The modern era

Artist Carmine Infantino, who had helped define the Silver Age aesthetic at DC with his work on The Flash and Batman, was appointed DC’s art director in 1967 and publisher in 1971. He was tasked with revitalizing the company’s line, and that meant overhauling the Man of Steel. Editor Julius Schwartz, who had successfully resuscitated the Batman titles from near cancellation in 1964, was assigned to lead the revisions. Beginning with Superman no. 233 (January 1971), Clark Kent was a television news reporter, kryptonite was eliminated, and Superman’s powers were weakened. Pioneering young writers such as Denny O’Neil, Elliot S. Maggin, and Cary Bates invigorated the tales with realism and new villains, while artists such as Neal Adams and Curt Swan and inker Murphy Anderson left an indelible mark on Superman’s look.

Halfway through the 1970s, two major events occurred: DC joined forces with competitor Marvel Comics to copublish the best-selling crossover Superman vs. the Amazing Spider-Man, and Alexander and llya Salkind signed a deal to produce a live-action Superman film. The potential windfall promised by the forthcoming film inspired Adams, a strong advocate for creators’ rights, to lobby DC to provide financial restitution to Siegel and Shuster, both of whom were teetering on the brink of destitution at the time. DC and parent company Warner Brothers bowed to public pressure, establishing pensions for both and inserting their names into all Superman comics as the creators of the character. In 1977, as part of a promotional campaign for the upcoming motion picture, the Superman newspaper strip was revived.

The Salkinds’ Superman was a blockbuster, earning more than $300 million worldwide. Director Richard Donner, who had previously experienced success with The Omen (1976), helmed the picture, and Christopher Reeve’s star-turning role as the Man of Steel made the actor a household name. Margot Kidder (as Lois Lane), Gene Hackman (as Lex Luthor), and Marlon Brando (as Jor-El) rounded out the cast, and the film’s rousing score earned composer John Williams an Academy Award nomination. A string of sequels followed, with most of the principal cast members reprising their roles. Superman II (1980) was a commercial hit, but Donner was replaced by Richard Lester after filming had begun, and the result was a story that shifted abruptly between dramatic and slapstick elements. Superman III (1983), also directed by Lester, was largely a comedic vehicle for Richard Pryor, and by the release of Superman IV: The Quest for Peace (1987), the franchise was a spent force. In spite of dwindling box-office performance, Reeve’s portrayal of the hero as a “big blue Boy Scout” would define the Man of Steel in the pop-culture consciousness for a generation.

As DC Comics reinvented itself in the mid-1980s with its universe-altering Crisis on Infinite Earths crossover, writer Alan Moore closed the door on decades of continuity with the two-part epic “Whatever Happened to the Man of Tomorrow?” in Superman no. 423 and Action Comics no. 583 (both September 1986). Writer and artist John Byrne was tasked with reinventing the Superman mythos in The Man of Steel (1986), a six-issue biweekly miniseries that virtually cleaned the slate for the character, preserving only select aspects from previous incarnations. Luthor remained an evil genius, but Byrne made him less a superscientist and more a ruthless businessman. Superman’s personal life also underwent changes—Jonathan and Martha Kent were now still alive, lending compassionate support to their adult superson.

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The comics industry experienced explosive growth in the early 1990s as speculators purchased multiple copies of issues that they believed would become valuable collectibles. The apotheosis of that trend came with the publication of Superman no. 75 (January 1993), which depicted the death of Superman at the hands of the villain Doomsday. Over four million copies of Superman no. 75 were printed, and the sheer abundance of the comic virtually guaranteed that it would not appreciate significantly in value. When the industry collapsed in the mid-1990s, publishing events such as the death of Superman were seen by many as a contributing cause. Ironically, the best Superman story of the decade appeared in a title that ruthlessly skewered superhero conventions and many of the publishing trends of the 1990s. In the Eisner Award-winning Hitman no. 34 (February 1999), writer Garth Ennis and artist John McCrea offered a reverent take on the Man of Steel that proposed that it was Superman’s values—and not his godlike powers—that were the true essence of the character. Much lighter fare was provided by the television series Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman (1993–97). The romantic action-comedy featured Teri Hatcher and Dean Cain in the title roles, and Lois and Clark’s on-screen wedding was reflected in the comics with Superman: The Wedding Album no. 1 (December 1996). The creative team behind the groundbreaking Batman: The Animated Series (1992–95) broadened DC’s animated universe with the critically accalaimed Superman: The Animated Series (1996–2000).

Since 2000 DC has repeatedly revisited, retold, and offered alternative versions of Superman’s origin and early career. The standout story of that period was writer Grant Morrison and artist Frank Quitely’s All Star Superman (2005–08), an award-winning 12-issue series that took place within the context of Superman’s last adventure. In September 2011 DC rebooted its entire line of comics as the “New 52,” with both Action Comics and Superman resetting to issue no. 1. Morrison was tapped to relaunch Action Comics, and his 18-issue run (2011–13) set the stage for a new generation of tales.

The 21st century also saw a dramatic increase in the presence of Superman in other media. The live-action young adult drama Smallville (2001–11) traced the life of Clark Kent (Tom Welling) during his formative years in Smallville, Kansas. The animated Superman figured prominently in Cartoon Network’s Justice League (2001–04) and Justice League Unlimited (2004–06) as well as in numerous direct-to-video features. In 2006 Bryan Singer, director of the first two X-Men movies, helmed Superman Returns, starring newcomer Brandon Routh as Superman, Kate Bosworth as Lois Lane, and Kevin Spacey as Lex Luthor. The film was a box-office disappointment, and Warner Brothers canceled its plans for a sequel. The studio turned to director Christopher Nolan and screenwriter David S. Goyer, the creative minds behind the highly successful relaunch of the Batman film franchise, to reconceive and reboot the Superman saga in film. The result was Man of Steel (2013), directed by Zack Snyder and starring Henry Cavill as Superman. Although the film was a critical disappointment, it grossed over $600 million worldwide. The sequel, Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice (2016), earned more than $800 million globally, but the film’s grim depiction of two of pop culture’s most recognizable heroes drew ire from critics and comic fans alike; the film was noted for Gal Gadot’s debut performance as Wonder Woman. Despite the character’s apparent death at the end of that film, Superman returned in the poorly received Justice League (2017).