| October 17 |  |
Editor says, what if the Man of Steel was a fake copy? Please note that the opinions expressed in this post do not necessarily reflect the views of the author(s).
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In 1940, on this day the originator of the super-hero concept, Philip Wylie sued the creators of Superman Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster for plagiariasm. Wylie's own Man God was known as "The Gladiator" and had been published a decade before in 1930.
The GladiatorThe plot similiarities were of course blatantly undeniable; a father who creates a son that can jump buildings, herculean strength, growing up in a small farming town, tendency to lift up automobiles, an artic fortress and most tellingly of all, a meek attitude for their public personae.
The result of the protracted legal battle with Siegel and Shuster would have tremendous implications for the whole mileau, in a very real sense the plagiarism case became a battle for the soul of the comic book. The cheap pulp trash of superman would be forced to give way to the metaphysical reflection which was the essence of Wylie's genius. The only remaining copy of the withdrawn superman comic would appear on Hollis Mason's shelf in one panel of Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons' "Watchmen", perhaps suggesting that the Watchmen Universe was set in a timelime where Wylie did not pursue legal action.
Richard Donner's 1978 movie would feature Christopher Reeve as "The Gladiator" possessing incredible gifts but simply unable to find his place in the world. In the tragic climax, the superhero is struck by lightning whilst asking questions of God, echoeing Wylie's own religious doubts.
Entry posted by Todayinah Editor
© "The Gladiator" (1930) written by Philip WylieStory Tags
Permalinks: Post, Day. Browse Thread: Superheroes Source: Cracked Labels: Zombies, Philip Wylie, Superman, The Gladiator, Superheroes. Editor says, Jones, Gerard. Men of Tomorrow: Geeks, Gangsters, and the Birth of the Comic Book. New York: Basic Books, 2004 (ISBN 0465036562), pg. 346: Wylie threatened to sue Siegel for plagiarism in 1940, but there is no evidence he carried through with the litigation. Historian Jones writes that, "Siegel flatly denied that Wylie's novel had influenced him in any way," although Jones added his own conjecture that "the timing and striking similarities ... would seem to leave no doubt of Gladiator's role".
~ I hadn't known about this, and I thought I knew Wylie's work well...but I think that he'd likely lose this case. The Superman mythos could be said to have drawn from the same sources that Wylie used.
~ Great insight as always Mr Oppen - thanks for sharing. To me, Wylie has a weaker case than say the author of "the African", Harold Courlander had with Alex Haleys Roots where there was not only strong similiarities with the artistic content, but also obvious copyover of unedited texts. So I think most likely as you say Wylie would either have lost, or won a nominal award which didnt prevent publication of superman. This would explain why Wylie didnt pursue legal action. Whats interesting actually is that had my admittedly far fetch plot worked out, Wyle might not have worked on Chris Oakleys' "Worlds Collide" thread..
~ I don't know how weak Wylie's case would have been.
As originally presented, Superman bore a striking resemblance to Wylie's "Hugo Danner" character, and some of his earliest adventures directly parallel "the Gladiator's"--e.g., both have a run-in with a corrupt industrialist, both use their powers in attempts to end a war. Even their physical appearance is similar: both are average-sized men with black hair. (I know that Superman was soon beefed up, but in his earliest appearances he didn't have the bulky physique he later did.)
Where Siegel and Shuster diverged from Wylie was in Superman's alien origin (and there, they appear to have borrowed from another 1930s pulp creation, "Aarn Munro," who supposedly had super-strength because he came from Jupiter) and his secret identity, a device going back at least as far as the Scarlet Pimpernel.
It would have been an ugly lawsuit all around. And from what i understand, there were hints of that in the 1950s-era lawsuit by National Comics, Superman's parent company, against Captain Marvel's publishers, Fawcett Publications. While DC was suing Fawcett, all sorts of people, inluding the creators of Popeye, emerged from the woodwwork to claim that Superman was a rip-off of their properties. (See above.) It was not a proud moment for the comics industry.
~ Having read Wylie.I really enjoyed this.
© Today in Alternate History, 2013-. All characters appearing in this work are fictitious. Any resemblance to real persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental.
