Secret Origins: The evolving science of superheroes

Following the record-breaking success of X-Men (Singer) in 2000 comic-book heroes began filling the cinematic skies. These films appealed to a wide audience by deftly blending cinematic conventions including the Western’s vigilante archetype, the crime movie’s milieu, and the heightened flourishes of the action film. One of the most potent elements in this generic mix was the science fiction film with cultural theorist Scott Bukatman going so far as to suggest that the “superhero film is surely a variant of the science-fiction film” (“Secret Identity Politics” 115). The superhero’s debt to science fiction goes back to their origin on the page. While antecedents exist, Superman is recognised as the earliest comic book superhero. For the character’s first appearance in Action Comics #1 (June 1938) writer Jerry Siegel and artist Joe Shuster reworked the story of Moses to feature a stranger from a “distant planet” who becomes a “champion of the oppressed”. The early comic even offered “a scientific explanation of Clark Kent’s amazing strength” by suggesting his abilities were tantamount to that of an ant or a grasshopper.