Superman is a fictional superhero (Abre numa nova janela), who first appeared in American comic books (Abre numa nova janela) published by DC Comics (Abre numa nova janela). The character was created by writer Jerry Siegel (Abre numa nova janela) and artist Joe Shuster (Abre numa nova janela), and first appeared in the comic book Action Comics #1 (Abre numa nova janela) (cover-dated (Abre numa nova janela) June 1938 and published April 18, 1938).[1] (Abre numa nova janela) Superman has been adapted to a number of other media which includes radio serials, novels, movies, television shows and theatre.

Superman was born on the planet Krypton (Abre numa nova janela) and was given the name Kal-El at birth. As a baby, his parents sent him to Earth (Abre numa nova janela) in a small spaceship moments before Krypton was destroyed in a natural cataclysm. His ship landed in the American countryside, near the fictional town of Smallville (Abre numa nova janela). He was found and adopted by farmers Jonathan and Martha Kent (Abre numa nova janela), who named him Clark Kent. Clark developed various superhuman abilities, such as incredible strength and impervious skin. His adoptive parents advised him to use his abilities for the benefit of humanity, and he decided to fight crime as a vigilante (Abre numa nova janela). To protect his privacy, he changes into a colorful costume and uses the alias "Superman" when fighting crime. Clark Kent resides in the fictional American city of Metropolis (Abre numa nova janela), where he works as a journalist for the Daily Planet (Abre numa nova janela). Superman's supporting characters (Abre numa nova janela) include his love interest (Abre numa nova janela) and fellow journalist Lois Lane (Abre numa nova janela), Daily Planet photographer Jimmy Olsen (Abre numa nova janela) and editor-in-chief Perry White (Abre numa nova janela). His classic foe is Lex Luthor (Abre numa nova janela), who is either a mad scientist or a ruthless businessman, depending on the story.

Although Superman was not the first superhero character, he popularized the superhero archetype and established its conventions. Superheroes are usually judged by how closely they resemble the standard set by Superman. He was the best-selling superhero character in American comic books up until the 1980s.[2] (Abre numa nova janela)