George Taylor (DC Comics)

George Taylor is a fictional character who appears in the Superman comic books published by DC Comics. In most incarnations, he is the Editor-in-Chief of the Metropolis newspaper the Daily Star.

The character was introduced by writer Jerry Siegel and artist Joe Shuster as the unnamed editor who gave Clark Kent his first job as a reporter, in Action Comics #1, June 1938. His name was not revealed for more than a year (in Superman #2, Fall 1939).^[1]

Fictional character biography

Golden Age

Virtually nothing is known about the background of this version of the character, but his personality as a newspaper editor was well defined. He was irascible, yelling at his reporters when angry or excited, but he was also a model of courage, loyalty, and integrity. When the superintendent of a labor camp claimed that reports about him in the Daily Star were libelous, Taylor would not apologize, saying that the information they had obtained was authoritative, and he dared the superintendent to sue. He also defended the reporter's pledge not to reveal the source of information.^[2]

Taylor at first refused to hire the inexperienced Clark Kent as a reporter but later changed his mind when Kent brought in the story of an attempted lynching.^[3][4] He shortly made it Kent's steady assignment to cover the reports about the existence of someone called Superman. However, when Lois Lane, the Star's "lonelyhearts" column writer, claimed the next day to have met Superman, Taylor didn't believe her, asking if she had actually seen pink elephants.^[5] This was indicative of the difference in Taylor's attitude toward Kent and Lane: he was very supportive of Clark, giving him a variety of assignments including South American war correspondent, but if Lois asked for an important story she was told by her editor that it was "no job for a girl!" To be fair, Kent received his share of abuse, as when Taylor called him a "brainless idiot" and fired him for flubbing an assignment. But the editor gave Clark his job back when he brought in the story,^[6] and he actually softened toward Lois over time. Taylor also admitted it when he was wrong, as he did when he accused Kent of betraying his confidential source for cowardly reasons.^[7]

In the spring of 1940, the newspaper Taylor edited inexplicably changed its name to the Daily Planet.^[8][9] He retained his position until November of that year,^[10] after which time a new editor, Perry White, was suddenly introduced.^[11][12]

Earth-Two

When DC Comics created the multiverse, the Superman of Earth-Two was assigned all the characteristics and baggage of the early Golden Age version of the character, and this included the Daily Star and George Taylor, who was still editor when Clark Kent and Lois Lane got married.^[13] Upon announcing his retirement in the early 1950s, Taylor chose his successor by way of a competition between Kent and senior reporter Perry White. By solving a famous missing-person case, White proved the superior reporter but ironically lost the editor's job to Kent because Taylor felt that the better reporter shouldn't be locked to a desk.^[14] Sometime after retiring, Taylor discovered a filmstrip depicting Kent changing to Superman, but he promised Clark that he would never reveal the Man of Steel's secret identity. However, corrupt reporter Rod Pilgrim overheard the conversation and subsequently murdered Taylor to acquire the filmstrip. Superman confronted Pilgrim, convinced him that the images were part of a gag film, and turned the killer over to police.^[15][16]

Earth-One

In Superman #366 (December 1981), George Taylor was shown to be the editor of the Daily Planet on Earth-One before Perry White.^[17] Taylor, who had succeeded a man named Morton, chose White to replace him when he retired at age sixty-five, an event that coincided with Clark Kent's junior year at Metropolis University.^[18] George Taylor, Junior, became editor of the Daily Star in Star City and continuously tried to prove that Oliver Queen was the masked hero Green Arrow. George Taylor III was a record-breaking pole vaulter.^[19][20]

Post-Crisis

In the reality that existed after the Crisis on Infinite Earths wiped out the multiverse and replaced it with one Earth, the Metropolis Daily Star with George Taylor as editor was a rival paper to the Daily Planet, which was edited by Perry White.^[21] Taylor was still in his position as late as 2002.^[22][23] When Superman was cast into a Golden-Age reality during the "Dominus Effect" storyline of 1998, the original George Taylor briefly reappeared.^[24]

The New 52

In the Prime Earth continuity established with the company-wide relaunch of 2011, George Taylor was reintroduced in Action Comics (Volume 2) #8 as the publisher of the Daily Star.^[25][26]

In other media

Live action

Smallville

In the third-season episode "Delete" of the TV series Smallville, Max Taylor (full name George Maxwell Taylor and portrayed by Jim Thorburn) was the young Daily Planet editor killed by his assistant who was brainwashed by Molly Griggs.^[27]

Animation

The early 1940s Superman cartoons produced by Max Fleischer featured an unnamed Daily Planet editor. At the time of production, George Taylor was editor in the comics but Perry White was being used on the radio show.

References