Superman Logo How the Man of Steels Symbol Became a Pop Culture Icon

Superman Logo: How the Man of Steel’s Symbol Became a Pop Culture Icon

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One of the most recognizable symbols in the world is Superman’s logo, but how did it change over the years and become such a pop culture icon?

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Superman Logo How the Man of Steels Symbol Became a Pop Culture Icon

Superman’s symbol is an iconic part of international pop culture. Almost anybody on Earth could probably identify this iconic symbol and would probably be able to name the character it belongs to. The symbol transcends language barriers, different cultures, and even the absence of Superman media in some places. Still, Superman’s iconic logo, dubbed by fans as the “S” shield, has been so widely disseminated around the world that it’s instantly recognizable to those who have never even read a comic book.

The “S” shield owes its popularity to Superman and his thousands of appearances in comic books, films, TV shows, radio serials, animated series, commercials, toys, books and video games since the character debuted in Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster’s Action Comics 31 in 1938.

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With Superman’s decades-long legacy, fans have seen a number of variations of the iconic “S” shield as the symbol has changed a few times over the years. These changes have occurred due to artists’ interpretations, as part of a large update of Superman’s costume or even story elements that have resulted in Superman donning a new S-shield. Now, we’re going to take a closer look at Superman’s logo and how it’s changed throughout the character’s evolution.

WHAT DOES SUPERMAN’S SYMBOL MEAN?

Superman Logo How the Man of Steels Symbol Became a Pop Culture Icon

Superman’s logo has had a few meanings over the years, with the simplest deriving from the character’s origin–the “S” stands for Superman. It wasn’t until Superman: The Movie that the symbol took on another meaning as the symbol for the House of El, first worn by Marlon Brando as Superman’s father Jor-El.

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The “S” shield’s status as a coat of arms for Kal-El’s Kryptonian heritage was further explored in the comics by a few writers, though it wasn’t until Mark Waid and Leinil Francis Yu’s Superman: Birthright that it was revealed to actually mean “hope.” This meaning was used in director Zack Snyder’s Man of Steel, which also made it a coat of arms, bringing the various meanings of the “S” shield together.

SUPERMAN’S ORIGINAL S-SHIELD

Superman Logo How the Man of Steels Symbol Became a Pop Culture Icon

In the first appearance of Superman, the hero’s symbol was essentially a police badge with an “S” on it, though it went through a number of small changes following the initial debut. These changes were largely due to different artists or rushed deadlines, which resulted more often than not in an inverted triangle with an S in the center.

The colors of the “S” and the triangle fluctuated even in the first issue of Action Comics #1, which featured different logos on the cover and the inside artwork. It wasn’t until Action Comics #7 that the shield was intentionally changed, with a big red S laid over a yellow triangle, a color scheme that would remain with the character for decades.

SUPERMAN’S PENTAGON S-SHIELD

Superman Logo How the Man of Steels Symbol Became a Pop Culture Icon

Superman’s popularity rose quickly and by 1941, Shuster was an overworked artist who needed a break. More artists were hired to fill in for Shuster, and the Shield design began to take on a different, yet familiar shape. Artist Wayne Boring is credited with initially defining the five-sided pentagonal shield that would begin to replace the simpler triangle design.

The animated Fleischer Studios serials would adopt the pentagon shield as well, though feature a black background instead of yellow. In the 50s, artist Curt Swan would further define the shield with a thicker “S” that featured a serif on the top with a big round tail. John Byrne would later enlarge and redefine the iconic logo for his 1984 reboot Man of Steel mini-series.

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ELECTRIC BLUE SUPERMAN’S SHIELD

Superman Logo How the Man of Steels Symbol Became a Pop Culture Icon

Shortly after the Death and Return of Superman, which saw a few different variations on the “S” shield appear, Superman underwent a drastic change to his being that altered his powers in the late-1990s. With new energy-based abilities, Superman was forced to wear a containment suit that radically altered his appearance, and introduced a new version of the “S” shield, which even received national news coverage.

The new costume was first drawn by Ron Frenz in 1997’s Superman #123 and featured a blue-and-white lightning motif, with the “S” shield following the same theme. The “Electric Blue” era was short-lived and not well-received, but the costume and “S” shield would lived on beyond this story, with the containment suit being worn by other energy-based characters like Strange Visitor and Livewire.

SUPERMAN’S MOVIE SYMBOL

Christopher Reeves donned the classic symbol in Superman: The Movie and its sequels, but when Smallville aired on TV, a new more alien symbol was revealed. The Kryptonian logo was presented as Jor-El’s sigil, and unlike most versions of the “S” shield, the Smallville symbol featured the number “8” inside of the familiar five-sided pentagon shape.

Zack Snyder’s 2013 Man of Steel film also tried to capture the alien feel of the symbol, while also reinforcing its connection to the House of El. The symbol is similar to the iconic pentagonal “S” shield, though it features a thicker center line with thinner top and bottom finishes. The film also adopted the meaning of the shield as the Kryptonian symbol for “hope.”

Superman has served as a symbol for truth and justice since his debut in 1938, and while the meaning of his symbol didn’t initially begin as “hope,” the character has brought that to fans across the entire world for decades, making him, and his symbol, a pop culture icon that could last for generations.

Link Source : https://www.cbr.com/superman-logo-evolution/

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