Superman/Silver Age history

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During the 1940s and 1950s, the Superman mythos gradually added familiar elements firmly established by the late 1950s, such as greater emphasis on the science fiction elements of Superman's world, including his Kryptonian origins as well as an updated version of his origins.

In the version that became extant by the early 1960s (and memorably summarized at the start of each episode of the 1950s Adventures of Superman television series^[1]), Superman is born on Krypton as Kal-El, the son of Jor-El (a leader-scientist) and Lara. When Kal-El is two or three years-old, Jor-El learns that Krypton is doomed to explode. He brings this warning to the Science Council, Krypton's rulers. The Science Council refuses to warn their fellow Kryptonians and forbids Jor-El to do so. Jor-El immediately begins work on a rocket that will allow the whole family to escape the coming disaster; however, events move too quickly, and only a small model is completed by the time of the final quakes. Lara stays by her husband's side rather than accompany Kal-El to Earth so that his ship will have a better chance of surviving the trip. Knowing that Earth's lower gravity and yellow sun will give the boy extraordinary powers, Jor-El launches Kal-El's rocketship toward Earth moments before Krypton explodes.

Kal-El's ship lands in a field near the town of Smallville and is discovered by Jonathan and Martha Kent. They name the child Clark after Martha's maiden name. After formally adopting him, the Kents raise him. The Kents discover his amazing powers and train their adopted son to use his powers constructively. At the age of eight, Clark adopts the superhero identity "Superboy" and fights crime, both in the present and in the far future as a member of the Legion of Super-Heroes. After his graduation from high school and the death of his adoptive parents, Clark moves to Metropolis to attend Metropolis University. During his junior year, Clark changes his superhero name to "Superman". After graduating with a degree in journalism, Clark is hired by the Daily Planet.

In 1971, the Galaxy Broadcasting Station and its president, Morgan Edge, purchase the Daily Planet, Edge subsequently naming Clark as the lead anchorman for its Metropolis television station, WGBS-TV. Later in the 1970s, childhood friend Lana Lang joins Clark in his newscasts as co-anchor.

After the establishment of DC Comics' Multiverse in the 1960s, it is established retroactively that the Golden Age version of Superman lives on the parallel world of Earth-Two and is named "Kal-L", while his Silver Age counterpart lives on Earth-One and is named "Kal-El."

While the Multiverse allowed for DC Comics to bring Golden Age stories back into continuity, it also created problems. There had been no break in Superman stories between the Golden and Silver Ages; the character had been published in one ongoing story since his debut. Additionally, DC had dropped the name "Kal-L" in favor of "Kal-El" before the end of the Golden Age. A series of stories in the 1970s establish that the Earth-Two Superman had married his version of Lois Lane in the 1950s (Action Comics #484 (1978)) and had become the editor-in-chief of The Daily Star. In the early 1970s, Kal-L discovers a Kryptonian rocket that contains his cousin, Kara Zor-L. After acclimating to Earth, Kara becomes the superheroine Power Girl. Kal-L also continues to serve with the revived Justice Society; he is revealed as a founding member of the group in the team's origin story in DC Special #29. In the early 1980s, Kal-L is also shown as a member of the All-Star Squadron during World War II.

During the 1985 limited series Crisis on Infinite Earths, the various parallel Earths are combined into one, retroactively eliminating some of Earth-Two's heroes from existence. Kal-L, the Earth-Two Superman, his wife Lois Lane of Earth-Two, the Superboy of Earth-Prime and Alexander Luthor, Jr. of Earth-Three, have no reality to call their own, and they enter a "paradise dimension" at the end of the series. Kal-L isn't seen again until the limited series The Kingdom, in which it is revealed that he has found a means of exiting his dimension, but chooses not to do so yet.

DC Comics retired the Silver Age version of Superman in 1986, after the publication of Crisis on Infinite Earths. Just before the character's revamp, the Silver Age Superman was given a sendoff in the two-part story Whatever Happened to the Man of Tomorrow? published in Superman (Vol. 1) #423 and Action Comics #583, written by Alan Moore with art by Curt Swan. Although the new Modern Age version of Superman is said to have already been active for many years, most previous Superman appearances and elements were rendered out of continuity by John Byrne's Man of Steel. Later stories such as Superman: Birthright bring many of the Silver Age elements back into continuity