Superman in The Land: Cleveland's Favorite Son by Way of Krypton

Look! Up in the Sky! It’s a bird! It’s a plane! No, it’s… a Clevelander?

Seriously, we are not making this up. It was two teens from Cleveland who created one of the most enduring and popular characters not just in American pop culture, but across the planet, to Krypton and beyond.

In a land of important inventions like the first three-way traffic light and even the first gas mask (thanks to Garrett Morgan, a super genius right out of comic books himself), we hold great pride in being home to the foremost symbol of truth, justice and the American way.

A Cleveland Origin Story

Jerry Siegel was born in Cleveland in 1914. That same year, Joe Shuster was born in Toronto. Shuster’s family moved to Cleveland when he was a child, and he met Siegel while they were students at Glenville High School in the east side neighborhood of the same name.

Glenville was formed as its own village in 1870 and annexed into the city of Cleveland in 1905. Initially a rural community (full of glens, hence the name), it had become a bustling neighborhood as the city of Cleveland’s population grew, filled largely with Jewish immigrants – like Siegel and Shuster’s parents. A new, enormous high school was built in 1919.

Jerry and Joe weren’t gifted athletes (even today, Glenville is a state power in football and track & field), and were mostly quiet students, taking the trolley to the Cleveland Public Library downtown, gazing up at the newly built Terminal Tower and harboring dreams of one day writing comic strips for the newspapers they read at home.

The “Big Blue Boy Scout” is Born

They created science fiction and fantasy stories for their self-published magazine. One of them, written by Siegel and illustrated by Shuster in 1933, was called “The Reign of the Superman,” about a villainous man who acquires superpowers – and just as quickly loses them. The idea of a seemingly invulnerable character took hold, and the pair reworked it into the tale that has remained relatively unchanged for nearly a century: A baby boy, sent off from a dying planet, finds a new home – and superpowers – on Earth, serving as a daily defender of the innocent while living secretly as a mild-mannered reporter for a great metropolitan newspaper.

Superman’s story found a home at National Allied Comics in New York – the forerunner of what’s known today as DC Comics – and anchored the first issue of a new title debuting in 1938, Action Comics. Almost instantly, the story and character were a hit. Before too long, Superman had his own comic book. An immigrant himself, he resonated in a nation of immigrants, and his crusades for social justice were a thrill to read in a world hurtling toward war. Cartoons, movie serials and radio programs soon followed as Superman became not just one of the first, but one of the most enduring superheroes ever created.

Legacy in The Land

Eventually, both Siegel and Shuster moved away from Cleveland. Although they were paid handsomely to write and draw Superman, they had given away the rights to the character early on and both ended up falling on hard times in their old age. In a long overdue effort to make things right, DC Comics gave both creators an annual pension and, starting with the theatrical release of “Superman” in 1978, credited them officially as the creators of the hero. Shuster passed away in 1992, followed four years later by Siegel.

There are still signs throughout the area sharing Superman’s Cleveland origin story. At Hopkins International Airport, there’s a display of memorabilia and the character’s history. There’s another display at the Cleveland Public Library, where Siegel and Shuster both drew inspiration, or you can similarly visit the observation deck at the Terminal Tower (closed in winter).

In fact, one of the most recent writers to work on Superman was Brian Michael Bendis, who himself grew up not far from Glenville in University Heights and is of Jewish ancestry. Bendis cites a trip to the library’s exhibit while on a visit home as inspiration to jump from his storied career at Marvel Comics to write his hometown’s hero with DC Comics in 2017. If that wasn't enough, blockbuster director James Gunn chose to film his new "Superman: Legacy" film right here in Cleveland during summer 2024 because he knew how important the city is to that legacy.

As a result of a movement spearheaded by the Siegel and Shuster Society, a nonprofit dedicated to celebrating Superman's creation in Cleveland, the Siegel and Shuster Tribute Plaza is being planned for installation outside the Huntington Convention Center of Cleveland, near St. Clair and Ontario. The project will feature a Superman statue designed by a local artist; statues of Siegel, his wife Joanne (upon whom Lois Lane was modeled) and Shuster; and a phone booth famous for the hero's quick costume changes. The nonprofit has started a fundraising campaign to aid in the construction of this rightful and long overdue tribute to our city's favorite hero.

A historical marker stands at East 105^th Street and St. Clair Avenue in Glenville. The house where Shuster grew up is no longer standing. But at the lot, at the corner of Amor Avenue and Parkwood Drive, is a fence with replica pages from Action Comics #1. And the home where Siegel grew up ,at 10622 Kimberley Avenue, is still standing. You can’t miss it. It’s the one with the big red S on the fence in front of it.