Superman logo
| Superman shield | |
|---|---|
 The main emblem used since 1977 | |
| Publication information | |
| Publisher | DC Comics |
| First appearance | Action Comics #1 (June 1938) |
| Created by | |
| In story information | |
| Type | Emblem |
| Element of stories featuring | Superman |
The Superman shield, also known as the Superman logo or the Superman symbol, is the iconic emblem for the fictional
In its current form, the logo is a red capital "S" inside a pentagonal yellow stylized shield with a red border. In earlier Superman stories, "S" was simply an initial for "Superman", but in the 1978 film, it was portrayed as the family crest of the House of El, the family of Superman.
Evolution of the symbol
In its original inception in Action Comics #1, Superman's symbol was a letter S with red and blue on a yellow police badge symbol that resembled a shield. The symbol was first changed a few issues later in Action Comics #7. The shield varied over the first few years of the comics, and many times was nothing more than an inverted triangle with an S inside of it.[1][2]
The shield first became a diamond in the
In the mid-1990s, when Superman's costume and powers changed briefly, during the "
In the 2000s television series
Symbol evolution
Some of the symbols used by Superman through the years are:
![1940–46 [n 1]](/File:Superman_alternate_logo_1940-46.png){kind=logo}
![2001–03 [n 2]](/File:Superman_black_logo_2001-03.png){kind=logo}
![2011–16 [n 3]](/File:Superman_logo_2011-16.png){kind=logo}
- Notes
Representations
Initially, the S-shield had one meaning: S for Superman. One of the first alternative meanings was presented in
In Supergirl (TV series, 2015) Season 1, episode 2 Kara states that the Kryptonian symbol stands for her family's motto, "Stronger together."
House of El
Marv Wolfman's novelization of the film Superman Returns depicts the symbol as belonging to one of the three primary houses of Krypton that brought peace to the planet after a civil uprising, a serpent coiled inside a shield, a warning not to return to the ways of violence and deception. The shield has since been taken as a coat of arms, resulting in Jor-El's continued presence in the council despite his "mad" findings. The other two are merely described, including Pol-Us' eye of vigilance and Kol-Ar's open hand of truth and justice.
Cape
In almost all versions, Superman's red cape has an all-yellow version of the logo, with a thin black (in the comics) or red (in movies, matching the red color of the cape) line separating the areas. A notable exception is in Superman: The Animated Series, where the logo was absent from Superman's cape. This was due to the difficulty in animating the S on the flowing cape. In the 2006 film Superman Returns, the logo appeared on the belt buckle in reverse colors (yellow diamond and S with red background pieces) instead of on Superman's cape. The logo is also absent from Superman's cape in the 2013 film Man of Steel due to the difficulty of animating a cape with the logo in CGI shots. In the 2011 reboot of the comic book series, on his cape is a black pentagon and S with a red background piece.
Variants
In the 1960s the tiny bottle city of
During the Reign of the Supermen story arc, Each of the four different Supermen was represented by a variant of the symbol, which each wore on their person.
- The Last Son of Krypton (The Eradicator)wore a normal shield when he attempted to continue Superman's career. Later on, he wore a slightly altered, more curved version with an opening in the border and which was red and black instead of yellow and red.
- The Man of Tomorrow (The Cyborg)'s shield was half-normal on the left side, but the red darkened to an almost black color on the right half.
- Superboy wore an all-yellow symbol stitched into the back of his leather jacket, in addition to a normal one on his chest.
- The Man of Steel wore an all-metallic symbol. The classic 'S' was redesigned into metallic burnt red colorwith a grey undertone in the background.
Other variations include:
- Black and red
- The modern Superboy wears a black and red variant of the symbol on his third costume. Lex Luthor hypothesized it is because that version of the symbol was everywhere following the death of Superman and his consequent first appearance.[3]
- In Kingdom Come, Superman wears a black and red, simplified version following his return.
- After the Imperiex War, Superman wore the black and red variant to signify his mourning of the losses during the war.[4]
- The Eradicator, for a time, wore a red and blacked, curvier version of the S-Shield.
- Bizarro's symbol is a reversed purple and yellow version.
- The inverted symbol, first seen in 52, means "resurrection" in Kryptonian.
- Jor-El sports a white symbol on his black clothing, as well as a black symbol on his white clothing in the 1978 Superman movie.
- In his modern appearances, Superman of Earth-2 wears a slightly different version of the symbol. Its most notable difference is an exaggerated serifon the 'S'.
- A variation of the symbol, designed as a stubbed red lightning bolt against a black shield has been used in several media, including an Elseworlds where Darkseid raised Kal-El, and was the basis of one of the final season of Superman: The Animated Series, and an episode named Brave New Metropolis from an alternate reality where Superman and Luthor took over Metropolis.
- A further variation, this time a white symbol against a red background, was used in episodes of The Flash.
- Black and white
- Superman briefly wore an all-black costume with a white shield following his resurrection at the conclusion of The Death of Superman.
- In Jonathan Samuel Kent in the alternate future depicted in Futures End.
- After being transported to the New 52 universe, the pre-Flashpoint Superman wore a black costume with an emblem resembling a white version of the Kingdom Come shield.
- The symbol has been adapted to various flags in alternate realities, including the ).
- In the movie Justice League: The New Frontier, and the Elseworlds story JSA: The Liberty Files, the shield has black background pieces and a yellow outline, resembling the Fleischer Studios version.
- In Superman: Earth One, the shield has an additional yellow outline.
- In Supergirl, the emblem worn by the eponymous Supergirl has a blue background, with yellow outlines around the red S and border.
Wearers of the shield
Kryptonian family members of Superman wear the symbol, but sometimes it is worn to honor Superman. After The Death of Superman, many DC Comics superheroes wore a black armband with the Superman logo.
- Superman
- Kal-El
- Kal-L(variant)
- Kal Kent(variant)
- Supergirl
- Kara Zor-El
- Linda Danvers
- Matrix
- Superboy
- Kal-El (Superman as a teenager; pre-1986)
- Conner Kent (red and black variant)
- Superboy-Prime (carves an S-symbol in blood on his chest).
- Jonathan Samuel Kent (the new Superboy in DC Rebirth, son of Superman and Lois Lane)
- Superwoman
- Lucy Lane (white and red variant)
- House of El
- Man of Steel)
- Lar Gand (Mon-El)
- Zor-El
- Others
- Krypto (shown as tag on his collar)
- Bizarro (reversed 'S', sometimes purple and yellow)
- The Superman Emergency Squad from Kandor, a red 'S' in an elongated triangle
- Hank Henshaw (red and black variant, like Kon-El. It is sometimes shown as a white and black variant)
- Steel (John Henry Irons)
- Natasha Irons
- Eradicator(variant)
- Strange Visitor (variant)
- Preus
- Alura (red and white variant)
Diamond and eight shield
In the television series
References
- ^ a b c d "Emblem History". Supermans-shop.com. Archived from the original on May 3, 2010. Retrieved September 30, 2010.
- ^ a b c "S Photo History". Supermanhomepage.com. Archived from the original on June 29, 2011. Retrieved September 30, 2010.
- ^ Teen Titans Annual (vol. 3) #1
- Superman, vol. 2, no. 174 (August 2001). DC Comics.
- Internet Movie Database. Retrieved March 18, 2011.