This article is about Superman.

Superman Takes Off
by Stephen Krensky

American comic books became popular in the 1930s. One type of character especially—the superhero—struck a chord with comic book readers. Superheroes are characters who often use special powers or extraordinary abilities to fight injustice and defend the weak.

This part explains how Superman got started.

A Superhero Is Born

In the early 1930s, young Jerry Siegel was an ordinary high school student. Someday, he thought, he might become a reporter. As he remembered later, he had several crushes on “attractive girls who either didn’t know I existed or didn’t care if I existed.”

What could he do about that? He wasn’t sure. But at least he could use his imagination. “What if I was really terrific?” he wondered. “What if I had something special going for me, like jumping over buildings or throwing cars around or something like that?”