| Superduperman | |
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Superduperman from the original story |
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| Publication information | |
| Publisher | EC Comics |
| First appearance | Mad #4 (April–May 1953) |
| Created by | Harvey Kurtzman Wally Wood |
| In-story information | |
| Alter ego | Clark Bent |
"Superduperman" is a satirical story by Harvey Kurtzman and Wally Wood published in the fourth issue of Mad (April-May, 1953). Lampooning both Superman and Captain Marvel, it revolutionized the types of stories seen in Mad, leading to greatly improved sales, and it was influential on writers, notably Alan Moore, and performers, like Ernie Kovacs.
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After the eponymous eight-page story in Mad #4, the character made cameo appearances in other spoofs, including "Poopeye" (Mad #21). Mad returned to this theme with spoofs of the Superman film series: Superduperman (Mad #208, July 1979) and Superduperman II (Mad #226, October 1981), as well as Stuporman ZZZ (Mad #243, December 1983).
The plot parallels Superman comics of the period: Clark Bent is an assistant to the copy boy at The Daily Dirt newspaper, where he tries, unsuccessfully, to woo Lois Pain. Meanwhile, an 'unknown monster' is stalking the streets of the city. Bent changes into Superduperman to help save the day. but boy reporter Billy Spafon reveals himself to be the monster, Captain Marbles. Superduperman is unable to harm Captain Marbles until he provokes Marbles into punching himself in the head. Hoping this will be enough to sway Pain, he reveals his alter ego, only to be rejected again and the story closes with "once a creep, always a creep."
The superhero conflict also parodies the National Comics Publications v. Fawcett Publications trial.[1]
Until Mad #4, the magazine had been a relatively poor seller, but "Superduperman" revolutionized their format and led to greater sales success. In his book Comics, Manga, and Graphic Novels: A History of Graphic Narratives, Robert Petersen observes, "In April 1953, Mad #4 included a parody of Superman, 'Superduperman,' which originated a new formula that would significantly raise the popularity of the new magazine. Instead of broadly lampooning a genre of comics, 'Superduperman' levelled its sights on a specific and recognizable comic character."[2] National Comics launched a lawsuit against EC Comics, but Mad editor Harvey Kurtzman was successfully able to argue that it was "fair use" because the story was a parody.[2] Petersen concludes "This legal cover established the basis for Kurtzman's new editorial direction and became the bedrock of Mad's humor ever since."[2]
The story influenced some of the revitalization of superhero comics in the late 1980s and early 1990s. In particular, it was a strong influence on Alan Moore when creating Watchmen. Moore has said, "We wanted to take Superduperman 180 degrees—dramatic, instead of comedic,"[3] but it also influenced the art: "I think that we probably settled upon the kind of Wally Wood 'Superduperman' style. You know, super-heroics, lots of details, heavy blacks, of a distinctive style."[4] When asked about the influence of Superfolks on his work like the earlier Marvelman, Moore said, "I’d still say that Harvey Kurtzman’s Superduperman probably had the preliminary influence."[5] He went into more detail in Kimota! the Miracleman Companion:
| “ | I remember being so knocked out by the "Superduperman" story that I immediately began thinking - I was 11, remember, so this would have been purely a comics strip for my own fun - but I thought maybe I could do a parody story about Marvelman. This thing is fair game to my 11-year-old mind. I wanted to do a super-hero parody story that was as funny as "Superduperman", but I thought it would be better if I did it about an English super-hero."[6] | ” |
The story would also influence John Shelton Lawrence. As a child he dressed as a superhero and got himself into trouble but "[h]is understanding of superpowers matured, however, when he read Mad Magazines' "Superduperman" in the early 1950s. That teenage skepticism grew into a philosophical teaching career, resulting in his current position as a professor of philosophy, emeritus, at Morningside College in Iowa. With Robert Jewert, he developed his suspicion that America's righteous stance in the world often projects the story of the selfless crusader who can cleanly uses superpowers to rescue the innocent."[7] These ideas would be expanded in their books The American Monomyth (1977), The Myth of the American Superhero (2002), and Captain America and the Crusade Against Evil: The Dilemma of Zealous Nationalism (2003).
In the mid-1950s, Ernie Kovacs did a recurring Superman sketch parody that was quite similar to Kurtzman's version (and the Mad crew also watched Kovacs).
Don Glut made, and starred in, a Superduperman fan film in 1963.[8][9][10]
Dickie Goodman released a novelty single called "Super-Duper Man" in 1981.
Toy-Box included a track called "Super-Duper Man" on their 1999 album Fantastic.
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