Superman : Sumber Inspirasi

Sumber Inspirasi

Inspirasi cerita awal Superman ada dalam konteks Depresi Besar. Perspektif dimana  pencipta Shuster dan Siegel bersandar tergambarkan dalam  cerita awal. Superman tergambarkan sebagai aktivis sosial, melawan pengusaha dan politisi yang tidak jujur dan penghancuran rumah-rumah. Ini terlihat oleh sarjana komik Roger Sabin sebagai refleksi dari "idealisme liberal dari Perjanjian Baru Franklin Roosevelt",dimana Shuster dan Siegel sebenarnya menggambarkan Superman sebagai pemenang dari banyak masalah sosial. Program radio Superman berikutnya,diceritakan  sang karakter mulai menangani semacam isu, seperti menggasak versi dari the KKK di siaran 1946.

Siegel sendiri mencatat bahwa banyak dongeng pahlawan yang ada dalam tradisi banyak budaya membawa pengaruh dalam sang karakter, termasuk Hercules dan Samson. Sang karakter juga telah terlihat oleh Scott Bukatman telah menjadi "penerus yang layak untuk Lindberg"(dan)juga"seperti Babe Ruth", dan juga menggambarkan kembali dedikasi AS terhadap "kemajuan dan pembaharuan " melalui "tubuh yang kuat..yang tidak tergambar dalam sejarah.".Lebih jauh, Siegel dan Shuster di kenal sebagai penggemar science fiction murahan,  kemungkinan adanya pengaruh lain dari Hugo Danner. Danner adalah karakter utama dalam novel 1930 Gladiator ditulis oleh Philip Wylie dan memiliki kekuatan yang sama dengan Superman pertama.

Karena baik Siegel dan Shuster adalah orang Yahudi, beberapa komentator religius dan sarjana budaya pop seperti Rabbi Simcha Weinstein dan novelis Inggris Howard Jacobson menilai bahwa penciptaan Superman terinspirasi oleh Musa, dan elemen lain dari orang-orang Yahudi. Nama Krypton Superman, "Kal-El", mirip dengan kata Yahudi קל-אל  , yang dapat diartikan sebagai "suara Tuhan". Suffiks "el" berarti "(dari) Tuhan"juga ditemukan dalam nama-nama malaikat (misalnya Gabriel, Ariel) yang merupakan agen Tuhan berwujud humanoid yang bisa terbang dengan kekuatan manusia super. Legenda Yahudi Golem disebut sebagai perbandingan yang layak, makhluk Golem adalah makhluk mistis yang diciptakan untuk melindungi dan melayani orang-orang Yahudi yang tersiksa di abad 16 di Prague yang belakangan bisa selamat, dalam budaya populer mengacu kepada penderitaan mereka di tangan Nazi di Eropa selama tahun 1930 dan 1940-an. Superman sering terlihat sebagai analogi Yesus, yang menjadi penyelamat kemanusiaan.

Sedangkan istilah Superman sebenarnya mengacu kepada Nietzsche( seorang filsuf ), tapi tidak begitu jelas bagaimana pengaruh Nietzsche dan idealismenya kepada Siegel dan Shuster. Les Daniels berspekulasi bahwa" Siegel mengambil istilah itu dari penulis science fiksi lain yang dipekerjakan untuk itu", lebih jauh tidak ada yang " konsepnya diingat oleh ribuan juta orang yang benar-benar tahu siapa itu Nietzsche". Jacobson dan yang lain menekankan bahwa dalam banyak hal Superman dan the Ubermensch (teori manusia super ciptaan Nietzsche)  berlawanan seperti kedua kutub yang berbeda. Nietzsche menggambarkan Ubermensch sebagai manusia yang merasa lebih dari keterbatasan masyarakat, agama dan moralitas tetapi pada dasarnya tetap manusia. Superman, walaupun seorang alien diberkahi dengan kekuatan luar biasa, memilih untuk lebih menghormati kode moral kemanusiaan dan sosial, Nietzsche menggambarkan manusia yang merasa lebih tinggi dari kode moral. Siegel dan Shuster menggambarkan sang karakter sebagai manusia sempurna yang mempunyai standar tinggi tetapi memutuskan terikat dengan kode moral.

Siegel dan Shuster saling berdiskusi mengenai sejumlah pengaruh terhadap sang karakter. Keduanya merupakan kutu buku, dan kecintaan mereka terhadap science fiction menolong mempertahankan persahabatan mereka. Siegel memuji cerita John Carter sebagai hal yang mempengaruhinya."Carter mampu melompati jarak yang jauh karena planet Mars lebih kecil daripada planet Bumi; dan dia mempunyai kekuatan besar. Saya menggambarkan planet Krypton sebagai planet yang besar, lebih besar daripada Bumi." Pasangan itu juga merupakan kolektor yang gemar sekali mengoleksi strip komik semasa muda mereka, memotongnya dari koran, dengan Little Nemo karangan Winsor Mckay menggiring imajinasi mereka dengan "sense of"  fantasinya. Shuster juga berkata mengenai artis(baca : seniman ) yang memegang peran penting dalam pengembangan gayanya sendiri, selagi tidak ada pengaruh besar; "Alex Raymond dan Burne Hogarth adalah idola saya-juga Milt Caniff, Hal Foster, dan Roy Crane. Tetapi film adalah pengaruh terbesar dalam imajinasi kami : terutama film Douglas Fairbanks Senior." Fairbanks memerankan Robin Hood, jelas-jelas merupakan inspirasi, sebagaimana yang Shuster akui bahwa gaya Superman waktut berdiri di dasarkan pada film tersebut. Film tersebut juga mempengaruhi jalan cerita dan layout halaman, lagipula  kota Metropolis dinamakan untuk menghormati film Fritz Lang dengan judul yang sama.

Sejarah Sang Superman

Superman, telah berkembang sebagaimana pertualangannya meningkat. Detail-detail dari asal Superman, hubungannya dan kemampuannya telah diubah secara signifikan selama publikasi sang karakter, dari apa yang di namakan masa keemasan buku komik hingga Zaman Modern. Kekuatan-kekuatannya dan para penjahat berkembang selama tahun 1940-an,dengan pengembangan kemampuan Superman untuk terbang, dan kostum penjahat diperkenalkan dari 1941. Sang karakter ditunjukkan telah belajar keberadaan Krypton di 1949. Konsepnya sendiri (konsep Krypton) telah dibangun untuk para pembaca di 1939, dalam komik strip Superman.

1960-an memperkenalkan Superman kedua, Kal-L. DC telah menciptakan multiverse (semesta ganda) di dalam dunia fiksi yang sang karakter tempati. Karakter kedua ini menegaskan bahwa ada dunia paralel. Superman kedua diperkenalkan kepada pembaca untuk menjelaskan keanggotaan Superman baik dalam tim superhero Justice Society of America dan tim superhero Justice League of Amerika.

1980-an terlihat revisi radikal terhadap karakter ini. DC Comics memutuskan untuk memindahkan multiverse untuk sedikit memudahkan jalan cerita. Ini membuat penulisan kembali jalan cerita dari karakter tersebut. John Byrne menulis ulang Superman, memindahkan kembali banyak ketentuan yang telah ditetapkan dan karakter-karakter yang ada dari kontinuitas, termasuk Superboy dan Supergirl. Bryne juga menghidupkan kembali orang tua angkat Superman. Pasangan Kent sebagai karakter. Dalam cerita sebelumnya pasangan Kent digambarkan meninggal di kehidupan awal Superman ( sekitar waktu kelulusan Clark Kent dari SMA).

1990-an diperlihatkan bahwa Superman dibunuh oleh sang penjahat Doomsday, walaupun sang karakter segera dibangkitkan kembali. Superman juga menikah dengan Lois Lane di 1996. Tempat asalnya di kunjungi kembali di 2004. Di 2006 Superman menanggalkan kekuatannya, walau kekuatannya ini dikembalikan.

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CUT OPEN THE SUPERMAN : INSPIRATIONS and CHARACTER’S HISTORY

Influences

An influence on early Superman stories is the context of the Great Depression. The left-leaning perspective of creators Shuster and Siegel is reflected in early storylines. Superman took on the role of social activist, fighting crooked businessmen and politicians and demolishing run-down tenements.^[26] This is seen by comics scholar Roger Sabin as a reflection of "the liberal idealism of Franklin Roosevelt’s New Deal", with Shuster and Siegel initially portraying Superman as champion to a variety of social causes.^[27] In later Superman radio programs the character continued to take on such issues, tackling a version of the KKK in a 1946 broadcast.^[28][29]

Siegel himself noted that the many mythic heroes which exist in the traditions of many cultures bore an influence on the character, including Hercules and Samson.^[12] The character has also been seen by Scott Bukatman to be "a worthy successor to Lindberg ... (and) also ... like Babe Ruth", and is also representative of the United States dedication to "progress and the ’new’" through his "invulnerable body ... on which history cannot be inscribed."^[30] Further, given that Siegel and Shuster were noted fans of pulp science fiction,^[9] it has been suggested that another influence may have been Hugo Danner. Danner was the main character of the 1930 novel Gladiator by Philip Wylie, and is possessed of same powers of the early Superman.^[31]

Because Siegel and Shuster were both Jewish, some religious commentators and pop-culture scholars such as Rabbi Simcha Weinstein and British novelist Howard Jacobson suggest that Superman’s creation was partly influenced by Moses,^[32][33] and other Jewish elements. Superman’s Kryptonian name, "Kal-El," resembles the Hebrew words קל-אל, which can be taken to mean "voice of God".^{[34] [35]}. The suffix "el", meaning "(of) God"^[36] is also found in the name of angels (e.g. Gabriel, Ariel), who are flying humanoid agents of good with superhuman powers. Jewish legends of the Golem have been cited as worthy of comparison,^[37] a Golem being a mythical being created to protect and serve the persecuted Jews of 16th century Prague and later revived in popular culture in reference to their suffering at the hands of the Nazis in Europe during the 1930s and 1940s. Superman is often seen as being an analogy for Jesus, being a saviour of humanity.^{[33][37][27][38]}

Whilst the term Superman was initially coined by Nietzsche, it is unclear how influential Nietzsche and his ideals were to Siegel and Shuster.^[33] Les Daniels has speculated that "Siegel picked up the term from other science fiction writers who had casually employed it", further noting that "his concept is remembered by hundreds of millions who may barely know who Nietzsche is."^[12] Others argue that Siegel and Shuster "could not have been unaware of an idea that would dominate Hitler’s National Socialism. The concept was certainly well discussed."^[39] Yet Jacobson and others point out that in many ways Superman and the Ãœbermensch are polar opposites.^[32] Nietzsche envisioned the Ãœbermensch as a man who had transcended the limitations of society, religion, and conventional morality while still being fundamentally human. Superman, although an alien gifted with incredible powers, chooses to honor human moral codes and social mores. Nietzsche envisioned the perfect man as being beyond moral codes; Siegel and Shuster envisioned the perfect man as holding himself to a higher standard of adherence to them.^[40]

Siegel and Shuster have themselves discussed a number of influences that impacted upon the character. Both were avid readers, and their mutual love of science fiction helped to drive their friendship. Siegel cited John Carter stories as an influence: "Carter was able to leap great distances because the planet Mars was smaller that the planet Earth; and he had great strength. I visualized the planet Krypton as a huge planet, much larger than Earth".^[16] The pair were also avid collectors of comic strips in their youth, cutting them from the newspaper, with Winsor McKay’s Little Nemo firing their imagination with its sense of fantasy.^[41] Shuster has remarked on the artists which played an important part in the development of his own style, whilst also noting a larger influence: "Alex Raymond and Burne Hogarth were my idols — also Milt Caniff, Hal Foster, and Roy Crane. But the movies were the greatest influence on our imagination: especially the films of Douglas Fairbanks Senior."^[42] Fairbanks’ role as Robin Hood was certainly an inspiration, as Shuster admitted to basing Superman’s stance upon scenes from the movie.^[43] The movies also influenced the storytelling and page layouts,^[44] whilst the city of Metropolis was named in honor of the Fritz Lang motion picture of the same title.^[16]

Comic book character

Superman, given the serial nature of comic publishing and the length of the character’s existence, has evolved as a character as his adventures have increased.^[59] The details of Superman’s origin, relationships and abilities changed significantly during the course of the character’s publication, from what is considered the Golden Age of comic books through the Modern Age. The powers and villains were developed through the 1940s, with Superman developing the ability to fly, and costumed villains introduced from 1941.^[60] The character was shown as learning of the existence of Krypton in 1949. The concept itself had originally been established to the reader in 1939, in the Superman comic strip.^[61]


The 1960s saw the introduction of a second Superman, Kal-L. DC had established a multiverse within the fictional universe its characters shared. This allowed characters published in the 1940s to exist alongside updated counterparts published in the 1960s. This was explained to the reader through the notion that the two groups of characters inhabited parallel Earths. The second Superman was introduced to explain to the reader Superman’s membership of both the 1940s superhero team the Justice Society of America and the 1960s superhero team the Justice League of America.^[62]

The 1980s saw radical revisions of the character. DC Comics decided to remove the multiverse in a bid to simplify its comics line. This led to the rewriting of the back story of the characters DC published, Superman included. John Byrne rewrote Superman, removing many established conventions and characters from continuity, including Superboy and Supergirl. Byrne also re-established Superman’s adoptive parents, The Kents, as characters.^[63] In the previous continuity the characters had been written as having died early in Superman’s life (about the time of Clark Kent’s graduation from high school).

The 1990s saw Superman killed by the villain Doomsday,^[64] although the character was soon resurrected.^[65] Superman also marries Lois Lane in 1996. His origin is again revisited in 2004.^[66] In 2006 Superman is stripped of his powers,^[67] although these are restored within a fictional year.^[68]