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| MISCELANNOUS |
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| The Curse of Kryptonite BY ADA-PADZ ‘Look, up in the sky, is it a bird, is it a plane, its Superman!’ The blue tight wearing, red caped superhero may be the most famous comic book character ever with his legend being transferred into Television, Films and (obviously) Comics, for generations to love time after time. But the Superman legacy is full of tragedy and sadness. The last son of Krypton may have unleashed a curse on all who touch him. Young Best Friends, Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster dreamed of breaking into newspaper comics or pulp magazines, Siegel an aspiring writer and Shuster a brilliant artist. Both lived in Cleveland, Ohio, they often worked together on characters and stories for their private projects whilst jostling with their high school work. |
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| In 1933 they conjured up a story entitled; ‘Reign of the Superman’ this was the first incarnation of Superman for a self-created magazine. In this early version Superman was a bald villain, this idea would stay in their minds, as he would later become Superman’s nemesis Lex Luthor. The duo liked something about the character, and decided to make him good. So they quickly created a second version of Superman. No publishers were interested in their idea about a super man, but Siegel and Shuster knew they were onto something and set about to revamp the character for a third time with the goal of a newspaper comic strip. |
| One humid summer night in 1934, Joe Siegel had a ‘vision’. It was on this night that he conceived the Superman character, as we know him – square-jaw, cape, S-sign on chest, red boots. The next morning Shuster came over and found Siegel’s ton of comic strip stories and characters all needing his magic touch of ink. It was by accident that Superman ended up in the comics. Siegel and Shuster carried their creation all over but could not find a newspaper interested enough to publish it. Luckily publisher M.C. Gaines saw enough promise in the strip to recommend it to D.C. Comics Publisher Harry Donenfeld when he called looking for fresh ideas. Donenfeld found them ‘colorful…different…and full of action’ so he used them as a part of a new title he was launching. Siegel and Shuster excitedly re-purposed their newspaper strips into comic book form and in June of 1938 Action Comics #1 was issued, introducing the world to Superman. This, for the two creators, is where it all started to go wrong. |
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| Siegel and Shuster signed over all rights to the character for $130. This now must be seen as one of the biggest mistakes ever (next to the man at Decca records who told the Beatles “guitar bands are out”). While the SUPERMAN character was an immediate smash hit, becoming the first true phenomenon of the comic book publishing industry, spawning hundreds of lesser imitators and ultimately generating billions of dollars in licensing profits for DC Comics, Siegel and Shuster were soon cut out of the equation by the publisher and spent a lifetime of poverty and failed litigation in the shadow of their ubiquitous creation. In 1977, just before the Superman Movie, starring Christopher Reeve was about to be made Jerry Siegel wrote: “The publishers of SUPERMAN comic books and DC Comics, killed my days, murdered my nights, choked my happiness, strangled my career. I consider DC’s executives money-mad monsters. I, Jerry Siegel, the co-originator of SUPERMAN, put a CURSE on the SUPERMAN movie!” |
| In response to the possibility of bad publicity, DC’s parent company, WARNER COMMUNICATIONS, granted Siegel and Shuster small pensions and reinstituted their credit line as creators of one of the century's best-known characters. Many consider the gesture far too little and far too late. Is this one of the greatest cultural thefts of the century? George Reeves played Superman in ‘Adventure of Superman’ the 50’s Television series. His death is surrounded in mystery and has been debated as “suicide” for decades. Reeves received a number of death threats from a jealous ex-girlfriend named Toni Mannix, who had connections to the mob, and after his car mysteriously lost control and crashed it was discovered that his brakes had been tampered with. On the night of his "suicide" he had an argument with his fiancée Lenore Lemmon about her wild party life and "friends". She had also come downstairs and told her guests that "he'll shoot himself" Later, George's body was found upstairs in his bedroom. There was a gunshot wound to his head and the gun at his feet. He was naked and wet, having just stepped out of the shower, which was suspicious enough, but the coroner had found no powder burns on his head. This meant the gun would have to have been fired from at least 3 feet away - an awkward and difficult task for people who want to kill themselves. Also, George's body was found flat on its back, yet in suicides the body is almost always pitched forward. Furthermore, investigators found TWO bullet holes in the ceiling. When the police questioned Lemmon regarding the holes, she told them that she had been “practicing”! In addition, three prior attempts were made on George's life prior to this. Amazingly, neither Lemmon nor Mannix was brought to trial. |
| Actress Margot Kidder played Lois Lane in ‘Superman: The Movie’ and on April 24th 1996 she was found by the Police in a distressed state, hiding in someone's garden claiming she'd been stalked and attacked. She was bald (later claiming she had cut her hair off with a razor blade) and was foaming at the mouth. She was placed in psychiatric care. Police said there was nothing so support her story. She suffered from manic depression. She constantly lived in a state of paranoia, convinced that her first husband was trying to kill her. Kidder quickly became homeless and one night narrowly escaped being raped. She aimlessly wandered about the streets of Los Angeles, totally unrecognizable after cutting her hair off and removing some of her teeth. She eventually ended up hiding underneath a family's porch, which was located near the studio where "Superman" was filmed. Fortunately, her life is back on track after facing up to her "evil demons". See the ‘Superman: The Movie’ DVD documentary to view what she is like now. |
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| In May 1995 a cross-country event in Culpeper, Virginia, marked the biggest tragedy to link the curse. Christopher Reeve's Thoroughbred, Eastern Express, balked at a rail jump, pushing him forward. Reeve's hands were tangled in the horse's bridle and he landed head first, fracturing the uppermost vertebrae in his spine. Reeve was instantly paralyzed from the neck down and unable to breathe. Prompt medical attention saved his life and delicate surgery stabilized the shattered C1-C2 vertebrae and literally reattached Reeve's head to his spine. He is slowly improving and promises the world he will walk again. |