Superman and World War II

A German machine gunner is seen on Action Comics #35 (April 1941), and German troops on Action Comics #39 (August 1941). A Wehrmacht tank appears on Action Comics #40 (September 1941), and a Nazi paratrooper is featured on Action Comics #41 (December 1941). Patriotic covers illustrated by Fred Ray began appearing with Superman #12 (September–October 1941). Supermen of America ads prepared with the Department of War showcased twelve individual "Supermen of the U.S. Army" in Action Comics #49–60 (June 1942–May 1943).

In the newspaper storyline from February 16–19, 1942, Clark Kent attempts to enlist in the Army, but fails the eye exam with his X-ray vision. A disgusted Lois Lane remarks, "I might have known the Army would turn you down." Clark decides that the U.S. Armed Forces are capable of achieving victory without Superman. In the August 20, 1943, strip, General Douglas MacArthur informs Superman that the United Nations does not need him. As a reporter, Clark worked with the Army Air Force Technical Training Command in Superman #25 (November–December 1943), and the U.S. Navy in Superman #34 (May–June 1945).

Superman supported the war effort from the home front by educating soldiers and raising money for the Allies. In April 1942, the Navy Department classified comic books as essential supplies for sailors and Marines. Superman titles were shipped to troops at Midway Garrison. That month, a "Sooper Man" comic book appeared on the cover of Army Motors. Harry Donenfeld and Superman Inc. later produced an official comic strip for the magazine that informs soldiers about preventive equipment care. The influx of comic books and other reading materials led to increased literacy rates within the ranks.

Tim's Pie Eaters Club was originally established by Streeter Blair in January 1925. The campaign was reorganized as the Superman-Tim Club in July 1942. Monthly issues of Superman-Tim were distributed to clothing retailers nationwide. Superman and Tim encouraged children to purchase War Bonds and salvage scrap material for the defense effort. Wartime storylines featured an international Nazi spy known as Brown Scorpion, as well as Japanese saboteurs.

 

Comic book readers were constantly reminded to purchase War Bonds and War Stamps. Later marketing focused on the War Loans. World's Finest Comics #8 (Winter 1942) portrays Superman, Robin, and Batman encouraging children to "Sink the Japanazis with Bonds & Stamps." The cover of Action Comics #58 (March 1943) depicts Superman printing propaganda posters that read, "Superman says: You can slap a Jap with War Bonds and Stamps!"

"Japanazi" was a popular slur promoted by the War Production Board and War Stamp Council. Since the late 19th century, Asian people were commonly represented as caricatures in American media. Asian villains were often depicted with buck teeth, glasses, and a Fu Manchu mustache. All three features are included in the "Jap Spy" character from the Superman animated short Japoteurs, released on September 18, 1942, by Paramount Pictures and Famous Studios. Superman thwarts a gang of Japanese saboteurs attempting to hijack a bomber plane.

From February 19, 1942, to March 20, 1946, over 125,000 people of Japanese descent were imprisoned in concentration camps throughout the United States. The majority of detainees were American citizens. In the June 28, 1943, Superman newspaper strip, Clark and Lois begin investigating a "relocation center" named Camp Carok. Lois praises the prison saying, "The Jap government should have absolutely no excuse for not showing their prisoners of war as much consideration." On June 30, the plot was retold in the Tulean Dispatch Daily, a mimeographed newspaper published by detainees of the Tule Lake concentration camp in Newell, California.

On July 9, 1943, Superman used "his amazing muscular control" to disguise himself as a Japanese prisoner named Masu Watasuki. Superman comments, "It's easy – to make myself – look like a Jap. Take a-lookie at the new Watasuki!" Superman remained disguised as Watasuki until July 17.

The Camp Carok plot drew criticism from readers nationwide. After destroying a Japanese fleet on August 21, 1943, Superman delivered a backtracked response: "It should be remembered that most Japanese-Americans are loyal citizens. Many are in combat units of our armed forces, and others are working in war factories. According to government statements, not one act of sabotage was perpetrated in Hawaii or territorial U.S. by a Japanese-American."

An "Overseas Service Edition" of Superman #27 and "Overseas Edition" of Superman #28 were distributed to the Armed Forces in 1944 by the U.S. Army Special Services Division. From November 1944 to April 1945, the U.S. Navy released six "Special Edition" comics that reprint issues of Action Comics and Superman. The "Special Edition" books include educational material produced by the Bureau of Naval Personnel.

 

A Boeing B-17 named Superman (41-24380) was the oldest Flying Fortress of the 97th Bombardment Group in North Africa. The nose paintings are based on a promotional image for the 1941 animated Superman series from Fleischer Studios and Paramount Pictures. Superman was assigned to the 340th Bombardment Squadron, 97th Bombardment Group at RAF Polebrook, England. The aircraft was photographed by Margaret Bourke-White for Life magazine in September 1942. On October 11, 1942, the bomber was assigned to Maison Blanche airfield in Algeria. Superman received over 300 holes with no fatalities while piloted by 1st Lt. John A. Gallup. Six of the crew members were awarded the Purple Heart.

Superman was later assigned to the 515th Air Service Group. On September 15, 1945, the bomber sent a distress call while enroute from Dakar, Senegal, to Natal, Brazil. Major Willard E. Karschnick ditched the aircraft in the Atlantic near the Saint Peter and Saint Paul Archipelago. All 14 crew members were promptly rescued by Brazilian destroyer Greenhalgh (M 3) about 500 miles off the northeast coast.

 

A Consolidated B-24D Liberator (41-23938) named Super Man was assigned to the 11th Bombardment Group, 98th Bombardment Squadron in the Pacific. Images of Superman holding a hammer and a bomb were painted on the nose of the plane. On April 20, 1943, Super Man was heavily damaged by anti-aircraft fire and Japanese Zero fighters over Nauru. Radio Operator/Waist Gunner Corporal Harold V. Brooks was mortally wounded. On May 5, The New York Times reported that ground crewmen counted 500 holes, later confirmed as 594. The mission is depicted in the 2014 film Unbroken, written by the Coen Brothers and directed by Angelina Jolie. The film is based on the biography of bombardier Louis Zamperini by Laura Hillenbrand, Unbroken: A World War II Story of Survival, Resilience, and Redemption.

After repairs, a new aircrew renamed the bomber Sexy Sue-IV, Mother of Ten and a nude woman was painted on the nose. During a bombing run from Tarawa on January 20, 1944, Sexy Sue-IV reported engine failure near Wotje Atoll, Marshall Islands. The fate of the nine crew members is unknown. Classified material from the aircraft was later captured from Japanese forces on Kwajalein Atoll.

 

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Like Clark Kent, Joe Shuster received a 4-F disqualification and was declared "unfit for military service" due to his failing eyesight. The Shuster Shop continued to produce Superman features and Joe would contribute illustrations for bond drives.

Jerry Siegel was drafted in the U.S. Army and enlisted on June 28, 1943. Siegel was sworn in during an induction ceremony at the "Festival of Freedom" on July 4. Over 80,000 people attended the celebration in the Cleveland Municipal Stadium. Jerry later revealed, "While I was in the Army, practically all of the Superman stories were ghosted."

In August 1943, Private Siegel reported to the 39th Special Service Company for Basic Training at Fort George G. Meade, Maryland. Jerry and Joe provided a Superman strip for The Fort Meade Post on August 13, 1943. In a guest article, Jerry wrote that the "real Supermen" were the members of the Armed Services. The September 10, 1943, issue of Yank, the Army Weekly quotes Jerry on Superman: "he'll never join the army; he'll never help me."

Around this time, Jerry Siegel collaborated with artist Ben Bryan on a "Super Sam" comic strip. The original artwork depicts an unauthorized Superman appearance. It is unverified if the story was ever published.

After Basic Training, PFC Siegel was stationed in Elkins, West Virginia, as part of the Detached Enlisted Men's List (DEML). In November 1943, Jerry was assigned a 1,500-word weekly column providing updates on Special Service activities for The Inter-Mountain newspaper. Jerry spent the fall and winter living in a five-man tent in the rugged hills of the West Virginia Maneuver Area (WVMA). In a letter dated January 1, 1944, Jerry asked DC Comics co-founder Jack Liebowitz to send 131 Supermen of America membership kits for the company. The soldiers wanted to wear the membership buttons as insignia.

Jerry received additional training at Camp Siebert, Alabama, before reporting to Hickam Field in Honolulu, Hawaii. The front page header of Midpacifican on August 26, 1944, proclaimed "Superman's Old Man Here." Jerry is unflatteringly pictured with his gear and labeled a "Sad Sack."

The following day in Waikiki, Jerry met his childhood idol Edgar Rice Burroughs, the creator of Tarzan and John Carter of Mars. Both characters were major influences on the creation of Superman. Jerry sketched a profile portrait of Superman for Burroughs, praising the author as "the daddy of today's leading heroes."

Jerry Siegel was promoted to Technician Fifth Grade (T/5), equivalent to Corporal. Siegel wrote stories for Hickam Highlights, a raunchy mimeographed base newsletter, and joined Midpacifican as a staff reporter in September 1944.

Jerry collaborated with artist Gerald H. Green on "Super GI," a weekly cartoon published in Midpacifican from December 30, 1944, to March 17, 1945. A photograph of Siegel and Green reviewing the artboards was later printed in Army Life. Super GI, also known as Joe Droop, is in love with Corporal Jane Troy. Woman's Army Corps Pvt. Faye Lewis Trowbridge from Dallas, Texas, was a model for Jane Troy.

On April 14, 1945, the Superman newspaper strip featured a cyclotron, or "atom smasher." At the time, the Manhattan Project was highly classified and the Trinity nuclear device had not been tested. The Office of Censorship instructed editor Jack Schiff to end the storyline. The FBI contacted Jerry for questioning, but "The Science of Superman" story was ghost written by Alvin Schwartz. Schwartz had read an article about the cyclotron in the April 1936 issue of Popular Mechanics. The Adventures of Superman radio show had previously featured "Dr. Dahlgren's Atomic Beam Machine" in February 1940, before the Manhattan Project was established.

On May 14, 1945, Midpacifican was replaced by the Middle Pacific edition of The Stars and Stripes. As a staff reporter, Jerry wrote an article titled "Melt to Music" printed on May 30. From June 5, 1945, to January 15, 1946, Jerry contributed a daily humor column called "Take a Break with T/4 Jerry Siegel." The column was renamed after his promotion to Technician Fourth Grade on July 11.

On August 11, 1945, Jerry appeared on "Breakfast at the Crossroads," a weekly radio show on KGU broadcast from the USO Rainbow Club in Honolulu. Jerry judged contest answers for the question, "What would you do if you could be Superman for five minutes?" The winning answer was, "I'd take a fast trip home." The contest was sponsored by the USO and the American Red Cross.

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Agostino, Lauren, and A. L. Newberg. Holding Kryptonite: Truth, Justice and America's First Superhero. Holmes & Watson Publishing Co., 2014.

Anderson, M. Margaret. "Racism: Cause and Cure." Pittsburgh Courier, 10 July 1943, p. 5.

Weisinger, Mort. "Here Comes Superman!" Coronet, July 1946, pp. 23–26.