00:32:49,202 --> 00:32:52,002 Speaker 1: When d C entered into an agreement for a major 532 00:32:52,162 --> 00:32:56,482 Speaker 1: motion picture to be made about the character, Warner Brothers 533 00:32:56,562 --> 00:33:00,962 Speaker 1: would release Superman, the movie starring Christopher Reeve as the 534 00:33:01,042 --> 00:33:04,922 Speaker 1: Man of Seal in nineteen seventy five. Jerry wrote an 535 00:33:05,042 --> 00:33:09,242 Speaker 1: open letter in which he litterally cursed the production. So 536 00:33:09,482 --> 00:33:12,562 Speaker 1: I WRT was He at the idea of DC profiting 537 00:33:12,642 --> 00:33:15,562 Speaker 1: from the character while he and Joe struggled to make 538 00:33:15,722 --> 00:33:20,162 Speaker 1: ends meet. He hoped He wrote that the movie quote 539 00:33:20,522 --> 00:33:21,482 Speaker 1: super bombs. 540 00:33:25,162 --> 00:33:27,882 Speaker 5: Yeah, And it was that movie because there's stories of 541 00:33:28,042 --> 00:33:31,162 Speaker 5: he passed once on New York Street and this is 542 00:33:31,282 --> 00:33:34,602 Speaker 5: years before he passed his wife and him past George Reeds, 543 00:33:34,602 --> 00:33:37,602 Speaker 5: and he said, Jerry froze and he like just couldn't 544 00:33:37,602 --> 00:33:40,242 Speaker 5: handle it. And Joe would stand outside there was like 545 00:33:40,362 --> 00:33:44,882 Speaker 5: the Superman musical on Broadway, and he, you know, would 546 00:33:44,882 --> 00:33:47,682 Speaker 5: see the famous people coming in. He just froze. He 547 00:33:47,762 --> 00:33:49,402 Speaker 5: just couldn't deal with it. But then it was that 548 00:33:49,602 --> 00:33:53,402 Speaker 5: movie because they announced in the magazines, there's gonna be 549 00:33:53,442 --> 00:33:57,282 Speaker 5: this big Superman movie, but it was Brando is going 550 00:33:57,362 --> 00:33:58,722 Speaker 5: to be in it, and he was going to be 551 00:33:58,842 --> 00:34:03,242 Speaker 5: paid this obscene amount of money to be Jorell. And 552 00:34:03,442 --> 00:34:05,562 Speaker 5: that's what put Jerry over the edge. 553 00:34:06,922 --> 00:34:10,722 Speaker 1: Carlin Brando was to play Superman's father, joor L. With 554 00:34:10,922 --> 00:34:13,802 Speaker 1: Brando being the most respected living actor at the time, 555 00:34:14,002 --> 00:34:18,842 Speaker 1: he was paid handsomely for relatively little work, almost four 556 00:34:19,042 --> 00:34:22,482 Speaker 1: million dollars, a number that grew when he received part 557 00:34:22,562 --> 00:34:26,162 Speaker 1: of the box office gross, more than Jerry and Joe 558 00:34:26,282 --> 00:34:30,882 Speaker 1: could ever dream of seeing from having created Superman. Money 559 00:34:30,922 --> 00:34:34,482 Speaker 1: that went to an actor who seemed slightly disinterested in 560 00:34:34,602 --> 00:34:38,122 Speaker 1: the role and suggested to director Richard Donner he could 561 00:34:38,122 --> 00:34:41,762 Speaker 1: play the character as a suitcase or a bagel. He'd 562 00:34:41,882 --> 00:34:45,722 Speaker 1: just do the voice. The publicity was not perhaps what 563 00:34:46,042 --> 00:34:50,122 Speaker 1: d C and Warner wanted, so they agreed finally that 564 00:34:50,322 --> 00:34:54,442 Speaker 1: Jerry and Joe were due at least modest compensation beyond 565 00:34:54,522 --> 00:34:58,082 Speaker 1: their initial one hundred and thirty dollars payment and work 566 00:34:58,202 --> 00:35:02,722 Speaker 1: for higher fees. After three decades of fighting, d C 567 00:35:03,002 --> 00:35:06,882 Speaker 1: began paying them each an annual pension of thirty thousand dollars, 568 00:35:07,322 --> 00:35:12,162 Speaker 1: with healthcare of course that's something that's good, but it 569 00:35:12,242 --> 00:35:15,962 Speaker 1: still didn't seem just They created one of the most 570 00:35:16,122 --> 00:35:21,122 Speaker 1: indelible characters in modern culture. But there was another concession, 571 00:35:21,602 --> 00:35:24,762 Speaker 1: one that was probably as important to Jerry and Joe. 572 00:35:25,362 --> 00:35:29,162 Speaker 1: From that point on, whenever Superman appeared in print or 573 00:35:29,322 --> 00:35:33,762 Speaker 1: on screen, a credit would appear created by Jerry Siegel 574 00:35:34,002 --> 00:35:40,962 Speaker 1: and Joe Schuster. If you walk around Cleveland today, you'll 575 00:35:41,002 --> 00:35:45,642 Speaker 1: see pages from Action Comics number one, priceless pages stuck 576 00:35:45,802 --> 00:35:48,882 Speaker 1: on an outdoor fence, and in a testament to the 577 00:35:49,042 --> 00:35:52,842 Speaker 1: respect do Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster, no one tries 578 00:35:52,922 --> 00:35:56,682 Speaker 1: to pry them off or deface them. The pages are 579 00:35:56,922 --> 00:36:01,682 Speaker 1: oversized and fasimiles, not the real thing, but they're there 580 00:36:01,882 --> 00:36:05,682 Speaker 1: in tribute to what these two Clevelanders, really just two 581 00:36:05,802 --> 00:36:10,802 Speaker 1: teenage boys contributed to the world, an idealized version of 582 00:36:10,882 --> 00:36:15,682 Speaker 1: a hero beyond the pettiness of human behavior, strong enough 583 00:36:15,802 --> 00:36:19,682 Speaker 1: to defend the week. For Jerry and Joe, defending them 584 00:36:19,802 --> 00:36:24,602 Speaker 1: and honoring their memory meant creating the Siegel and Shuster Society, 585 00:36:25,122 --> 00:36:29,242 Speaker 1: a nonprofit devoted to keeping their roles as pioneers alive 586 00:36:29,442 --> 00:36:33,602 Speaker 1: in the eyes of the public. Here's Gary Kaplan in. 587 00:36:33,642 --> 00:36:37,842 Speaker 3: Two thousand and seven, journalists for the Cleveland Plain Dealer 588 00:36:38,002 --> 00:36:40,602 Speaker 3: his name is Mike Sanjakomo, wrote a story. It was 589 00:36:40,642 --> 00:36:44,042 Speaker 3: a full page story asking why doesn't the city of 590 00:36:44,082 --> 00:36:48,402 Speaker 3: Cleveland celebrate that Superman was created in Cleveland. This sort 591 00:36:48,442 --> 00:36:50,562 Speaker 3: brought a lot of attention, and so a group of 592 00:36:50,642 --> 00:36:53,882 Speaker 3: people got together, some businessmen, some college professors, and they 593 00:36:54,002 --> 00:36:56,602 Speaker 3: formed the Seagull and schusterra Society in two thousand and seven. 594 00:36:56,922 --> 00:36:58,242 Speaker 3: My uncle was on the board at that time. 595 00:36:58,322 --> 00:36:58,682 Speaker 1: I was not. 596 00:36:59,282 --> 00:37:01,442 Speaker 3: And in two thousand and nine, two years later, they 597 00:37:01,522 --> 00:37:04,322 Speaker 3: renovated the home of Jerry Siegel, which was in pretty 598 00:37:04,362 --> 00:37:06,562 Speaker 3: poor shape. He had a typewriter in his addic bedroom 599 00:37:06,602 --> 00:37:09,282 Speaker 3: where were he wrote so many of the stories, and 600 00:37:09,482 --> 00:37:12,162 Speaker 3: so they wanted to preserve the home, and with the 601 00:37:12,202 --> 00:37:16,162 Speaker 3: help of author Brad Meltzer, money was raised online and 602 00:37:16,242 --> 00:37:18,042 Speaker 3: they raised over one hundred thousand dollars. They put one 603 00:37:18,082 --> 00:37:20,202 Speaker 3: hundred thousand dollars the renovations in the home, and they 604 00:37:20,402 --> 00:37:22,202 Speaker 3: had a ribon cutting ceremony in two thousand and nine. 605 00:37:22,202 --> 00:37:25,322 Speaker 3: It was a wonderful event. In addition to that, Joe Schuster, 606 00:37:25,482 --> 00:37:28,522 Speaker 3: who illustrated it. His home was nine blocks away and 607 00:37:28,602 --> 00:37:31,202 Speaker 3: a home had already been torn down years ago, so 608 00:37:31,442 --> 00:37:32,842 Speaker 3: it was a new home put there. But they put 609 00:37:32,922 --> 00:37:36,282 Speaker 3: up a commemorative events with the panels from Action Comics 610 00:37:36,362 --> 00:37:38,482 Speaker 3: number one going all the way around the fence, which 611 00:37:38,562 --> 00:37:40,602 Speaker 3: is really really cool, and so people drive by and 612 00:37:40,642 --> 00:37:43,762 Speaker 3: they can see all these panels of the comic Action 613 00:37:43,882 --> 00:37:47,042 Speaker 3: Comics number one. And then in twenty twelve, a Seagull 614 00:37:47,042 --> 00:37:50,282 Speaker 3: and Shuster Society worked with Cleveland Hopkins Airport to put 615 00:37:50,362 --> 00:37:54,722 Speaker 3: in a permanent Superman exhibit which contains a statue Superman 616 00:37:54,842 --> 00:37:58,002 Speaker 3: along with assigned that says welcome to Cleveland, where the 617 00:37:58,122 --> 00:37:59,922 Speaker 3: legend began, and everyone can see that as they go 618 00:38:00,042 --> 00:38:03,642 Speaker 3: to the baggage department at Cleveland Hopkins Airport. Also our society. 619 00:38:03,682 --> 00:38:06,282 Speaker 3: In twenty thirteen, we worked with the State of Ohio 620 00:38:06,442 --> 00:38:09,362 Speaker 3: the legislate. We put together a license plate with a 621 00:38:09,402 --> 00:38:13,322 Speaker 3: Superman s Sagna the logo with the words truth, Justice 622 00:38:13,322 --> 00:38:16,282 Speaker 3: in American way, So anybody in Ohio can get one 623 00:38:16,282 --> 00:38:18,042 Speaker 3: of those license plates. And at the leave of one 624 00:38:18,122 --> 00:38:21,362 Speaker 3: hundred thousand Ohioans have that license plate, including myself. So 625 00:38:21,482 --> 00:38:22,802 Speaker 3: those are some of the things that we have done, 626 00:38:22,922 --> 00:38:24,522 Speaker 3: and we're working out some other things right now too. 627 00:38:25,282 --> 00:38:28,162 Speaker 1: In a way, Jerry's home became a kind of shrine, 628 00:38:28,682 --> 00:38:32,882 Speaker 1: a place of cultural birth. It's also occupied by a couple, 629 00:38:33,282 --> 00:38:37,042 Speaker 1: the Grays, who warmly welcome people making a pilgrimage to 630 00:38:37,162 --> 00:38:41,042 Speaker 1: pay their respects to Superman's co creator. It's the best 631 00:38:41,162 --> 00:38:43,602 Speaker 1: looking house on the block. You know you're in the 632 00:38:43,682 --> 00:38:46,242 Speaker 1: right place because there is a big s on the 633 00:38:46,282 --> 00:38:50,682 Speaker 1: wood fence out front. For years. Some collectors arrived wondering 634 00:38:50,802 --> 00:38:54,922 Speaker 1: if the rumors about Jerry leaving stacks of action number 635 00:38:55,002 --> 00:38:58,882 Speaker 1: ones in the attic were true. After all, no one 636 00:38:58,922 --> 00:39:03,922 Speaker 1: knew they've become cultural artifacts, prized like Maltese falcons. 637 00:39:05,322 --> 00:39:08,922 Speaker 3: Well where newstands were typically they would have some comic books. 638 00:39:09,082 --> 00:39:11,682 Speaker 3: It could be a pharmacy, but it could be lots 639 00:39:11,722 --> 00:39:14,282 Speaker 3: of places. Really, it was ten cents to buy a 640 00:39:14,362 --> 00:39:17,482 Speaker 3: Superman comic, and who knew years later it would be 641 00:39:17,522 --> 00:39:20,802 Speaker 3: worth so valuable. Because what happened, people would buy it 642 00:39:21,002 --> 00:39:22,402 Speaker 3: and then the next one would come out, so they 643 00:39:22,402 --> 00:39:24,002 Speaker 3: would throw out the old one. They wouldn't save it. 644 00:39:24,122 --> 00:39:26,682 Speaker 3: No one envisioned they would have some value to it. 645 00:39:28,882 --> 00:39:32,282 Speaker 1: Author Brad Meltzer traveled to the family home once along 646 00:39:32,362 --> 00:39:35,122 Speaker 1: with the journalist and the current owners told him, no 647 00:39:35,242 --> 00:39:38,082 Speaker 1: one had been in the attic in decades. He was 648 00:39:38,202 --> 00:39:42,122 Speaker 1: seized by the possibilities. Could there really be a small 649 00:39:42,202 --> 00:39:45,842 Speaker 1: pile of million dollar comics just sitting in this attic? 650 00:39:46,562 --> 00:39:49,402 Speaker 1: So he asked to go up, but there wasn't any 651 00:39:49,482 --> 00:39:52,482 Speaker 1: easy access to it. They promised they'd have their son 652 00:39:52,602 --> 00:39:55,482 Speaker 1: take a look. The Grays later phoned the reporter to 653 00:39:55,602 --> 00:39:58,322 Speaker 1: state that they had gone up and no, there was 654 00:39:58,442 --> 00:40:02,082 Speaker 1: no hidden treasure. Well, I suppose they'd say that regardless, 655 00:40:02,082 --> 00:40:02,602 Speaker 1: wouldn't they. 656 00:40:03,162 --> 00:40:05,402 Speaker 3: Well, I can guarantee you there are no Superman actually 657 00:40:05,442 --> 00:40:07,962 Speaker 3: comic number one in the huse that the Grays occupy 658 00:40:08,042 --> 00:40:09,642 Speaker 3: right now in Cleveland, and I can tell you there's 659 00:40:09,682 --> 00:40:12,002 Speaker 3: none in there. Jerry himself saved many copies of Action 660 00:40:12,082 --> 00:40:15,002 Speaker 3: Comics number one, and they had dozens of them, And 661 00:40:15,402 --> 00:40:18,162 Speaker 3: his daughter told me that what happened was well, him 662 00:40:18,162 --> 00:40:21,402 Speaker 3: and Joe both were financially devastated by losing their jobs, 663 00:40:21,722 --> 00:40:24,442 Speaker 3: and for years they did several things out. Joe worked 664 00:40:24,482 --> 00:40:27,642 Speaker 3: for the post Office and it was difficult for them, 665 00:40:27,722 --> 00:40:30,282 Speaker 3: so they ended up selling some of these Action Comic 666 00:40:30,402 --> 00:40:33,202 Speaker 3: number ones for money. So they get one hundred dollars 667 00:40:33,282 --> 00:40:35,682 Speaker 3: maybe for one which was that's a pretty good return 668 00:40:35,722 --> 00:40:37,882 Speaker 3: on a ten cent investment, you know. And then later 669 00:40:37,922 --> 00:40:39,562 Speaker 3: and maybe they got a few hundred dollars, you know, 670 00:40:39,762 --> 00:40:42,282 Speaker 3: and eventually they didn't have any left. I'm sure they 671 00:40:42,362 --> 00:40:44,402 Speaker 3: never envisioned they would be worth over a million dollars. 672 00:40:45,002 --> 00:40:48,682 Speaker 1: The same comic coveted by collectors and thieves who spend 673 00:40:48,962 --> 00:40:52,882 Speaker 1: or steal millions, once sold off for a few hundred 674 00:40:52,922 --> 00:40:57,602 Speaker 1: dollars because Jerry Siegel needed the money. It's a cutthroat 675 00:40:57,722 --> 00:41:01,602 Speaker 1: media world out there, with massive entities jocking for consumer 676 00:41:01,722 --> 00:41:06,322 Speaker 1: dollars and comic book properties treated like road maps to fortunes. 677 00:41:07,082 --> 00:41:10,802 Speaker 1: Lost among all of that maneuvering are the people responsible 678 00:41:10,922 --> 00:41:15,362 Speaker 1: for creating these characters. The Seagull family waged a legal 679 00:41:15,442 --> 00:41:19,762 Speaker 1: battle for years against Warner, arguing the estate was entitled 680 00:41:19,802 --> 00:41:24,922 Speaker 1: to compensation and partial ownership for the cultural pillar Superman 681 00:41:25,042 --> 00:41:29,442 Speaker 1: had become. That fight seemingly ended in twenty thirteen with 682 00:41:29,562 --> 00:41:34,442 Speaker 1: a court ruling that concluded years of legal entanglement. Warner 683 00:41:34,522 --> 00:41:39,002 Speaker 1: brothers would keep Superman, the Seagull estate would get a settlement. 684 00:41:39,962 --> 00:41:45,082 Speaker 1: So did DC steal Superman? No, of course, not a 685 00:41:45,202 --> 00:41:48,922 Speaker 1: deal was made, But what precedent did Jerry and Joe 686 00:41:49,122 --> 00:41:55,442 Speaker 1: have who could have anticipated what Superman would become the 687 00:41:55,562 --> 00:42:00,282 Speaker 1: promise of making a living as creators was intoxicating. What 688 00:42:00,562 --> 00:42:03,322 Speaker 1: reason would either of them have to ever lay down 689 00:42:03,402 --> 00:42:08,282 Speaker 1: at night and imagine a world where Superman earning millions 690 00:42:08,482 --> 00:42:12,882 Speaker 1: in toys and movies and comics, while Joe would later 691 00:42:13,002 --> 00:42:16,442 Speaker 1: be so downtrodden he was awakened by a cop on 692 00:42:16,562 --> 00:42:20,882 Speaker 1: a park bench and taken for a warm meal. Superman 693 00:42:21,122 --> 00:42:25,442 Speaker 1: seemed to enrich everyone around him, except the two men 694 00:42:25,522 --> 00:42:32,842 Speaker 1: who brought him to life. Not theft, but something was taken. Today, 695 00:42:33,122 --> 00:42:36,482 Speaker 1: living comic writers and artists often see their work co 696 00:42:36,682 --> 00:42:40,962 Speaker 1: opted for movies or streaming shows, but checks rarely make 697 00:42:41,002 --> 00:42:45,562 Speaker 1: their way to their mailboxes. Sometimes you can create something 698 00:42:45,762 --> 00:42:48,962 Speaker 1: so big and immersive that you can't get out from 699 00:42:49,042 --> 00:42:53,762 Speaker 1: its shadow. Gary wants Jerry and Joe to avoid that fate. 700 00:42:54,562 --> 00:42:58,802 Speaker 1: Joe died in nineteen twenty two, Jerry nineteen ninety two. 701 00:42:59,722 --> 00:43:03,122 Speaker 1: The Society raises money and promotes events to make sure 702 00:43:03,202 --> 00:43:07,922 Speaker 1: their memory remains a constant, that every time Superman bursts 703 00:43:08,082 --> 00:43:11,322 Speaker 1: through a wall, that fans will remember. The s can 704 00:43:11,402 --> 00:43:14,202 Speaker 1: stand for SEAgel and Shuster. 705 00:43:14,882 --> 00:43:17,482 Speaker 3: And you know Jerry's father died during a botched robbery. 706 00:43:17,642 --> 00:43:19,242 Speaker 3: And I think he thought of his father a lot 707 00:43:20,002 --> 00:43:23,242 Speaker 3: when he wanted to create somebody, have somebody who would 708 00:43:23,282 --> 00:43:26,562 Speaker 3: defend the defenseless, and he thought of his father, I'm sure, 709 00:43:27,202 --> 00:43:28,722 Speaker 3: and he made him bulletproof too for that think, for 710 00:43:28,802 --> 00:43:29,882 Speaker 3: that reason, what. 711 00:43:30,042 --> 00:43:33,122 Speaker 1: Siegel and Schuster left behind is much more than a 712 00:43:33,202 --> 00:43:36,802 Speaker 1: comic book. There is so much history within the pages 713 00:43:36,842 --> 00:43:41,122 Speaker 1: of Action Comics Number one. Superficially, it's an object and 714 00:43:41,322 --> 00:43:44,722 Speaker 1: one to be coveted among the millionaire collectors of the world. 715 00:43:45,522 --> 00:43:48,162 Speaker 1: But look past the panels and you'll see a story 716 00:43:48,282 --> 00:43:51,722 Speaker 1: about a grieving son who coped with the loss of 717 00:43:51,802 --> 00:43:56,322 Speaker 1: his father by giving the world what everyone needs, a hero. 718 00:43:57,522 --> 00:44:02,242 Speaker 1: What you're buying isn't scarcity, but a representation of hope. 719 00:44:03,202 --> 00:44:05,322 Speaker 3: Well, I can't put a price on it. I think 720 00:44:05,402 --> 00:44:08,642 Speaker 3: the market decides the price like anything. But even if 721 00:44:08,682 --> 00:44:10,362 Speaker 3: it was only worth a dollar, I would want it, 722 00:44:11,202 --> 00:44:13,722 Speaker 3: you know, because it's historical and it means a lot 723 00:44:13,762 --> 00:44:17,642 Speaker 3: to my family. And they started the entire superhero genre 724 00:44:17,962 --> 00:44:20,642 Speaker 3: this one comic. It all started with that, and now 725 00:44:20,682 --> 00:44:23,962 Speaker 3: we have all these superheroes everywhere and they're more popular 726 00:44:24,042 --> 00:44:26,362 Speaker 3: than ever. And Jerry and Joe made it happen, and 727 00:44:26,682 --> 00:44:28,762 Speaker 3: I'm very proud of them. The value of the world is, 728 00:44:28,842 --> 00:44:31,562 Speaker 3: i would say, is huge. I mean, he's known all 729 00:44:31,602 --> 00:44:34,842 Speaker 3: over the world. You could go to visit cities in 730 00:44:34,922 --> 00:44:37,122 Speaker 3: Tokyo and Paris and so forth, and you see people 731 00:44:37,202 --> 00:44:40,322 Speaker 3: walking out around with T shirts with a Superman s 732 00:44:40,602 --> 00:44:44,162 Speaker 3: shield on it all over the world. Even in Ukraine 733 00:44:44,562 --> 00:44:46,802 Speaker 3: they were showing people defending Ukraine and some were wearing 734 00:44:47,162 --> 00:44:50,242 Speaker 3: Superman T shirts because they felt like Superman for that moment, 735 00:44:50,522 --> 00:44:54,002 Speaker 3: trying to defend the defensives, just like Jerry wanted Superman 736 00:44:54,082 --> 00:44:57,522 Speaker 3: to defend the defenses. So the significance is tremendous. 737 00:44:58,522 --> 00:44:59,602 Speaker 1: Here's brad Rica. 738 00:45:00,922 --> 00:45:04,202 Speaker 5: Yeah, I've thought about this a lot and other people too. 739 00:45:04,242 --> 00:45:09,802 Speaker 5: It's a really strange, almost unique kind of American artifact 740 00:45:10,122 --> 00:45:13,762 Speaker 5: Action one because it's like this almost holy relic because 741 00:45:13,762 --> 00:45:17,362 Speaker 5: it's worth so much money, but it's also this holy 742 00:45:17,562 --> 00:45:20,722 Speaker 5: relic because of what's in it, because it's the first 743 00:45:20,762 --> 00:45:24,522 Speaker 5: appearance of Superman. I mean, that's why it's in the Smithsonian, 744 00:45:24,722 --> 00:45:28,642 Speaker 5: not because it's worth millions of dollars. You know, everyone 745 00:45:28,722 --> 00:45:31,922 Speaker 5: who's ever seen an action comics one, you have this 746 00:45:32,162 --> 00:45:35,522 Speaker 5: moment where it's like, this is it, and then people 747 00:45:35,562 --> 00:45:38,162 Speaker 5: that have actually touched one are held but it's the 748 00:45:38,202 --> 00:45:40,242 Speaker 5: same thing. I'm like, oh wait, this is just a comic, 749 00:45:40,442 --> 00:45:44,922 Speaker 5: just paper and staples, but it's something more too. It's 750 00:45:44,962 --> 00:45:48,602 Speaker 5: so strange to think of a thief stealing of all 751 00:45:48,682 --> 00:45:52,842 Speaker 5: things Action won, right, because it's the it's the superhero, 752 00:45:53,082 --> 00:45:56,322 Speaker 5: it's the fight against crime, and someone's trying to take 753 00:45:56,402 --> 00:45:59,522 Speaker 5: that away. The thing with Action one, it has no 754 00:46:00,642 --> 00:46:06,802 Speaker 5: physical value, right, but it's kind of all that symbolic value. 755 00:46:07,082 --> 00:46:10,442 Speaker 5: I mean, it's valuable because it's rare, certainly, but there's 756 00:46:10,482 --> 00:46:12,762 Speaker 5: a lot of things that are rare that aren't worth 757 00:46:12,922 --> 00:46:15,922 Speaker 5: millions of dollars. I mean, it's just Superman. It's the 758 00:46:16,082 --> 00:46:19,682 Speaker 5: first superhero, and you know, I think it gets more 759 00:46:19,802 --> 00:46:25,762 Speaker 5: valuable with time because we start to realize how more 760 00:46:25,842 --> 00:46:30,922 Speaker 5: important that is to our history than maybe we first thought. 761 00:46:32,202 --> 00:46:34,122 Speaker 1: Was that on the mind of the thief who took 762 00:46:34,162 --> 00:46:37,762 Speaker 1: it from Nicholas Cage, that they were really stealing someone's 763 00:46:37,842 --> 00:46:41,842 Speaker 1: idealized version of Superman, that they were robbing him of 764 00:46:41,922 --> 00:46:45,042 Speaker 1: the innocent that the character was supposed to be projecting. 765 00:46:46,242 --> 00:46:50,322 Speaker 5: The thing about Superman, too, is it's so it's it's Superman. 766 00:46:50,602 --> 00:46:52,842 Speaker 5: It's the good guy, you know. I mean, what do 767 00:46:52,922 --> 00:46:54,482 Speaker 5: you do if you steal it? And you're just like 768 00:46:54,602 --> 00:46:58,122 Speaker 5: looking at it every night? And Superman's right on the cover, 769 00:46:58,842 --> 00:47:01,082 Speaker 5: just saying, why did you steal Lee? That's the wrong 770 00:47:01,242 --> 00:47:05,122 Speaker 5: thing to do. You can't like Superman and steal action one. 771 00:47:05,962 --> 00:47:09,362 Speaker 1: No, you prob we can't. That would probably be the 772 00:47:09,442 --> 00:47:11,842 Speaker 1: first thing you'd want to ask anyone who surfaced with 773 00:47:11,962 --> 00:47:17,122 Speaker 1: the comic why why do it? But after eleven years, 774 00:47:17,682 --> 00:47:20,562 Speaker 1: it didn't seem like that day was ever going to come, 775 00:47:21,282 --> 00:47:25,522 Speaker 1: that Superman would be forever defeated by the Cage Party robber. 776 00:47:26,322 --> 00:47:31,082 Speaker 1: But then one day, Cage's comic book dealer, Steven Fischler, 777 00:47:31,282 --> 00:47:34,962 Speaker 1: got a call and an invitation to meet the two 778 00:47:35,322 --> 00:47:39,162 Speaker 1: most bizarre characters of this entire story. 779 00:47:40,002 --> 00:47:43,122 Speaker 4: The individual who walked in behind me holding the Manila 780 00:47:43,202 --> 00:47:47,082 Speaker 4: folder is now sitting in this office, and the Manila 781 00:47:47,162 --> 00:47:49,802 Speaker 4: folder is now open. Then there's the book on like 782 00:47:49,882 --> 00:47:55,442 Speaker 4: a little aprilic pedestale, and we sit down. Yeah, that's 783 00:47:56,322 --> 00:47:57,602 Speaker 4: an original action one. 784 00:47:58,482 --> 00:48:07,722 Speaker 1: That's next time on Stealing Superman. Stealing Superman is written 785 00:48:07,802 --> 00:48:11,962 Speaker 1: by Jake Rowson, sound design and score by Jonathan Washington, 786 00:48:12,402 --> 00:48:17,722 Speaker 1: Additional production support by Josh Fisher, original music by Aaron Kaufman, 787 00:48:18,362 --> 00:48:22,602 Speaker 1: mixing and mastering by Baheed Fraser, Research and fact checking 788 00:48:22,762 --> 00:48:26,802 Speaker 1: by Jake Rosson and Austin Thompson, with production support from 789 00:48:26,882 --> 00:48:31,402 Speaker 1: Lulu Philip. Additional voices by Ruthie Stevens and Zarin Burnett. 790 00:48:32,082 --> 00:48:36,762 Speaker 1: Show logo by Lucy Kintonian. Our executive producer is Jason 791 00:48:36,882 --> 00:48:40,762 Speaker 1: English and I'm your host Danish Wartz. If you're enjoying 792 00:48:40,882 --> 00:48:44,842 Speaker 1: this show, check out Haleywood and Noble Blood and give 793 00:48:44,922 --> 00:48:48,282 Speaker 1: us a nice review. We'll see you next week. Stealing 794 00:48:48,402 --> 00:48:50,842 Speaker 1: Superman is a production of iHeartRadio