150 Fun Facts About Superman

What was Superman's birth name on the planet Krypton?

Superman's Kryptonian birth name is Kal-El; his parents Jor-El and Lara launched him toward Earth in a small rocket shortly before Krypton exploded.

In which US state is the town of Smallville, where the Kents raise Clark?

Smallville is in Kansas, where the Kents found the rocket on their farm; the comics left the state unnamed for decades, until the 1978 film placed the town there.

Which composer wrote the fanfare theme for the 1978 film Superman?

John Williams got the job only after first choice Jerry Goldsmith dropped out over scheduling; he recorded the march with the London Symphony Orchestra.

Superman's secret hideout, located somewhere in the Arctic, is called what?

Superman's Arctic hideout is the Fortress of Solitude; the name was borrowed from pulp hero Doc Savage, whose own Arctic Fortress of Solitude appeared in the 1930s.

Which young newspaper photographer is frequently described as "Superman's pal"?

Jimmy Olsen, the Daily Planet's cub photographer, was popular enough to headline his own title, Superman's Pal, Jimmy Olsen, from 1954 to 1974.

Who provided Superman's voice on The Adventures of Superman, broadcast from 1940 to 1951?

Bud Collyer voiced both Clark Kent and Superman for most of the radio serial's run, marking the change by dropping from a high tenor to a deep bass on 'This looks like a job for Superman!'

Which villain killed Superman in the famous 1992 storyline?

Doomsday, a near-mindless Kryptonian monster, beat Superman to death in Superman #75; each landed a final massive blow on the other, and both fell in the streets of Metropolis.

Superman #75, the 1992 issue in which he dies, came bagged with which mourning keepsake?

A black armband came sealed inside the black-bagged collector's edition of Superman #75, which sold more than six million copies and was the best-selling comic of 1992.

Why did DC's writers need a big new Superman story in 1992, leading to his death?

His wedding was put on hold to coincide with the TV series Lois & Clark; left without a big story, the writers took up Jerry Ordway's running joke that they should just kill him.

Which of the four replacement "Supermen" ultimately revived the real one using Kryptonian technology?

The Eradicator stole Superman's body and placed it in a Kryptonian regeneration matrix, drawing on its energy for his own power; the real Superman recovered there and walked out alive.

In its 1943 debut story, how did kryptonite reach Earth?

As a meteor: kryptonite debuted in 'The Meteor from Krypton', a 1943 story on the Superman radio serial, a full six years before it appeared in the comics.

Superman can safely carry kryptonite sealed in a box of which metal?

Lead is the one element kryptonite's radiation cannot pass through, so a lead box makes the rock safe; lead also blocks Superman's X-ray vision.

An unpublished 1940 Jerry Siegel story featured a prototype of kryptonite under what name?

The K-Metal from Krypton drained Superman's strength while giving humans powers; the 1940 Jerry Siegel story was rejected because in it Superman reveals his identity to Lois Lane.

What was the cover price of Action Comics #1 in 1938?

Action Comics #1 cost 10 cents in 1938, and its print run of 200,000 sold out; a surviving copy can now sell for millions of dollars.

What is Superman doing on the cover of Action Comics #1?

Lifting a car over his head is how the world first saw Superman; publisher Jack Liebowitz said he picked the cover because it looked thrilling, and that running Superman at all was pure accident.

Which actor's copy of Action Comics #1 was stolen in 2000 and found in a storage locker in 2011?

Nicolas Cage had already been paid by his insurer when the stolen comic turned up in a California storage locker; it sold that November for $2.16 million, then a record for a comic book.

Roughly how many copies of Action Comics #1 are estimated to still exist?

Only around 100 copies of Action Comics #1 are thought to survive from a print run of about 200,000, which is why high-grade examples sell for millions.

How much were Siegel and Shuster paid for the first Superman story in Action Comics #1?

Siegel and Shuster received $130, $10 a page, in a deal that also signed over all rights to Superman; they spent decades in court trying to win them back.

Siegel and Shuster met as teenagers at Glenville High School in which city?

Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster met at Glenville High School in Cleveland, Ohio, and bonded over science fiction; Shuster's family had moved there from Toronto when he was a boy.

In Siegel's 1933 story "The Reign of the Super-Man", who was the title character?

A telepathic villain: Bill Dunn, a vagrant picked from a bread line, gains mind powers in a chemist's experiment and tries to rule the world; Siegel and Shuster later reused the name for a hero.

What did Siegel and Shuster win back from DC in 1975?

Their creator credit returned to Superman stories, with a yearly pension, after Siegel went to the press as Warner prepared its Superman film; in exchange they agreed never to contest the copyright.

Lois's surname was borrowed from which 1930s actress, who had played reporter Torchy Blane?

Lola Lane lent Lois her surname, Siegel said, but the character's spark came from Glenda Farrell, who played Torchy Blane in most of the films; Lane took the role only once.

When Clark married Lois in the 1996 comics, what had he lost?

His superpowers were gone, lost in the earlier Final Night crossover, so Clark married as an ordinary man; the priest at the altar was drawn to look like co-creator Jerry Siegel.

In real-world publishing history, why did Lex Luthor become bald?

Because of an artist's mistake: Luthor debuted with a full head of red hair until a newspaper-strip artist drew him bald, perhaps confusing him with a bald henchman, and the look stuck.

Which office did Lex Luthor win in a 2000 comics storyline?

Lex Luthor became President of the United States in a 2000 storyline, winning on a platform of technological progress, but his reign collapsed before he finished his first term.

Which Oscar-winning actor played Jor-El in the 1978 film Superman?

Marlon Brando played Jor-El for a reported $3.7 million plus a share of the gross for about two weeks of work, and refused to memorise his lines, so cue cards were placed around the set.

The 1978 film Superman received a Special Achievement Academy Award for what?

Its visual effects earned Superman a Special Achievement Academy Award: for the flying scenes, the actors hung on wires in front of images projected onto a special screen.

Who played General Zod in Superman II?

Terence Stamp, a 1960s star who had left for India and an ashram, found wider fame as General Zod, flanked in Superman II by Sarah Douglas as Ursa and Jack O'Halloran as Non.

Which director of the 1978 Superman film was fired from Superman II with most of it already shot?

Richard Donner had filmed most of Superman II alongside the first film when the producers replaced him with Richard Lester, who reshot much of it; Donner's own cut finally appeared in 2006.

In Superman III, what does Gus Gorman substitute for the unknown element when he synthesises kryptonite?

Tar is what Gus Gorman types in when his computer can't identify one ingredient of kryptonite; the flawed rock leaves Superman unharmed but slowly corrupts him, until he splits in two and fights Clark Kent.

Reeve agreed to make Superman IV on condition of creative input; the plot he pushed for concerned what?

Nuclear disarmament was Reeve's own idea for Superman IV: The Quest for Peace and his price for returning; in the film Superman tells the United Nations he will rid the world of nuclear arms.

Superman star Christopher Reeve was paralysed in 1995 while doing what?

Horse riding: Reeve was thrown at a cross-country event in Culpeper, Virginia, and paralysed from the neck down; he spent the rest of his life lobbying for spinal-injury research.

Which 1951 feature film served as the pilot for the George Reeves television series?

Superman and the Mole Men, a 58-minute feature, was later trimmed and recut for television as 'The Unknown People', the only two-part episode of Adventures of Superman.

In the classic Superman intro, he is "faster than a speeding bullet" and "more powerful than a" what?

Locomotive: the 1941 Fleischer cartoons opened with the boast after writer Jay Morton reworked his early drafts of the intro, and the radio serial and the 1950s TV show used the same lines.

Hoping to scare the studio off, the Fleischers quoted what cost per Superman short?

The Fleischers quoted $100,000 per short, about four times a normal cartoon budget, hoping Paramount would balk; instead the studio negotiated them down to $50,000 for the first cartoon.

In 1946, a 16-part radio serial pitted Superman against a thinly veiled version of which group?

The Ku Klux Klan, thinly disguised, was the enemy in the 16-part 1946 serial 'Clan of the Fiery Cross'; DC retold the story in 2019 as the comic Superman Smashes the Klan.

In Man of Steel (2013), Clark says the symbol on his chest means what on Krypton?

In Man of Steel (2013), Clark tells Lois the crest is not an S: 'On my world it means hope.' Jor-El wears the same House of El symbol.

Which network aired Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman from 1993 to 1997?

ABC aired Lois & Clark for four seasons with Dean Cain and Teri Hatcher; it gave the romance as much weight as the heroics and treated Clark Kent as the real person, Superman as the disguise.

In Lois & Clark, the newspaper editor swapped his comic-book catchphrase for which exclamation?

'Great shades of Elvis!' replaced the comics' 'Great Caesar's ghost!' because the show's creator thought the old line wrong for Lane Smith's Southern editor; the swap turned him into an Elvis fanatic.

In Smallville, young Lex Luthor is sent to town to run what local business?

A fertilizer plant is the family outpost Lionel Luthor sends his son to run; after Clark saves Lex's life, the two future enemies become fast friends.

Smallville's creators held Clark Kent to a strict rule known as what?

"No tights, no flights" meant Clark would neither wear the suit nor fly; creators Al Gough and Miles Millar pitched the rule to strip Superman to his bare essentials.

Smallville's 217 episodes broke which show's record as North America's longest-running sci-fi series?

Stargate SG-1 lost the title in 2011, when Smallville's tenth and final season took it to 217 episodes, at the time the most of any North American science-fiction series.

Who directed Man of Steel (2013), the film that launched the DC Extended Universe?

Zack Snyder directed Man of Steel from an idea writer David S. Goyer pitched to Christopher Nolan during story talks for The Dark Knight Rises; Nolan took it to the studio and produced.

Which Oscar-winning actor played Superman's Kryptonian father Jor-El in Man of Steel (2013)?

Russell Crowe played Jor-El, who dies resisting General Zod's coup yet returns as an artificial intelligence to tell Clark where he came from; Kevin Costner played his Earth father.

In Superman Returns (2006), what kept Superman away for five years?

Looking for Krypton's remains: astronomers thought they had found his home world, so Superman left to see it, and he returns to find that Lois has moved on and is engaged.

Who plays Superman in James Gunn's 2025 film Superman?

David Corenswet won the cape after screen tests in which Nicholas Hoult also tried out as Clark Kent; Hoult was cast as Lex Luthor instead.

What is the subtitle of Chapter One of James Gunn's DC Universe?

"Gods and Monsters" opened on television with the animated Creature Commandos in 2024, yet James Gunn calls Superman (2025), its first film, the true beginning of the DC Universe.

Who plays Lois Lane in James Gunn's 2025 film Superman?

Rachel Brosnahan, the star of The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, won the part over Emma Mackey, Phoebe Dynevor and Samara Weaving, who all tested for Lois.

Kara Zor-El grew up in which surviving fragment of Krypton?

Argo City was a fragment of Krypton flung clear when the planet exploded; when the drifting city was doomed in its turn, Kara's father rocketed her to Earth to join her cousin.

Who voiced Superman in Superman: The Animated Series (1996-2000)?

Tim Daly voiced Superman in the 54-episode series, the second in the DC Animated Universe, opposite Dana Delany's Lois; its Superman was then spun off into the ensemble show Justice League.

In Superman & Lois, what are the names of Clark and Lois's twin sons?

Jonathan and Jordan Kent are named for Clark's two fathers, Jonathan Kent and Jor-El; the series ran four seasons on The CW, ending in 2024.

Who is the editor-in-chief of the Daily Planet in the Superman comics?

Perry White runs the Daily Planet as editor-in-chief; he was created for the radio serial in 1940 and only afterwards written into the comics, in Superman #7.

Who became the first actor to play Superman in live action, in a 1948 movie serial?

Kirk Alyn went unbilled: the 1948 serial credited the role on screen only to 'Superman', and whenever he took off, a cartoon figure did the flying.

In the earliest comic stories, Clark Kent worked for which newspaper before the Planet?

The Daily Star was Clark's first paper, sharing its name with the Toronto Daily Star that co-creator Joe Shuster had sold as a newsboy; it became the Daily Planet in 1940.

In Superboy #78 (1960), what does young Clark make his costume from?

Blankets from his rocket were indestructible on Earth, so they made a costume nothing could tear; the 1986 reboot instead had Martha Kent sew it from ordinary cloth.

Which bestselling novelist was hired to write the screenplay for the 1978 film Superman?

Mario Puzo, author of The Godfather, delivered one vast script covering both Superman and Superman II in 1975; three more credited writers reworked it before filming.

Under editor Julius Schwartz's Sandman Saga, Clark Kent switched careers to become what?

The 1971 Sandman Saga made Clark Kent a television anchor for Galaxy Broadcasting's WGBS after it bought the Daily Planet; Schwartz also retired kryptonite and the Superman robots.

Which star turned down a $4M offer of Superman, Lex Luthor or Jor-El in the 1978 film?

Paul Newman declined $4 million to play Superman, Luthor or Jor-El; Redford and Burt Reynolds also passed, and the search grew so desperate that producer Ilya Salkind's wife's dentist was screen-tested.

Besides kryptonite, what is Superman's other classic weakness?

Magic affects Superman as easily as it would any human, which is why a spell-casting imp can torment a hero who shrugs off bullets.

Which artist succeeded Joe Shuster as the principal artist on Superman comic books?

Wayne Boring had ghosted for Shuster's studio and taken over the newspaper strip before defining Superman's 1950s look; he later left comics to work as a bank security guard.

Which villain shrank the Kryptonian city of Kandor and travels with a monkey named Koko?

Brainiac shared his name with a real toy computer kit, so DC rewrote the alien as a robot with a 'computer personality' in deference to the toy.

Bizarro's cube-shaped home planet goes by what name?

Bizarro World is the cube-shaped planet Htrae, Earth spelled backwards, where the Bizarro Code demands that everyone do the opposite of what Earth people do.

Tricked into saying his name backwards, Mister Mxyzptlk is banished for at least how long?

Saying 'Kltpzyxm' sends Mister Mxyzptlk home to the fifth dimension for at least 90 days; in his 1944 debut the imp was spelled Mxyztplk, and two letters later swapped places.

In the comics, why did Jor-El fire Krypto the dog into space?

To test a prototype rocket, Jor-El launched the family dog before risking his son; meteors knocked it off course, and Krypto drifted for years before landing on Earth.

Which team from the future recruited young Superboy?

The Legion of Super-Heroes, super-powered teenagers from a thousand years ahead, put Superboy through a series of tests in their 1958 debut before granting him membership.

Which villain, the criminal John Corben, is kept alive by a kryptonite heart?

Metallo is John Corben, a criminal whose body was mangled in a near-fatal accident; a scientist rebuilt him as a robot powered by a kryptonite heart.

Who rebooted Superman for DC in 1986's The Man of Steel?

John Byrne, who made his name on Marvel's X-Men, wrote and drew all six issues, which turned Lex Luthor from a mad scientist into a power-hungry businessman.

In All-Star Superman, what is slowly killing the Man of Steel?

Luthor lures Superman into the Sun's corona, and the overexposure to the Sun that supercharges his cells is also slowly killing him; Morrison and Quitely's 12 issues inspired Gunn's 2025 film.

Mark Millar's Superman: Red Son imagines Superman raised where?

Red Son (2003) imagines Superman's rocket landing on a Ukrainian collective farm in the Soviet Union, making him Stalin's champion of the common worker rather than 'the American way'.

Who painted the 1996 Elseworlds epic Kingdom Come?

Alex Ross painted Kingdom Come (1996) in gouache from a story he co-wrote with Mark Waid, in which an aged Superman comes out of retirement to rein in a reckless new generation.

Darkseid's face was modelled by his creator Kirby on which Hollywood actor?

Jack Palance lent Darkseid his face, by the account of Kirby's assistant Mark Evanier, while the tyrant's personality drew on power-mad rulers, Richard Nixon above all.

Which artist drew the 1978 oversized comic Superman vs. Muhammad Ali?

Neal Adams drew the tabloid-size Superman vs. Muhammad Ali (1978), scripted with Denny O'Neil; by its delayed release Ali had lost his title to Leon Spinks, regaining it that September.

Superman's 1976 team-up, the first modern Marvel/DC superhero crossover, paired him with whom?

Superman vs. the Amazing Spider-Man (1976), a tabloid-size one-shot, pitted the pair against Lex Luthor and Doctor Octopus; a sequel paired them again in 1981.

In 'For the Man Who Has Everything', who gives Superman the dream-inducing Black Mercy plant?

Mongul slips the Black Mercy onto Superman as a birthday 'gift' in Superman Annual #11 (1985), by Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons, the future Watchmen team; it traps him in a dream of Krypton.

Which organisation grew the clone Superboy, Conner Kent, in 1993?

Project Cadmus, a genetic-engineering outfit, grew Superboy during Reign of the Supermen; he later learned that the human half of his DNA came from Lex Luthor.

Which basketball star played the armoured hero Steel in a 1997 film?

Shaquille O'Neal played John Henry Irons in Steel, a film music producer Quincy Jones championed as a fan of the character; it took in $1.7 million against a $16 million budget.

Which of Superman's "L.L." women fought crime as the Silver Age heroine Insect Queen?

Lana Lang freed an insect-like alien pinned under a fallen tree, and its thank-you ring gave her insect powers; she sewed a honeybee costume and called herself Insect Queen.

Kryptonian criminals like General Zod are imprisoned in which dimension?

The Phantom Zone, a pocket universe discovered by Jor-El, was Krypton's humane way to jail its worst criminals after the planet abolished the death penalty.

Who composed the 1966 Broadway musical It's a Bird...It's a Plane...It's Superman?

Charles Strouse, composer of Bye Bye Birdie and later Annie, wrote the music to Lee Adams's lyrics; the show closed after 129 performances but came back as an ABC television special in 1975.

Who took over the title role in the Superboy TV series from its second season in 1989?

Gerard Christopher replaced John Haymes Newton from the second season; he later won the lead in Lois & Clark at audition, then lost it when the producers learned he had already played Superboy.

Which theme-park chain opened Superman: The Escape, a 415-foot coaster that hit 100 mph, in 1997?

Six Flags planned its California ride for 1996, but launch-system trouble pushed it back a year, so a similar coaster in Australia reached 100 mph two months before it.

Who played 1950s TV Superman George Reeves in the 2006 film Hollywoodland?

Ben Affleck won the best-actor prize at the Venice Film Festival for playing George Reeves; a decade later he joined the DC films himself, as Batman.

The notorious 1999 game Superman 64 had players repeatedly fly through what?

Rings were the chore: Superman 64 sent players flying through them in a virtual Metropolis whose 'Kryptonite fog', blamed on Lex Luthor, really hid how little of the city the console could draw.

Who played Kara Zor-El in the 1984 spin-off film Supergirl?

Helen Slater played Kara in Supergirl (1984), which grossed about $14 million against a $35 million budget; no Supergirl feature followed until the 2026 DC Universe film.

In the 2015 Supergirl TV series, where does Kara live and fight crime?

National City is the home Melissa Benoist's Kara protects in Supergirl; the show began on CBS in 2015, moved to The CW after one season and ran until 2021.

Who plays Kara Zor-El in the 2026 DC Universe film Supergirl?

Milly Alcock, known for House of the Dragon, first appeared as Kara in Superman (2025) before leading her own film, with former Aquaman Jason Momoa as the bounty hunter Lobo.

Who voices Clark Kent in the anime-styled series My Adventures with Superman?

Jack Quaid, best known as Hughie in The Boys, has voiced Clark Kent on Adult Swim since 2023; he also sent in an audition tape for the live-action Superman of the 2025 film.

Which hero made her first theatrical live-action appearance in Batman v Superman (2016)?

Wonder Woman, played by Gal Gadot, arrived in the first live-action film to put Batman and Superman on screen together; her own film followed a year later.

Henry Cavill's mustache from which franchise was digitally erased in Justice League (2017)?

Cavill was shooting Mission: Impossible - Fallout, and Paramount would not let him shave, so Warner Bros. digitally erased the mustache from his reshot Justice League scenes.

A real town called Metropolis, with a 15-foot Superman statue, is in which US state?

Metropolis, Illinois, had its claim as Superman's hometown backed by the state legislature in 1972; a 15-foot statue stands by the courthouse, and fans gather each June for the Superman Celebration.

Clark's college sweetheart Lori Lemaris was secretly what?

She was a mermaid from Atlantis who hid her tail under a blanket in a wheelchair at Metropolis University; Lori Lemaris could also read minds, which is how she learned Clark's secret.

On which planet, renamed in his honour, was Luthor hailed as a hero and married Ardora?

Lexor took Luthor's name after he restored its water supply; on that world he was the hero and Superman the detested villain.

Which Superman foe was created by waste Superman himself had collected in space?

The Parasite: worker Raymond Jensen opened a container of hazardous waste that Superman had collected in space, and ever after drained the life force and powers of anyone he touched.

George Lowther's 1942 novel gave Superman's adoptive parents which first names?

Eben and Sarah Kent come from George Lowther's 1942 novel The Adventures of Superman, and the 1950s TV series kept them; the comics tried John and Mary before settling on Jonathan and Martha.

Which heroes filled in on the 1940s radio serial so Superman's actor could take holidays?

Batman and Robin carried whole storylines while the lead actor was away; kryptonite did the same job, leaving Superman groaning in pain while the supporting cast took over.

How much was Christopher Reeve paid for Superman and Superman II combined?

Christopher Reeve was paid $250,000 for Superman and Superman II together, while Marlon Brando took $3.7 million plus a share of the gross for about twelve days as Jor-El.

Refusing a muscle suit, Reeve trained for the 1978 film Superman under which Star Wars actor?

David Prowse, the weightlifting champion inside Darth Vader's armour, ran Reeve's training; Prowse had wanted to play Superman himself but was refused an audition for not being American.

The 1978 film's Smallville scenes were shot in which Canadian province?

Alberta's prairie stood in for Superman's home state: the Kent farm was built at Blackie and the school football scenes shot at Barons, while New York played Metropolis during the 1977 blackout.

Lois & Clark star Dean Cain was set for a career in which league before a knee injury?

NFL: Dean Cain set an interception record at Princeton and signed with the Buffalo Bills, but hurt his knee in training camp and turned to acting.

Who played Lex Luthor opposite Brandon Routh in Superman Returns (2006)?

Kevin Spacey played Lex Luthor in Superman Returns, scheming to grow a new continent from Kryptonian crystals; Gene Hackman had the role in 1978 and Jesse Eisenberg took it in 2016.

Which Oscar-winning actor played criminal genius Lex Luthor opposite Christopher Reeve in three Superman films?

Gene Hackman declined to return for Superman II's reshoots, so several of his scenes there use a body double and a voice impersonator.

In the 1978 film Superman, how does the hero undo Lois Lane's death after a California earthquake?

Superman travels back in time by racing around the Earth, an ending that was first written and filmed for Superman II.

Which comedian played computer whiz Gus Gorman in Superman III after praising the series on The Tonight Show?

Richard Pryor joked to Johnny Carson that he would like a part in a Superman film, and the producers answered with a $5 million salary.

Which Dark Knight trilogy director produced Man of Steel (2013) and developed its story with writer David Goyer?

Christopher Nolan pitched the idea to the studio after a story talk on The Dark Knight Rises, and was hired to produce the film, not direct it.

Which composer scored Man of Steel (2013), after first denying rumours that he would write Superman's new music?

Hans Zimmer came back for Batman v Superman, then announced he was retiring from superhero films, a vow he later took back.

In Superman II, Superman hurls a terrorists' hydrogen bomb into space from which European landmark?

The Eiffel Tower bomb explodes far out in space, and its shockwave is what frees General Zod and his two followers from their prison.

Who played General Zod, a Kryptonian general bent on turning Earth into a new Krypton, in Man of Steel?

Michael Shannon's Zod wears armour made entirely by computer, because a practical suit would have been too heavy to move freely in.

In DC Comics, how is Supergirl, who was born Kara Zor-El on Krypton, related to Superman?

Supergirl is his cousin through their fathers, the brothers Zor-El and Jor-El, and in her first stories she hid in an orphanage as Linda Lee.

Clark Kent's adoptive mother and Bruce Wayne's mother share which first name, a turning point in Batman v Superman?

Martha is the name Superman gasps as Batman stands over him ready to strike, and hearing it makes Batman stop and go to rescue her instead.

Supergirl's human identity carries which surname, used as Linda in the comics and as Kara in the 2015 TV series?

Danvers comes from Fred and Edna Danvers, the couple who adopt Supergirl in a 1961 comic and end her stay at Midvale Orphanage.

Mister Mxyzptlk, the imp who plagues Superman with reality-bending pranks, calls which strange realm home?

The Fifth Dimension is where the imp lives an ordinary life: in one story Superman visits to get his own back and spoils his run for mayor.

Which item of clothing was a Jimmy Olsen trademark for decades before modern comics gave him casual clothes?

A bow tie was already worn by the nameless office boy of 1938 who was later counted as Jimmy's first appearance in the comics.

Which gadget lets Jimmy Olsen call Superman in an emergency by sending out a high-frequency supersonic signal?

A wristwatch does the job: the Signal Watch debuted in the first issue of Jimmy's own comic, and later stories say he designed it himself.

What is the first name of Lois Lane's younger sister, Jimmy Olsen's on-off girlfriend in Silver Age comics?

Lucy was an airline stewardess in her Silver Age stories, and she and Jimmy even got married in several so-called imaginary tales.

Lois Lane, the Daily Planet's star reporter, is traditionally a winner of which American journalism award?

The Pulitzer Prize sets her apart in the newsroom: Lois was already the paper's top reporter before Clark Kent ever joined the staff.

Which star of Enchanted and Arrival played Lois Lane opposite Henry Cavill in Man of Steel (2013) and its sequels?

Amy Adams's Lois follows Clark's trail and learns who he is early on, then chooses to keep his identity safe rather than publish it.

Which future Desperate Housewives star played Lois Lane opposite Dean Cain in the 1990s series Lois & Clark?

Teri Hatcher later came back to the Superman world on Smallville, in a guest appearance as Lois's mother, Ella Lane.

Which Canadian-born actress played Lois Lane opposite Christopher Reeve in four Superman films from 1978 to 1987?

Margot Kidder read for the part only a month before filming was due to begin, and went on to win a Saturn Award for it.

In the 1978 film Superman, the hero makes his costumed debut by saving Lois Lane from an accident involving what?

A helicopter accident is only the start: he spends the rest of the evening on public rescues and wins overnight fame as a caped hero.

In Superman II, Lois Lane jumps into a river to make Clark Kent reveal himself while the pair are on assignment where?

At Niagara Falls Clark saves her without giving himself away, and it is his unscathed hand, later on, that finally proves he is Superman.

In which video game series does Superman turn tyrant after the Joker tricks him into killing Lois Lane?

Injustice opens with that tragedy: a grieving Superman kills the Joker and sets up a regime to enforce peace, while Batman heads the resistance.

Which rock band reached number three on the Billboard Hot 100 with its 2000 debut single Kryptonite?

3 Doors Down vocalist Brad Arnold wrote the song in a mathematics class when he was 15, and it was one of the first he ever wrote.

In Batman v Superman (2016), Batman turns stolen kryptonite into gas and which hand-held weapon to fight Superman?

A spear, and it is a weakened Superman who finally uses it, impaling Luthor's monster while taking a deadly blow in return.

Unlike fictional kryptonite, the real element krypton is which kind of substance?

A noble gas with no colour or smell, krypton was discovered in Britain in 1898 and takes its name from the Greek for the hidden one.

Jadarite, a mineral whose formula nearly matches the kryptonite recipe in Superman Returns, was found in which country?

Serbia's Jadar Valley gave the mineral its name; it is pale and earthy rather than green, and is valued today as a rich source of lithium.

In Superman III, a Superman corrupted by synthetic kryptonite vandalises which world-famous landmark out of spite?

The Leaning Tower of Pisa gets pushed upright by the bad Superman, who also blows out the Olympic flame; he restores the lean at the end.

Which Beetlejuice director spent a year on Superman Lives, a 1990s film the studio shelved before shooting began?

Tim Burton signed a $5 million pay-or-play contract, and the studio had spent $30 million on development by the time it halted the film.

Which director dropped out of X-Men: The Last Stand to make Superman Returns (2006) instead?

Bryan Singer thought up the story of Superman coming back to Earth after a long absence while he was still filming X2.

Darkseid, the stone-faced tyrant who menaces Superman and the Justice League, rules which grim planet?

Apokolips is built over from pole to pole, and its downtrodden Hunger Dogs labour to feed the fire pits that give the planet light and energy.

Who is Superman's Kryptonian birth mother, the wife of the scientist Jor-El in the comics and films?

Lara was a promising astronaut in Krypton's space programme in the classic comics, and was first called Lora in a 1939 newspaper strip.

Which heroine, also called Kara Zor-L, is Supergirl's counterpart from the parallel world of Earth-Two?

Power Girl left Krypton when Superman did, but her ship took far longer to arrive, and on Earth she took the name Karen Starr.

Which evil counterpart of Superman, a native of Earth-Three, heads the villainous Crime Syndicate?

Ultraman comes from a world where DC's heroes are villains and its villains are heroes, so that Earth's Luthor is one of the good guys.

Which bodyguard and chauffeur of Lex Luthor was created for Superman: The Animated Series, then added to the comics?

Mercy Graves was voiced by Lisa Edelstein, and Smallville later based its own character Tess Mercer on her.

Which mad scientist, the first supervillain Superman ever faced, later moved his mind into an albino gorilla?

Ultra-Humanite debuted in 1939 as a genius in a wheelchair, and was Superman's chief foe until Lex Luthor arrived the following year.

Which actor plays Jimmy Olsen, a boyish photographer who helps expose Lex Luthor, in the 2025 film Superman?

Skyler Gisondo's Jimmy breaks the story because Luthor's girlfriend, who is infatuated with him, hands over the evidence of Luthor's scheme.

One of Jimmy Olsen's most cited Silver Age transformations turned him into a giant version of which animal?

Turtle Boy came back as a joke in modern comics, where a laid-off Jimmy plays the character in a series of pizza commercials.

Which actor played Jimmy Olsen in all four Christopher Reeve Superman films and in the 1984 spin-off Supergirl?

Marc McClure is the only actor to play one character in all five of those films, and he was also Marty McFly's brother Dave in Back to the Future.

Which actor made Jimmy Olsen so popular on 1950s TV that DC gave the cub reporter his own comic?

Jack Larson felt typecast as a naive young man and did little acting after the series ended, turning to writing plays and a libretto instead.

Which actor played Jimmy Olsen on Smallville, a role his twin brother Shawn turned down in a 2006 Superman film?

Aaron Ashmore took the part on TV, while Shawn had to refuse the film version because he was committed to X-Men: The Last Stand.

Which insult comedian guest-starred in a two-part Jimmy Olsen comic story written and drawn by Jack Kirby?

Don Rickles turned up during a run in which Kirby also threw vampires and the Loch Ness Monster at Superman's pal.

Which superhero did Jimmy Olsen become by drinking a serum, earning honorary membership of a team from the future?

Elastic Lad could stretch his body like Plastic Man, and modern comics brought the change back as a painful affliction rather than a gift.

In modern comics, Lois Lane grew up as a military brat because her father, Sam Lane, holds which position?

As an Army general, Sam Lane trained his daughter in hand-to-hand combat and firearms, skills that serve her well as a reporter.

On Smallville, Lois Lane, played by Erica Durance, first arrives to investigate the apparent death of which relative?

Chloe Sullivan was invented for the show as a Lois Lane type, a school newspaper editor who tracks the town's oddities on her Wall of Weird.

Which actress played Lois Lane in the 1948 Superman serial and returned as young Lois's mother in the 1978 film?

Noel Neill embraced the part for life, giving talks on college campuses in the 1970s when interest in her old TV series revived.

In Superman Returns, Lex Luthor combines kryptonite with a stolen Kryptonian crystal to grow what in the Atlantic Ocean?

A new landmass, meant to supplant America, is so full of kryptonite that Superman is left weak and helpless when he lands on it.

Which colour of kryptonite takes away a Kryptonian's powers for good, as Superman once chose to do to himself?

Gold kryptonite is Superman's self-imposed punishment in a 1986 Alan Moore story, taken out of remorse after he kills an enemy.

Which pet cat of Supergirl gained flight and super-strength from X-kryptonite, the leftover of a failed experiment?

Streaky found the X-kryptonite after Supergirl threw it out of a window; she had been trying to neutralise the deadly green kind.

In 1978's Superman, Eve Teschmacher frees the hero from kryptonite because her mother lives in which New Jersey city?

Hackensack is where one of Luthor's two missiles is heading, so she urges Superman to deal with that one first.

After wearing a kryptonite ring for years in the post-1986 comics, Lex Luthor developed cancer and lost what?

His right hand was amputated to stop the cancer spreading: Luthor had not realised that long exposure to kryptonite could harm humans too.

Which giant ape, a foe of Superman since 1959, can fire kryptonite radiation from his eyes?

Titano began as Toto, a small chimpanzee sent into space on a test flight, where a mix of rays made him grow to gigantic size.