The battle for Superman's soul
The superhero we need now
The origin story of Superman the comic book character is more compelling than the plot of most of the movies in which he stars.
Two bullied Jewish boys, sons of immigrant families growing up in the Depression, meet as 15-year-olds at Cleveland’s Glenville High School. They spend years developing a comic strip centered on a creature from another planet with super strength. He’s a foe of the Nazis and a fighter for the downtrodden.
After scads of rejections from publishers, they come across a buccaneering Army major, ex-spy and author who thinks their idea “stands a very good chance,” as Larry Tye wrote in his Superman biography. But “The Major” is a better judge of talent than he is a leader of a company. He’s forced into bankruptcy by two sharp operators. They take control of his business and pay the boys $130 for the first Superman comic.
It seems like a lot of money until the creators, Jerry Siegel and Joe Schuster, realize that they sold away eternal …
