Superman: The Vicissitude From Comic Character To Popular Icon

Superman was created by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster. His serial stories appeared on Action Comicsin June of1938, and then he rapidly became very popular on many media. Superman, perhaps, is the firstcomic imaginary superhero who grown into a popular cultural icon of the whole world. After seventy yearsunremitting efforts, like Santa Claus, Mickey Mouse and Sherlock Holmes, Superman developed into aspectacle of popular cultural. Superman has great influence between the real world and comic andanimation world.In comic and animation world, Superman is widely regarded as the first superhero by most historiansbecause he is the sign of Golden Age in comic history, defined a distinct comic and animation hero type,and clearly breaking away from the Pulp Heroes who preceded him.Superman is also an idol in the real world. Superman obtains second highest ballot on VH1’s “200Greatest Pop Culture Icons List”. He was treated as an idol by a great many of famous stars, such asMuhammad Ali, Shaquille O’Neal, and Nicolas Cage. Even Barack Hussein Obama II, president of theUnited States, appeared on some propaganda materials dressed Superman’s costume or posture.Pulp hero was replaced by superhero is an evidence of popular culture transition followed the socialchange. In the development of American popular hero from pulp hero to superhero, pulp heroes werepowerless to handle new dangers brought on by urban life. As a reaction of time and social life, superherowas created. Superman is the first American comic superhero, is the product of tradition and history of theUnited States. Throughout the process of he gradually become the idol of the world’s popular culture, it isnot difficult to find traces of traditional religious culture, immigrant culture, social values and social psychology.Since superman was created, his story and products was accepted and familiar by different countries,and people who have variety cultural backgrounds. Superman is significance to Chinese comic andanimation construction. In contrast, it cannot find out a Chinese comic and animation character that cancomparable with superman. In view this, through a careful analysis the process of superman from anordinary comic hero to the well-known popular culture idols, and makes a compare between superheroesand Chinese fable heroes, find out the defects in Chinese comic and animation development. And then,draw lessons from Japan and the United States, such as creative skills, ideas and marketing practices, inorder to benefit the construction of Chinese comic and animation image.