Our Hero: Superman on EarthTomDe Haven. New Haven: Yale University Press, 2010.

Abstract

Our Hero: Superman on Earth Tom De Haven. New Haven: Yale University Press, 2010. Tom De Haven is no stranger to Superman. After authoring the novel It's Superman! (2005), De Haven notes that while an avid fan, he became a mediaappointed expert on all things related to the Man of Steel when Bryan Singer's film Superman Returns (2006) was preparing for its theatrical release and various media outlets sought his insight into the enduring popularity of the Superman and importance in American culture more than seventy years after his inception. It is with this premise that De Haven starts Our Hero: Superman on Earth. This book-length essay on Superman is an entry in Yale University Press' Icons of America book series that ranges in topics from Joe DiMaggio to the hamburger. Throughout the book's various chapters, De Haven recounts the history of Superman in two forms: the evolution of Superman as a cultural icon (as well as a commodity worth billions of dollars) and the stories of the various men behind the Superman juggernaut. When Superman debuted on the cover of the first issue of Action Comics in 1938, smashing a car he had hoisted over his head against a boulder, no one could have imagined the heights of popularity the character would reach. De Haven chronicles the ascension of Superman from a character that initially could not find a home in newspaper comic strips to his birth as the first comic book superhero (subsequently making way for the countless number of super heroes known today) to his complete infiltration of popular culture, thanks to a cavalcade of merchandizing and numerous transitions from comic books to other forms of media including radio, animation, television, feature films, and even a musical (It's a Bird. ..It's a Plane. ..It's Superman). In addition to covering Superman's meteoric rise in popularity and various media incarnations, De Haven also recounts the various changes to the Superman mythos since his introduction. While initially conceived as a Depression-era crusader against social injustice with only a handful of superpowers (initially he could not fly, but only leap great distances) and a sparse backstory, over the years, Superman has seen fluctuations in the amount and intensity of his powers, his stories aimed more at children, and a fleshed out history and supporting cast (De Haven devotes most of his attention to the roles of Superman's arch nemesis, Lex Luthor and his longtime love interest, Lois Lane). Not only does De Haven provide a thorough account of the Superman property but also a history of the men behind Superman. …