Jerry Siegel, Joe Shuster, and the Birth of Superman

https://lithub.com/how-two-jewish-kids-in-1930s-cleveland-altered-the-course-of-american-pop-culture/

by samclemens • 3 years ago

81 76 3 years ago

Superman, an illegal alien, had come millions of miles not to be featured on the front page of the Daily Star, but to save mankind from itself, its ugly awful self.

Wrong. Superman is not an illegal alien because he does not belong to the human species, and most laws, including immigration law, do not apply to him.

He belongs to a fictional extraterrestrial species, the Kryptonians. To infringe the law under most jurisdictions you first need to be a person, and Superman falls into a legal void due to being a non-human extraterrestrial, and there is no legislation or jurisprudence that establishes a legal framework for them.

We don't have immigration laws for extraterrestrials. And if one of such laws was enacted as a result of his presence, it would not make Superman an illegal immigrant because his "illegal" entry would precede whatever law we create to govern the entry of extraterrestrials, making it ex post facto (laws cannot apply retroactively).

pcthrowaway• 3 years ago

In that case, it's a good thing he's around to stop the non-human villains, since presumably the laws about killing and whatnot wouldn't apply to them either.

29athrowaway9• 3 years ago

Not being a person also means you have no rights.

bobsmooth• 3 years ago

Comments like this are why I love this site.

nwah1• 3 years ago

My understanding as a non-lawyer is that legal personhood is not predicated on membership in the human species. It is predicated on whatever precedent has established. And that there are important distinctions made in law between legal persons and natural persons. Which is why even a corporation can be considered as having personhood, and why there has been some controversy as to whether great apes in general have legal personhood.

Both legal personhood and natural personhood are just legal constructs that aren't defined by species except through precedent, which could change at any time. And, of course, membership in the human species in a scientific sense is certainly meaningless legally, as can be seen with abortion law. A fetus is not universally granted personhood rights, despite being a human in terms of genetics and taxonomy.

Slavery is another example where we can clearly see that natural personhood, as defined by the courts, was not synonymous with membership in the human species.

So, whatever unwritten standards are being used to determine personhood by the legal system could very well apply to extraterrestrials, for all we know.

In fact, the very notion of a species didn't exist when these legal concepts were invented. They go back at least to English Common Law, if not Roman Law or Biblical law or earlier.

29athrowaway9• 3 years ago

It is still a legal void.

Can an extraterrestrial have legal representation? or represent themselves? If you are not a person you cannot participate in contracts or sign legal documents. It is a complete mess of a situation if you think about it.

And there may be also legal definitions that would have to be revised.

For example, if you enter US territory from space, you technically did not cross any borders, you simply entered American airspace without crossing a border.

If what's penalized is crossing a border, there would be no crime there.

anonymouskimmer14• 3 years ago

And today I found out a female donkey was acquitted of bestiality with a human on account of testimonies to her virtuous character: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Animal_trial#Ferron_case

Jacques Ferron was a Frenchman who was tried and hanged in 1750 for copulation with a jenny (female donkey).[16][17] The trial took place in the commune of Vanves and Ferron was found guilty and sentenced to death by hanging.[18] In cases such as these it was usual that the animal would also be sentenced to death,[19] but in this case the she-ass was acquitted. The court decided that the animal was a victim and had not participated of her own free will. A document, dated 19 September 1750, was submitted to the court on behalf of the she-ass that attested to the virtuous nature of the animal. Signed by the parish priest and other principal residents of the commune it proclaimed that "they were willing to bear witness that she is in word and deed and in all her habits of life a most honest creature."[16]

logifail2• 3 years ago

laws cannot apply retroactively

In some jurisdictions they certainly can. Even in places which apparently don't allow this, remember we've all got recent experience of how rapidly existing rules and frameworks can be changed if/when the situation demands[0].

The UK's War Crimes Act 1991[1] is one example, and didn't the current US administration once propose capital gains tax changes with a degree of retroactivity? ("Advisors look for ways to lessen Biden’s proposed retroactive capital gains tax hike"[2]).

[0] ... and maybe even when it doesn't :(

[1] https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1991/13

[2] https://www.cnbc.com/2021/06/02/advisors-look-for-ways-to-of...

anonymouskimmer14• 3 years ago

For the US apparently the following is the operating Supreme Court precedent. Ex post facto criminal laws are banned, but not civil laws.

https://www.law.cornell.edu/constitution-conan/article-1/sec...

The Supreme Court has generally rejected ex post facto challenges to laws imposing retroactive tax liability.1 In Kentucky Union Co. v. Kentucky, the Court emphasized that not all retroactive laws are ex post facto, as the prohibition on ex post facto laws applies only to retroactive criminal laws.2 The majority further opined: “Laws of a retroactive nature, imposing taxes or providing remedies for their assessment and collection, and not impairing vested rights, are not forbidden by the Federal Constitution.” 3

pjc50• 3 years ago

The UK also used the extremely heavy hammer of retroactive legislation against some benefits recipients who were made to work without pay: https://ukhumanrightsblog.com/2014/07/08/retrospective-legis...

andrewfong• 3 years ago

ex post facto (laws cannot apply retroactively)

Funny enough, deportation is regarded as a civil matter and thus the ex post facto clause does not apply here. Nothing in the constitution prevents the U.S. from deporting him to Antarctica. https://constitution.congress.gov/browse/essay/artI-S9-C3-3-...

Whether or not Superman is illegal or not, he is at least undocumented. And given the historical context and the authors, it's not a stretch to say that Superman is, in part, the story of a refugee trying to make it in America. Which is something than many people described as "illegal immigrants" identity with.

anonymouskimmer14• 3 years ago

Things have progressed since the 1930s. At this point Superman would be a stateless person, and there are presumably a variety of international treaties that govern how he can be treated.

I also believe that his alter ego, Clark Kent, is documented as an adopted child of the Kents. It would have been much easier back in the day for infants to be recognized as natural born US citizens regardless of whether or not they were as home births were much more frequent, and IDs such as social security numbers weren't automatically given to infants at birth. Given Superman's discovery as a white appearing infant in Kansas, there would be no reason for the government to presume he was not a natural born citizen. And if they did presume this, they'd have to climb a mountain to legally prove it (not being accused of a crime, good luck getting a court to require a DNA test to show that he is a literal alien).

As for Superman the alter ego? How would anyone prove he isn't a US citizen? They don't even know who he is.

paganel• 3 years ago

it would not make Superman an illegal immigrant

It makes it an "illegal immigrant" for the author who's most likely a liberal (as they call it over there in the United States), after all he/she does write for lithub.com, I don't think there are many fans of rolling coal writing for that magazine.

Put into that perspective whatever earns his/her story liberal points is a plus, and reminding the audience how hard a life "illegal aliens" have in the US ("even Superman would have been treated as a illegal alien!") certainly gains the author those points. Bills need to be paid, ideological positions need to be strengthened, it's a constant and never-ending battle.

29athrowaway9• 3 years ago

What is next then? are migrating birds illegal aliens? monarch butterflies? plankton? furbies? tamagotchi? meteorites?

It never ends.

cocacola12• 3 years ago

This Superman was pure, doing good in the world for goodness’ sake, not for rewards or recognition.

One of the reasons I enjoy reading Superman so much. There's a place for characters like Batman, the Spectre, and Constantine, but sometimes, I just want the lighter aspect that Superman brings.

judge2020• 3 years ago

Unfortunately it typically results in a boring story, since you know the all powerful being is going to win and get awarded for saving the city with little personal conflict involved, besides by having to choose between saving the damsel in distress or saving the city (which is nullified when you consider his ability to go super-speed/freeze time). The most that can come from these stories is a villain that has a unique madness, or uses unique methods to achieve their goals.

cocacola12• 3 years ago

I would disagree on the whole. I assume most stories – film, video games, television, comics, literature, etc. – end with the protagonist victorious in some way. I care more about the journey, and Superman stories take me on enjoyable (and many times, emotional) journey's for the most part.

causality0• 3 years ago

This is why I only read comics or graphic novels with a single story line that ends. Greed renders superhero comics meaningless. Publishers don't want to stop making money from these characters, which means they can't stop telling stories, which means events in the plot sooner or later are undone and have no impact on future events. Why should I give a shit if Robin gets killed by a space alien if he's going to be resurrected, or time travel will undo it, or the comic jumps timelines, or the comic is simply rebooted? It reduces the stakes and the drama to zero.

If you were to tell publishers "you've got five years and after that you can never use any of these characters ever again" those would be some incredible comics worth reading!

fenomas• 3 years ago

I once read an interesting article from a comic book writer arguing that villains are inherently more interesting than heroes - because villains plan, build, and create, and can do so for any of infinite motivations, whereas a hero typically just reacts to things a villain has done, and does so for basically the same reasons as any other hero.

I can't find the source or remember the author unfortunately..

eyelidlessness4• 3 years ago

Actual article title begins with “How”.

dang5• 3 years ago

Leading how is a linkbait trope and our software removes some of those.

The software isn't perfect by any means but this time it worked fine!

perihelions• 3 years ago

There was a remarkable edge case in the /new queue last week,

https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=34713166 ("[How*] Russia Decides to Go Nuclear (foreignaffairs.com)")

A single word establishes the gap between "this is the hypothetical procedure of how a nuclear war would start" and "a nuclear war is starting".

These bot edits can be pretty distracting when they go wrong!

eyelidlessness4• 3 years ago

You really don’t think the intent of the article was changed by this editorial choice? Or are you saying that the intent of the article was linkbait?

dbmikus• 3 years ago

This story, in part, is the inspiration for the book "The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay", which I would highly recommend!

roydivision• 3 years ago

Came to say the same thing, excellent book, highly recommended.

olivermarks4• 3 years ago

Why are the kid's religious beliefs worth mentioning in this article?

rafram• 3 years ago

The Jews are a people - an ethnicity, more or less - in addition to a religious group. Not all ethnic Jews are religiously Jewish. It’s worth mentioning because the story of how second-generation Jewish immigrants essentially invented the superhero genre, maybe the most American of genres, is… cool. It’s unexpected and interesting. What do you have against telling that story?

throwaway8440• 3 years ago

Ougon Bat/The Golden Bat [1] predates Super-man by 8 years.

[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Golden_Bat

rawTruthHurts• 3 years ago

Why should have anything against telling that story? Are we ok with this flavour of editorialization now?

"XIX Catholic scientist invents pasteurization" - I truly fail to see the "coolness" of it.

olivermarks4• 3 years ago

@rafram I don't think there is any doubt people who are jewish have had an important cultural influence on US media - Robert Crumb, MAD magazine etc - and some of their cultural background plays a part in that...but the whole idea of the 'new world' USA was assimilation in that '30's era, not celebrating ethnicity and past backgrounds.

'Jewish immigrants essentially invented the superhero genre' is a real stretch in this context. There were plenty of other cultural influences, particularly Japanese, in book and comic form that predate and were major influences on the US golden age of comic book explosion in popularity.

bazoom42• 3 years ago

It is a (short) biography which means it is about the life and experiences of the artistst, not just their works.

The article mention how the Jewish cultural background influenced Superman, eg superman arriving like Moses.

But does the article even talk about the religous beliefs of the kids?

LocalH• 3 years ago

There are ethnically Jewish people, and religiously Jewish people. The latter can be by choice, but the former cannot by definition. Siegel and Shuster are ethnically Jewish. As such, their Jewish culture would have been part of their influence in creating the Superman.

cf100clunk• 3 years ago

A related thought experiment: in Shuster's case, substitude Jewish for Canadian.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joe_Shuster

Both work for me, and in the context of how two young men impacted U.S. settler culture, with its profoundly Anglo-Saxon basis, it is entirely valid to identify their cultural, religious, and/or political background.

hn92726819• 3 years ago

Others have commented on Jewish ethnicity vs religion, but I would also like to add that this article is about events in the 1930s. Shortly after, the Holocaust[1], an event in history particularly known for the death of millions of Jewish people, took place in the 1940s. Adolf Hitler was appointed in 1933 and there was a buildup to the Holocaust and World War 2, so the context that they were Jewish in the 1930s is pretty significant.

[1] https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Holocaust

olivermarks4• 3 years ago

70 million people died over six years in WWII, the vast majority Russians. 1930's USA has little bearing on European geopolitics and the creation of golden era superman comics.

An animated data-driven documentary about war and peace, The Fallen of World War II looks at the human cost of the second World War and sizes up the numbers to other wars in history, including trends in recent conflicts.

https://youtu.be/DwKPFT-RioU

prvc• 3 years ago

I had always assumed that "Superman" had been intended to be a parody or response to Nietzsche's eponymous concept, albeit only having managed to be a superficial, weak, and ineffective one (and based on a misunderstanding to boot).

narrator• 3 years ago

To me, the superhero trope represents the new hero in the age of industrial warfare. You need someone with superpowers to make a difference as an individual in the post World War I era given how deadly conflict has gotten. The heros of the Illiad just needed swords.

Jerry Siegel, Joe Shuster, and the Birth of Superman

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