Wednesday, September 03, 2008

Look! Up in the sky! It is the real origin of Superman

Author Brad Meltzer has a new book out that details the secret real-life origin of the Man of Steel (The Book of Lies). As it turns out (according to Metlzer), there has been a long-held secret behind the creation of the world’s greatest Superhero:

it appears that the origin might have been more profound — that it was the death of Jerry Siegel's father that pushed the devastated teen to come up with the idea of a "Superman" to right all wrongs.

"In 50 years of interviews, Jerry Siegel never once mentioned that his father died in a robbery," says Brad Meltzer, a best-selling author whose novel, The Book of Lies, due Sept. 2, links the Siegel murder to a biblical conspiracy plot.

"But think about it," Meltzer says. "Your father dies in a robbery, and you invent a bulletproof man who becomes the world's greatest hero. I'm sorry, but there's a story there."

Check here for the rest of that story, as it appeared in USA Today.

Or you can listen to Metlzer himself.



Between Metlzer’s book and the one from Marc Tyler Nobleman (Boys of Steel), it seems that this is Superman Month. Cool, eh?

***UPDATE***UPDATE***

I just got word from Marc Nobleman, and it seems that I got some of it wrong, apparently Meltzer’s book is a fictionalized account about the “Secret” origin of Superman. Apparently I either misread the USA story, for misunderstood it.

Sorry for the confusion.

1 comment:

Tommy said...

Besides what the article says, there's probably another thing that went into Superman's creation: The need to keep one's self busy after the passing of a loved one.

That sort of pain can take away one's passion if they dwell on it too much, although it's unavoidable in the end. Then you have to get yourself going again.

My days under the Malibu Sun!

Way back in the early '90s I was writing for, well, virtually every comicbook magazine under the sun. As if that wasn't enough, I wa...