Jerry Siegel (top) and Joe Shuster got things going for Superman in 1938, when their first story was published in Action Comics No. 1. The young collaborators from Cleveland had been working on that narrative for nearly four years, and their names eventually would become as conjoined and revered in the world of comics as those of Rodgers and Hammerstein in song and Tracy and Hepburn in cinema. Photos courtesy of Laura Siegel Larson and Jean Shuster Peavy.

Jerry Siegel’s relationship with Jack Liebowitz would sour over the decades, but here they appeared to be the best of friends.

Bud Collyer was the voice of Superman for 2,008 radio shows, and across thirty years in various media. Library of American Broadcasting, University of Maryland.

Around the time Bud Collyer was bringing Superman alive on the radio, brothers Max and Dave Fleischer were taking him to movie theaters in the form of animated cartoons that many critics panned but most fans loved. They featured action and adventure, rescues and thrilling battles, such as the one above, in which Superman takes on mean-spirited robots, in a 1941 Paramount Pictures release called The Mechanical Monsters. The animators were Steve Muffati and George Germanetti. Courtesy of Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc.

Superman was a favorite of Allied troops during World War II, and they showed their gratitude by naming after him their jeeps, tanks, landing craft, and, pictured here, a B-17 Flying Fortress bomber. Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images.

While he was a favorite of parents and even grandparents, Superman’s success in the early years resulted from his capturing the imagination of youths like this boy, seen reading a comic book in New York in 1946. Another favorite reading spot: under the bedcovers, at night, where a flashlight illuminated the pages. Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images.

The 1950s TV series Adventures of Superman welcomed back old fans of the comics and radio productions and introduced new ones to the Man of Steel narrative. For millions of children who grew up glued to that show, and for others who have watched it in reruns, when they envision Superman they see George Reeves, who is shown here nabbing two thugs. ABC via Getty Images.

It was the ultimate measure of celebrity in 1956: a guest slot on America’s most-watched TV show, I Love Lucy. It is tough to tell here who was having more fun: George Reeves as he flexed his biceps, or Lucille Ball as she felt his super-strong muscle. Getty Images.

The pace on the Adventures of Superman set was frenetic, given the measly budgets and tight deadlines, but off the set George Reeves could relax with Noel Neill, who played Lois Lane alongside him for five seasons and earlier had starred next to Kirk Alyn in such film serials as Atom Man vs. Superman. Colorized photo courtesy of Larry Thomas Ward.

Jack Larson, who was just twenty-three when he signed up to play Jimmy Olsen, connected so completely with viewers that he took the character from a supporting role to a star. Larson and Neill, shown here in 1956, have sustained their friendship through the decades. Colorized photo courtesy of Larry Thomas Ward.

This comic book cover—from Superman Annual No. 1 in 1960—was drawn by Curt Swan and colored by Stan Kaye. Swan, who did his first Superman drawings in 1948 and his last thirty-nine years later, gave the hero a more dignified and human sensibility. “Superman Annual” No. 1 © 1960 DC Comics. Used with Permission.

Two of Superman’s most insidious, relentless, and hairless enemies—the evil genius Lex Luthor and the computerized space pirate Brainiac—join forces in this comic book from 1964. “Superman” #167 © 1964 DC Comics. Used with Permission.

Superman spends much of his life fending off Lois Lane’s bids to ensnare him, even as she is doing the same with Clark Kent. In this comic from 1966, the Man of Steel offers a novel line of reasoning: He can’t marry anyone dumb enough not to see through his lame disguise. “Superman’s Girl Friend, Lois Lane” #63 © 1966 DC Comics. Used with Permission.

Superman became a regular at the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade in New York as early as 1940, when the biggest balloon was an eighty-foot-high replica of the Man of Tomorrow. This shot is from the 1966 parade. New York Daily News via Getty Images.

To sleep-deprived parents in the 1970s, a cartoon like Super Friends was a twofer: Kids were mesmerized by the animation, orchestrated by Hanna-Barbera, and the collaboration between Superman and such heroic friends as Aquaman, Wonder Woman, Robin, and Batman; Mom and Dad, meanwhile, delighted in the extra hours they got in bed. ABC via Getty Images.

Many fans of the 1978 movie Superman, the first in a series starring Christopher Reeve, wondered what the sequel would have been like if Richard Donner had been kept on as director. They found out twenty-five years later, when, thanks to their lobbying, Warner Bros. released on DVD a re-edit called Superman II: The Richard Donner Cut. Donner is shown here with producer Michael Thau (right) and a cutout of Reeve. Getty Images.

The Superman TV show launched in 1993 was called Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman. As the title suggested, the show was more interested in the relationship between the two journalists than in the adventures of the superhero, and at least as interested in Lois as in Clark. Teri Hatcher played Lois while Dean Cain doubled as Clark and Superman. ABC via Getty Images.

Smallville debuted on the WB network just a month after the 9/11 terrorist attacks. The long-running series let young viewers see why their grandparents and parents were so smitten with Superman, and it gave them a version of the superhero who was theirs alone. Tom Welling (top) played a youthful Clark Kent, and Michael Rosenbaum (above) portrayed what may have been the most riveting Lex Luthor ever. Warner Bros./Getty Images.

After nearly seventy-five years in which scores of artists have offered up their unique visions of Superman, it isn’t easy to stand out. But Alex Ross’s mournful rendering—from the 1999 collection Peace on Earth—does. From Superman: Peace on Earth © 1998 DC Comics. Used with Permission.

In the early 1990s DC Comics decided to kill off Superman, and while it was for real, it wasn’t forever. Readers lined up on the street and around the block outside comic stores to buy Superman No. 75, the death issue, which tallied the biggest one-day sale ever for a comic book, with more than six million copies printed. “Superman” #75 © 1993 DC Comics. Used with Permission.