Superman and Captain America Enter the Smithsonian

Superman can break through walls and any other barrier. Buildings can't keep him out. Concrete and steel aren't even an inconvenience. With his superhuman strength, nothing can stop him. However, there is one building that has been impenetrable to him, at least until now. That is the Smithsonian. He was missing from America's great museum of its history.

That is not to say he was totally absent. The Smithsonian has a collection of Superman items, including comic books from 1944-1978, newspaper clippings of the Superman comic strips from 1940-1950, 72 trading cards from 1940, movie scripts, and various objects like a Superman lunch box, novelty telephone, various swim gear to keep kids safe, and many other attempts to convert the Man of Steel's name into money. Still, they were missing the key piece, the birth of the Superman character. That is Action Comics #1 from 1938. That comic book introduced Superman to the world.

Kal-el and Lara-Van may be his parents, but his creators were writer Jerry Siegel and artist Joe Shuster. They were developing potential comics in the 1930s, with one character being Superman. They tried to get someone to publish it as a comic strip. No one wanted it. They had to settle for the character to be placed in a comic book, Action Comics #1. Superman became an overnight sensation. He soon had his own comic book and he was off and flying.

Despite the enormous instant and lasting success, this story has a sad ending. Siegel and Shuster sold the rights to Superman for $130 (about $2,500 today), to Detective Comics, now DC Comics. Despite repeated attempts to win them back in court they failed. Neither had any great successes later on. Many years later, Warner Bros., by then owner of DC Comics, gave them decent pensions, enough to get by though hardly representative of the value they created. Each died during the 1990s.

This copy of Action Comics #1 was gifted to the Smithsonian by Brandon Beck. Beck is a co-founder of Riot Games. They created the game League of Legends, that has become one of the most popular PC games ever, taking in billions of dollars. Beck needed the money as an Action Comics #1 is extremely expensive. A copy sold last year at auction for $9 million and another copy in a private sale a short time ago for $15 million.

Just two years after the appearance of Superman, a new American hero was created. In that short time, so much had changed. In 1938, America was still immersed in the Great Depression. People needed things to cheer them up, and a character of unlimited strength who used it to save ordinary people from terrible fates was just what America needed. However, by 1940, the world was at war and while America was not yet engaged, the threat to humanity was obvious. Not obvious to everyone, as the original America First movement promoted an isolationist America while evidencing de facto support for Nazi Germany. The creators of this latest superhero, Joe Simon and Jack Kirby, shared their and FDR's anti-Nazi sentiments in their comics. That hero was Captain America, clad in red, white, and blue, battling evil forces that were real.

The first issue of Captain America features the hero battling a group of Nazi officers whose meeting he has interrupted. A television displays an American munitions factory exploding, a map shows the U.S.A., and under it a book headed “Sabotage Plans for U.S.A.” The central image shows Captain America punching Hitler in the face. Simon and Kirby, like Siegel and Shuster, were the children of Jewish immigrants from Europe, escapees from bad situations. Some people today may think of immigrants as bad people here to harm or take advantage of the country and its people. Those who knew their immigrant ancestors understand that no one loves America like those who have come here after escaping from terrible places. Siegel and Shuster celebrated an alien immigrant who devoted his life to saving Americans in trouble. Simon and Kirby warned America of the horrors lurking in the world and created a hero that was dedicated to saving America from those evils.

Brandon Beck also contributed a copy of the first Captain America comic book, Captain America No. 1, to the Smithsonian. Siegel's daughter, Laura Siegel Larson, was quoted in Smithsonian Magazine as saying, “The museum already holds my dad’s portable typewriter. Now they have Action Comics No. 1, the holy grail of Superman artifacts.” It is also considered the holy grail of all comic books. Simon's son Jim said, “It is wonderful to know that my father, Joe Simon, and Jack Kirby’s work is not only forever immortalized in the hearts of millions but also in the highest of institutions where it will be forever preserved.” Each of these comic books is now worth well over a million dollars. Who could have guessed it when they made their first appearances in those difficult times. The cover price for each comic book was 10¢.

Rare Book Monthly

Superman and Captain America Enter the Smithsonian

Rare Book Monthly

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Superman and Captain America Enter the Smithsonian

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