It has been well over a century since one of the most important comic book creators in history was born. Jerry Siegel was born to Jewish immigrants who had fled antisemitism in Lithuania and arrived in New York in 1900. His parents changed their names to Michael and Sarah Siegel when they settled in America and had six children, with Jerry as the youngest. His family lived in Cleveland when he was born, and Siegel began to write for pulp magazines as a teenager. He became friends with another teenager named Joe Shuster, and they shared a love for science fiction and movies. After Siegel’s father died following an attack by a thief, Siegel and Shuster began developing the story of a superhero.
Superman co-creator Jerry Siegel was born on October 17, 1914, and he has more to do with the success of comic book superheroes than anyone other than his fellow co-creator, Joe Shuster. It was 88 years ago that Siegel, at the age of 23, saw his creation come to life in Action Comics #1.
Siegel and Shuster began developing their idea for Superman in 1933, hoping to sell it as a syndicated newspaper strip. However, no one bought into the idea, so the two decided they would work on turning the idea into a comic book. In March 1938, they worked out a deal to sell all rights to Superman to a comic book publisher known as Detective Comics, Inc., which would later become DC Comics. They were paid $130 for the rights to the character, which was one of the best and worst decisions the two ever made. It was great because it brought the world Superman and made Siegel and Shuster into legends. It was bad because they lost the rights to Superman forever.
It wasn’t just Superman that Siegel created either. He also created the character of Superboy, although DC rejected it when he pitched it and then published books with the character later while Siegel was conscripted into World War II. When he returned in 1959, he went on to work on the Legion of Super-Heroes, and he created many characters for that team’s cast, although it is hard to determine who he created since DC didn’t give creator bylines at the time.
However, there are several characters that Siegel is known to have co-created other than Superman. He also helped create The Spectre, The Presence, Bouncing Boy, Brainiac 5, Triplicate Girl, Invisible Kid, Matter-Eater Lad, Phantom Girl, Chameleon Boy, Lightning Lord, Cosmic King, and Saturn Queen. He also worked for Marvel for a time, using the pseudonym Joe Carter, and created Plantman while there. In some fun trivia, Siegel’s second wife Joanne Carter was the model that Lois Lane was based on when she worked with Joe Shuster.
Siegel and Shuster regretted selling all rights to Superman for such a low amount when the character became a runaway success for DC. Not only did the comics become highly successful, with a second Superman series joining Action Comics, but it was also sold to Hollywood, which created serials based on the character. However, for several years, Siegel and Shuster continued working for DC, even while they regretted selling the rights. Thanks to their popularity with fans, DC kept them on staff, writing the books. DC also paid them well, and according to a lawsuit filed later, the two were paid $401,194.85 between 1937 and 1947 for writing the comics, which is the equivalent of over $6 million based on inflation. Siegel left when he was conscripted into the United States Army in 1943, and it was then that he learned that DC Comics created a new character called Superboy, based on an idea he had pitched years earlier, but DC didn’t buy it at the time.
Because DC never bought the rights to Superboy, Siegel sued the company. He and Shuster also learned that DC cheated them out of royalties from the Superman radio show and merchandise. This ended up going to trial, and the two agreed to relinquish all copyrights to Superman and Superboy for $94,000, which is the equivalent of around $1.3 million now. After paying all his court fees, Siegel was reportedly left with just $29,000. Thanks to the lawsuits, DC also let Siegel go, so he no longer had his writing job with the company. He later returned in 1959 and worked for DC again, but when the company learned that he and Shuster were planning another lawsuit, he was fired again, and then he lost that lawsuit.
Finally, good news arrived in 1975. After spending years struggling to make ends meet, Warner Bros. planned to make a big-screen Superman movie. When Siegel let the press know about his plight and the years of struggle, despite creating Superman, Warner Bros. agreed to give both Siegel and Shuster a lifetime stipend in exchange for them not contesting ownership of the copyright to Superman. Jerry Siegel died on January 28, 1996, at the age of 81.
Let us know your favorite memories of Superman from comics, and what you like most from Jerry Siegel’s years of work on the character in the comments below.
