1 00:00:01,128 --> 00:00:04,820 sync & correction by f1nc0 ~ Addic7ed.com ~ 2 00:00:06,546 --> 00:00:10,346 Superheroes and Superman... 3 00:00:10,384 --> 00:00:12,618 they are one and the same. 4 00:00:12,620 --> 00:00:16,021 There are no other superheroes without Superman, he's the first. 5 00:00:16,023 --> 00:00:20,626 An extraordinary being with extraordinary powers. 6 00:00:20,628 --> 00:00:25,130 That was it. The whole world of comic books changed. 7 00:00:25,132 --> 00:00:30,002 Superman is really the all-father of superheroes. 8 00:00:30,004 --> 00:00:34,362 He is the Odin from which all else springs forward. 9 00:00:35,275 --> 00:00:37,276 See, without Superman, 10 00:00:37,278 --> 00:00:41,013 there's no Marvel or DC, 11 00:00:41,015 --> 00:00:43,215 no billion-dollar blockbusters. 12 00:00:46,019 --> 00:00:49,622 That logo is one of the three most recognizable symbols 13 00:00:49,624 --> 00:00:52,892 on the planet, and it stands shoulder to shoulder 14 00:00:52,894 --> 00:00:55,895 with the crucifix and the Jewish star. 15 00:00:55,897 --> 00:00:59,198 Like, that's... madness, man! 16 00:00:59,200 --> 00:01:03,200 Superman became a worldwide phenomenon... 17 00:01:03,537 --> 00:01:09,174 and he was created by two working-class kids from Cleveland... 18 00:01:09,176 --> 00:01:12,644 Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster. 19 00:01:13,480 --> 00:01:17,516 Superman... he's for justice. 20 00:01:17,518 --> 00:01:19,151 It's kind of ironic 21 00:01:19,153 --> 00:01:24,344 that there was a great injustice done to his creators. 22 00:01:24,458 --> 00:01:28,260 Siegel and Shuster lost everything, 23 00:01:28,262 --> 00:01:30,629 and just like Superman... 24 00:01:31,431 --> 00:01:34,527 ...they demanded justice. 25 00:01:34,528 --> 00:01:38,253 _ 26 00:01:55,767 --> 00:01:59,273 _ 27 00:02:02,595 --> 00:02:05,731 Cleveland, Ohio. The late 1920s. 28 00:02:07,300 --> 00:02:10,436 To struggle is to be alive. 29 00:02:10,438 --> 00:02:12,538 Poverty is commonplace. 30 00:02:14,274 --> 00:02:18,210 And to be a dreamer... is to be an outcast. 31 00:02:22,582 --> 00:02:26,582 Jerry Siegel is a dreamer... 32 00:02:26,587 --> 00:02:29,188 the son of working-class Jewish immigrants. 33 00:02:30,323 --> 00:02:34,323 Jerry dreams of a world outside of Ohio... 34 00:02:34,729 --> 00:02:38,397 one full of spacemen, aliens, 35 00:02:38,399 --> 00:02:41,500 and creatures from a planet far, far away. 36 00:02:42,635 --> 00:02:46,538 As kids play stickball, Jerry prefers to stay inside. 37 00:02:48,174 --> 00:02:51,543 A typewriter is his main companion. 38 00:02:53,546 --> 00:02:57,282 Jerry Siegel... he's a classic geek. 39 00:02:57,284 --> 00:03:02,429 You know... instead of liking football or liking baseball, 40 00:03:02,464 --> 00:03:05,024 you know, he really liked science fiction. 41 00:03:08,194 --> 00:03:10,362 I think it really was escape for him, 42 00:03:10,364 --> 00:03:16,335 because he was very painfully aware of how others thought of him. 43 00:03:19,039 --> 00:03:20,639 Back then, people looked at him and said, 44 00:03:20,641 --> 00:03:22,681 "What? Comic books? 45 00:03:22,716 --> 00:03:26,592 You really think there's a future in comic books?" 46 00:03:26,627 --> 00:03:29,715 At school, Jerry is surrounded by classmates, 47 00:03:29,717 --> 00:03:32,684 and yet he feels alone. 48 00:03:32,686 --> 00:03:35,587 No one seems to "get" him... 49 00:03:35,589 --> 00:03:39,191 until the day he meets Joe Shuster. 50 00:03:39,193 --> 00:03:41,760 - You all right? - I'm fine. 51 00:03:41,762 --> 00:03:45,039 Um, you're Siegel, right? I'm... 52 00:03:45,074 --> 00:03:48,467 Like Jerry, Joe lives in a world of fantasy. 53 00:03:48,469 --> 00:03:51,270 The two boys are kindred spirits. 54 00:03:51,272 --> 00:03:55,607 - Is that Wonder Stories? - Yeah. You know it? 55 00:03:55,609 --> 00:03:57,176 Yeah, uh... 56 00:03:57,178 --> 00:04:01,180 Joe was a super nerd too. He was really small, 57 00:04:01,182 --> 00:04:04,149 really thin, he wore the glasses. 58 00:04:04,151 --> 00:04:07,086 So he would get all these self-help manuals 59 00:04:07,088 --> 00:04:09,288 through the mail on how to get strong, 60 00:04:09,290 --> 00:04:12,130 and do all these exercises. 61 00:04:13,126 --> 00:04:15,794 He ate raw eggs and lifted weights 62 00:04:15,796 --> 00:04:20,599 'cause he wanted to be this, like, bigger person, and stronger... 63 00:04:20,601 --> 00:04:23,735 But the thing is, it just never worked for him. 64 00:04:23,737 --> 00:04:26,538 He was still really thin, really short, 65 00:04:26,540 --> 00:04:29,124 really kind of scrawny. 66 00:04:30,543 --> 00:04:32,377 Joe Shuster grew up very poor. 67 00:04:32,379 --> 00:04:35,547 In fact, Joe had to learn to draw with gloves on. 68 00:04:35,549 --> 00:04:38,484 They couldn't afford heat. 69 00:04:38,486 --> 00:04:40,119 He would take his mom's bread board 70 00:04:40,121 --> 00:04:43,422 when she was done making bread, put a sheet of paper... 71 00:04:43,424 --> 00:04:44,556 or anything he could find, 72 00:04:44,558 --> 00:04:46,558 wallpaper, scrap paper, anything, 73 00:04:46,560 --> 00:04:48,894 and then he would just draw on that. 74 00:04:48,896 --> 00:04:50,896 He was never really taught how to draw, 75 00:04:50,898 --> 00:04:55,567 so he was self-taught, but his eyesight was bad, 76 00:04:55,569 --> 00:04:58,737 so he would get inches away from the paper 77 00:04:58,739 --> 00:05:00,839 and just scratch it out. 78 00:05:00,841 --> 00:05:02,908 These two guys just hit it off together, 79 00:05:02,910 --> 00:05:07,467 and they worked on the school newspaper together. 80 00:05:07,502 --> 00:05:09,906 They found that they had a lot in common. 81 00:05:09,941 --> 00:05:14,620 An artist without a writer is as painful as a writer without an artist. 82 00:05:14,622 --> 00:05:16,922 I mean, you can have these great ideas, 83 00:05:16,924 --> 00:05:19,825 but if you can't translate them somehow onto the page 84 00:05:19,827 --> 00:05:22,852 and show them to people, what good are they? 85 00:05:22,887 --> 00:05:27,289 Joe was the perfect person to translate Jerry's ideas. 86 00:05:27,324 --> 00:05:30,049 In high school, they worked on the school newspaper, 87 00:05:30,084 --> 00:05:32,571 but they also put together this magazine. 88 00:05:32,573 --> 00:05:35,340 They called it Science Fiction. 89 00:05:36,242 --> 00:05:38,510 One of the stories in one of the issues 90 00:05:38,512 --> 00:05:41,214 is called The Reign of the Super-Man. 91 00:05:41,548 --> 00:05:45,384 Jerry types down this real pulpy science fiction story, 92 00:05:45,386 --> 00:05:47,853 Joe illustrates it, 93 00:05:47,855 --> 00:05:51,557 and the "super-man" in the story is a bad guy, 94 00:05:51,559 --> 00:05:55,394 and he's bald, too, in the picture, so he looks like Lex Luthor, 95 00:05:55,396 --> 00:05:58,297 and that story just doesn't work. 96 00:05:58,299 --> 00:06:01,833 They try to get people to buy the magazine, and nobody buys it. 97 00:06:07,273 --> 00:06:10,309 And then, a seminal moment... 98 00:06:10,311 --> 00:06:13,412 Jerry's father passes away. 99 00:06:15,815 --> 00:06:20,604 He dies of a heart attack while being robbed at gunpoint. 100 00:06:20,821 --> 00:06:24,821 Jerry never finds justice for his father's killers... 101 00:06:24,858 --> 00:06:27,993 and it haunts him. 102 00:06:27,995 --> 00:06:30,295 Jerry really had it tough after that, 103 00:06:30,297 --> 00:06:33,932 but he persisted, and that's what Superman grew out of. 104 00:06:33,934 --> 00:06:36,935 There's no coincidence that a year later, 105 00:06:36,937 --> 00:06:42,611 he creates Superman 's goal... to eliminate crime. 106 00:06:44,510 --> 00:06:46,979 Maybe we did it wrong. 107 00:06:46,981 --> 00:06:49,715 We shouldn't have made him a bad guy. 108 00:06:49,717 --> 00:06:51,250 What if he was good? 109 00:06:51,252 --> 00:06:54,286 He can do anything he wants, but all he really wants 110 00:06:54,288 --> 00:06:58,790 is to... to fit in... and help people. 111 00:06:58,792 --> 00:07:01,393 Any time anybody creates something, 112 00:07:01,395 --> 00:07:04,329 there's always that aspect of themselves 113 00:07:04,331 --> 00:07:07,132 that's in their characters. 114 00:07:07,400 --> 00:07:11,400 You know, Joe, who was small and couldn't get strong, 115 00:07:11,672 --> 00:07:14,657 that went into, you know, creating someone 116 00:07:14,658 --> 00:07:18,510 who was big and strong, like Superman. 117 00:07:18,512 --> 00:07:21,747 With Jerry, it was more personal. 118 00:07:21,749 --> 00:07:26,617 It was his father's death, so Superman is really 119 00:07:26,618 --> 00:07:30,722 a kind of autobiography for both of them. 120 00:07:30,724 --> 00:07:34,793 - Come here. - What? 121 00:07:34,795 --> 00:07:37,562 Tell me what you think of this. 122 00:07:37,564 --> 00:07:39,464 That's our super-man! 123 00:07:47,707 --> 00:07:50,742 In 1933, Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster 124 00:07:50,744 --> 00:07:54,744 create a character entirely unique... 125 00:07:55,381 --> 00:07:59,418 special powers, a secret identity, 126 00:07:59,420 --> 00:08:01,753 a visitor from a distant planet. 127 00:08:01,755 --> 00:08:04,690 None of it had been seen before. 128 00:08:04,692 --> 00:08:07,626 See, in those days, all comic strips 129 00:08:07,628 --> 00:08:11,630 are cowboys, detectives, 130 00:08:11,632 --> 00:08:17,369 spacemen. There is no such thing as superheroes. 131 00:08:17,371 --> 00:08:18,937 Jerry Siegel 132 00:08:18,939 --> 00:08:23,200 had been inventing mythology since he was a teenager. 133 00:08:23,609 --> 00:08:28,569 Working with Joe, who was, in many ways, his protégé, 134 00:08:28,615 --> 00:08:30,649 they developed Superman together, 135 00:08:30,651 --> 00:08:32,651 but it was a long gestation process. 136 00:08:32,653 --> 00:08:35,721 It took many, many, many years. 137 00:08:35,723 --> 00:08:37,889 When Siegel and Shuster got started, 138 00:08:37,891 --> 00:08:39,424 what they really wanted to do 139 00:08:39,426 --> 00:08:42,279 was be able to sell a comic strip... 140 00:08:42,495 --> 00:08:44,730 because back in the 1930s, 141 00:08:44,732 --> 00:08:49,468 the real rock stars of the comics world were comic strip artists. 142 00:08:49,470 --> 00:08:52,037 Like Milton Caniff or Rube Goldberg, 143 00:08:52,039 --> 00:08:54,539 or E.C. Segar, who did Popeye, 144 00:08:54,541 --> 00:08:56,441 they were the celebrities of their time. 145 00:08:56,443 --> 00:08:58,877 They were on the front of magazines 146 00:08:58,879 --> 00:09:01,580 and they met with presidents. 147 00:09:01,582 --> 00:09:03,415 At that point, newspaper comics, 148 00:09:03,417 --> 00:09:06,084 that was the way to make a lot of money. 149 00:09:06,086 --> 00:09:09,621 So they sent their Superman to all these syndicates, 150 00:09:09,623 --> 00:09:12,457 and they got them back with rejection notices. 151 00:09:12,892 --> 00:09:14,459 They couldn't sell it to anybody, 152 00:09:14,461 --> 00:09:17,796 because any time you have a new idea, 153 00:09:17,798 --> 00:09:20,832 everybody thinks it's stupid. 154 00:09:20,834 --> 00:09:23,034 You know, they said, "Joe can't draw," 155 00:09:23,036 --> 00:09:25,036 "Jerry has no business writing," 156 00:09:25,038 --> 00:09:27,939 and somebody said, "No one will ever believe this stuff." 157 00:09:27,941 --> 00:09:30,509 Let's look at the heroes who existed prior to Superman. 158 00:09:30,511 --> 00:09:32,771 You had, like, your Flash Gordon, your Buck Rogers. 159 00:09:32,806 --> 00:09:34,713 You know, Flash Gordon, at the end of the day, 160 00:09:34,715 --> 00:09:38,116 was a guy who, like, you know, hey, he luckily got to space. 161 00:09:38,118 --> 00:09:39,851 He didn't have any superpowers. 162 00:09:39,853 --> 00:09:42,521 Buck Rogers... just a guy who went to the future. 163 00:09:42,523 --> 00:09:44,089 Didn't have any superpowers. 164 00:09:44,091 --> 00:09:47,426 But that genre would be reinvented by Superman 165 00:09:47,428 --> 00:09:49,561 because he's a god, 166 00:09:49,563 --> 00:09:53,943 he's this strange visitor from another planet with these abilities. 167 00:09:54,767 --> 00:09:57,736 But newspapers were saying "It's too far-fetched," 168 00:09:57,738 --> 00:10:01,738 "It's silly," and they felt that this concept of a super-man 169 00:10:01,809 --> 00:10:04,576 would never take off. 170 00:10:04,578 --> 00:10:08,547 And, in the meantime, they did get comic book work, 171 00:10:08,549 --> 00:10:11,183 and so they were getting paid. 172 00:10:11,185 --> 00:10:13,218 They were doing, uh, Dr. Occult. 173 00:10:13,220 --> 00:10:17,860 They were doing, uh, a lot of federal agent-type strips. 174 00:10:18,559 --> 00:10:20,459 They were actually building up a reputation 175 00:10:20,461 --> 00:10:24,461 in this new comic industry. 176 00:10:24,531 --> 00:10:26,698 Prior to Superman, I don't know that you could say 177 00:10:26,700 --> 00:10:28,033 there was a comic book business. 178 00:10:28,035 --> 00:10:31,036 What there was... was a publishing business. 179 00:10:31,038 --> 00:10:32,904 There were pulp magazines. 180 00:10:32,906 --> 00:10:34,806 There were comic strips, 181 00:10:34,808 --> 00:10:38,243 which were the most popular part of the newspapers, 182 00:10:38,245 --> 00:10:40,946 and there were people that were entrepreneurial, 183 00:10:40,948 --> 00:10:43,582 in a way, that tried to marry the two. 184 00:10:43,584 --> 00:10:46,952 Ultimately, Superman resided in the slush pile 185 00:10:46,954 --> 00:10:50,954 until Harry Donenfeld and Jack Liebowitz said, 186 00:10:51,225 --> 00:10:53,124 "Let's give it a shot." 187 00:10:53,126 --> 00:10:56,962 - What about that one? - Can't put that on the cover. 188 00:10:56,964 --> 00:10:58,029 It's a good story. 189 00:10:58,031 --> 00:11:01,032 Doesn't matter. It's not gonna sell magazines. 190 00:11:01,034 --> 00:11:06,171 Harry Donenfeld and Jack Liebowitz run DC Comics. 191 00:11:06,173 --> 00:11:10,173 Donenfeld is a showman, a bit outlandish. 192 00:11:10,544 --> 00:11:14,544 Jack Liebowitz is mild-mannered, more even-tempered. 193 00:11:15,616 --> 00:11:20,752 Both men share a common bond... money. 194 00:11:20,754 --> 00:11:24,122 But in 1937, business is bad, 195 00:11:24,124 --> 00:11:26,992 and they are willing to take a risk. 196 00:11:27,927 --> 00:11:31,336 What about that strip those guys from Cleveland sent in? 197 00:11:36,602 --> 00:11:37,836 Here it is. 198 00:11:39,672 --> 00:11:44,075 - Superman. - Superman, huh? 199 00:11:44,077 --> 00:11:47,746 Harry and Jack were entrepreneurs. 200 00:11:47,748 --> 00:11:49,614 They were just trying to sell magazines. 201 00:11:49,616 --> 00:11:51,583 They were just trying to make a buck. 202 00:11:51,585 --> 00:11:54,819 Let's get a contract written up right away. 203 00:11:54,821 --> 00:11:57,822 I'll have one sent out for them to sign immediately. 204 00:11:57,824 --> 00:12:00,559 And the letter is sent to Jerry and Joe, 205 00:12:00,561 --> 00:12:05,433 offering the grand sum total of $10 a page, 206 00:12:05,468 --> 00:12:10,219 and there's 13 pages, so it was 130 bucks. 207 00:12:12,038 --> 00:12:15,223 That Superman idea, which had originally been formatted 208 00:12:15,256 --> 00:12:19,311 as a comic strip, they said, "Reformat those strips into a 13-page story." 209 00:12:25,618 --> 00:12:27,419 The thing that you have to remember 210 00:12:27,454 --> 00:12:29,754 is that the process of creation, 211 00:12:29,756 --> 00:12:33,258 you're putting all of your energy into that. 212 00:12:33,260 --> 00:12:36,227 You don't think about if somebody's gonna cheat you. 213 00:12:36,229 --> 00:12:39,138 You just hope somebody's going to print it. 214 00:12:40,066 --> 00:12:43,268 I told Donenfeld we'd have this back to him by tomorrow. 215 00:12:43,270 --> 00:12:44,703 You know, maybe they want to do 216 00:12:44,705 --> 00:12:46,371 The Crimson Horsemen instead. 217 00:12:46,373 --> 00:12:50,875 No, they want action. They want Superman. 218 00:12:50,877 --> 00:12:55,280 When we sign, we'll get our check. $130. 219 00:12:56,248 --> 00:12:59,017 Here, let me see that again. 220 00:12:59,019 --> 00:13:02,187 Remember, this process took years. 221 00:13:02,189 --> 00:13:07,892 They had sent Superman to every publisher. Nobody liked it. 222 00:13:07,894 --> 00:13:10,061 If Jerry and Joe sign the deal, 223 00:13:10,063 --> 00:13:15,166 their character, Superman, will be known throughout the world. 224 00:13:15,168 --> 00:13:19,168 It's a dream they've had since they were kids... 225 00:13:19,339 --> 00:13:26,098 But if they sign, they also give up all rights to the Superman character. 226 00:13:29,715 --> 00:13:32,594 Okay, give me a pen. 227 00:13:32,652 --> 00:13:36,121 Signing the deal will change both men forever... 228 00:13:36,123 --> 00:13:40,687 as Superman will become a worldwide phenomenon. 229 00:13:44,330 --> 00:13:46,731 With World War II looming, 230 00:13:46,733 --> 00:13:49,701 the United States needs a hero, 231 00:13:49,703 --> 00:13:53,438 someone who represents the very best of American values... 232 00:13:53,440 --> 00:13:58,410 truth, liberty, justice. 233 00:13:58,412 --> 00:14:01,980 When Superman came along, America was desperate 234 00:14:01,982 --> 00:14:04,683 for a dream they could believe in. 235 00:14:04,685 --> 00:14:07,919 Any story that could touch them deep down 236 00:14:07,921 --> 00:14:10,722 in a way that made them feel that things might be okay 237 00:14:10,724 --> 00:14:12,290 was going to ignite, 238 00:14:12,292 --> 00:14:15,193 and Superman happened to be that story. 239 00:14:15,195 --> 00:14:19,030 Back then, nobody knew who or what Superman was. 240 00:14:19,032 --> 00:14:21,833 They'd just see this guy in the tights 241 00:14:21,835 --> 00:14:24,469 and he's lifting this car over his head, 242 00:14:24,471 --> 00:14:29,207 and that was it... we have the first superhero. 243 00:14:29,209 --> 00:14:31,309 Within three months, 244 00:14:31,311 --> 00:14:35,180 Superman sold a million copies. 245 00:14:35,182 --> 00:14:39,025 Once that happened... Boom! Everything blew up. 246 00:14:39,985 --> 00:14:43,755 I was a kid at that period, and he was my hero. 247 00:14:43,757 --> 00:14:46,753 I mean, it was phenomenal. 248 00:14:46,788 --> 00:14:48,359 Superman is celebrated within a year 249 00:14:48,361 --> 00:14:51,196 at the New York World's Fair in 1939. 250 00:14:51,198 --> 00:14:53,865 You have Superman appearing in the Macy's parade. 251 00:14:53,867 --> 00:14:57,035 You have Superman starting to show up in comic strips and on radio. 252 00:14:57,037 --> 00:15:00,438 - Look! Up in the sky! - It's a bird! It's a plane! 253 00:15:00,440 --> 00:15:02,373 It's Superman! 254 00:15:02,375 --> 00:15:05,176 Max Fleischer wanted to do Superman cartoons, 255 00:15:05,178 --> 00:15:07,479 so they did Superman cartoons. 256 00:15:07,481 --> 00:15:09,981 It was an early licensing bonanza. 257 00:15:09,983 --> 00:15:12,217 There was costumes, there was toys, 258 00:15:12,219 --> 00:15:14,786 there was all kinds of spin-offs. 259 00:15:17,423 --> 00:15:20,525 They didn't own the character, but they got paid for it, 260 00:15:20,527 --> 00:15:24,350 so Jerry and Joe got to do their comic strip. 261 00:15:25,097 --> 00:15:27,766 Superman was showing up everywhere, 262 00:15:27,768 --> 00:15:30,235 so they were doin' great. 263 00:15:30,237 --> 00:15:36,331 They built a studio for Joe, and they were able to bring in 264 00:15:36,366 --> 00:15:39,059 other artists to help Joe, because there was no way 265 00:15:39,094 --> 00:15:41,346 he could turn out more than one or two books a month, 266 00:15:41,348 --> 00:15:45,348 so, uh, he would oversee these guys drawing Superman. 267 00:15:45,385 --> 00:15:48,981 Curl in the front of the forehead... That's good. 268 00:15:49,016 --> 00:15:50,822 - Joe, take a look at this. - Yeah, just like that. 269 00:15:50,824 --> 00:15:53,858 - Joe, so in this next scene... - Right, this is the train... 270 00:15:53,860 --> 00:15:56,027 - Now, this train has got to be huge. - Yeah. 271 00:15:56,029 --> 00:15:57,195 They're doing very good. 272 00:15:58,798 --> 00:16:00,799 They were celebrities. 273 00:16:00,801 --> 00:16:03,268 You know, Superman's creators, Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster. 274 00:16:03,270 --> 00:16:05,906 So it was a good life. 275 00:16:08,174 --> 00:16:10,975 In 1940, there's a famous Saturday Evening Post article 276 00:16:10,977 --> 00:16:13,278 where Siegel and Shuster are held up 277 00:16:13,280 --> 00:16:18,089 as these icons of American success. 278 00:16:18,124 --> 00:16:21,820 Now, our guest tonight is the man who originated Superman. 279 00:16:21,822 --> 00:16:23,288 He's Mr. Jerry Siegel. 280 00:16:23,290 --> 00:16:28,466 - Good evening, Fred. - Now, how does he change his clothes so fast? 281 00:16:28,501 --> 00:16:31,145 Well, after all, he's Superman, Fred. 282 00:16:34,366 --> 00:16:36,868 Jerry and Joe are being paid well, 283 00:16:36,870 --> 00:16:39,904 but not nearly well enough. 284 00:16:39,906 --> 00:16:44,442 Donenfeld and Liebowitz are making millions off their creation... 285 00:16:44,444 --> 00:16:50,749 And as Superman's popularity grows, so does the workload. 286 00:16:50,951 --> 00:16:55,954 To Jerry and Joe... it's just not right. 287 00:16:55,956 --> 00:17:00,091 They were very unhappy with what was an inequitable deal. 288 00:17:00,093 --> 00:17:03,127 Something as phenomenally successful 289 00:17:03,129 --> 00:17:04,996 and wonderful as Superman, 290 00:17:04,998 --> 00:17:08,998 it rankled Jerry and Joe not getting their fair share. 291 00:17:09,469 --> 00:17:12,370 They didn't get royalties, really, essentially, 292 00:17:12,372 --> 00:17:16,976 so, as the writer-creator of Superman... 293 00:17:17,444 --> 00:17:19,932 it would get you mad. 294 00:17:27,953 --> 00:17:29,487 The bombing of Pearl Harbor 295 00:17:29,489 --> 00:17:32,023 forces America into World War II. 296 00:17:35,628 --> 00:17:38,296 Jerry is drafted to the Army, 297 00:17:38,298 --> 00:17:42,298 while Joe stays home due to his poor eyesight. 298 00:17:42,335 --> 00:17:46,537 For the first time, someone else writes Superman, 299 00:17:46,539 --> 00:17:50,937 and Jerry isn't as valued as he once was. 300 00:17:52,211 --> 00:17:56,157 During the war, Superman is more popular than ever. 301 00:17:57,049 --> 00:18:00,118 He's an American ally, 302 00:18:00,120 --> 00:18:02,587 battling villains both real and imagined. 303 00:18:07,993 --> 00:18:12,096 Really, what he did was motivated people 304 00:18:12,098 --> 00:18:14,499 to become a part of the war effort. 305 00:18:14,501 --> 00:18:16,100 Perhaps most famously, 306 00:18:16,102 --> 00:18:21,585 he was the most widely read periodical on Army bases. 307 00:18:21,620 --> 00:18:24,709 G.I.s and airmen were putting him 308 00:18:24,711 --> 00:18:26,644 on their tanks and on their Jeeps 309 00:18:26,646 --> 00:18:28,613 and on their airplane nose cones 310 00:18:28,615 --> 00:18:32,997 as a myth that they carried with them and identified with 311 00:18:33,032 --> 00:18:35,985 that gave them courage in battle. 312 00:18:35,989 --> 00:18:39,290 Superman is pure propaganda... 313 00:18:39,292 --> 00:18:41,592 and the public can't get enough. 314 00:18:41,932 --> 00:18:44,880 DC Comics capitalizes... 315 00:18:45,064 --> 00:18:48,007 with a Superboy spin-off. 316 00:18:48,467 --> 00:18:54,055 Jerry had pitched Superboy many years earlier. 317 00:18:55,107 --> 00:18:57,342 He presented this idea, 318 00:18:57,344 --> 00:19:00,539 the adventures of Superman when he was a boy, 319 00:19:00,574 --> 00:19:02,714 called it Superboy... 320 00:19:02,716 --> 00:19:07,016 and he was told by his editors, "stupid idea." 321 00:19:07,753 --> 00:19:10,121 While he was in the army, 322 00:19:10,123 --> 00:19:13,624 DC Comics decided, "Let's do Superboy." 323 00:19:13,626 --> 00:19:16,127 They were in touch with Joe, 324 00:19:16,129 --> 00:19:21,175 but they didn't tell Jerry or ask his permission. 325 00:19:21,267 --> 00:19:24,402 During the war, Jerry met a, uh, an attorney, 326 00:19:24,404 --> 00:19:27,873 who convinced him that they should sue DC 327 00:19:27,874 --> 00:19:32,610 to get out of their contract and try to get more of a piece of Superman. 328 00:19:32,612 --> 00:19:36,581 You're a lawyer. They can't do this, right? 329 00:19:36,583 --> 00:19:39,584 No. No, they can't. 330 00:19:39,586 --> 00:19:44,555 - So what can I do? - Sue. 331 00:19:44,557 --> 00:19:48,546 He sees himself not only ripped off, but he thinks, 332 00:19:48,581 --> 00:19:51,663 "This is a sign they want to take away everything from me," 333 00:19:51,664 --> 00:19:54,964 so he's going to pursue justice. 334 00:19:59,438 --> 00:20:03,438 Jerry Siegel comes home from World War II on a mission. 335 00:20:03,443 --> 00:20:05,710 It's 1947. 336 00:20:05,712 --> 00:20:09,447 He's suing DC Comics for the rights to Superman, 337 00:20:09,449 --> 00:20:13,449 and he convinces Joe Shuster to do the same. 338 00:20:13,553 --> 00:20:17,553 Jerry is confident that justice is on his side. 339 00:20:17,824 --> 00:20:21,459 It's a gamble that could cost both men everything. 340 00:20:21,461 --> 00:20:26,335 The risk was being banned, basically, from DC after that. 341 00:20:26,370 --> 00:20:28,599 It is the opinion of this court 342 00:20:28,601 --> 00:20:31,669 that the plaintiffs, Mr. Siegel and Mr. Shuster, 343 00:20:31,671 --> 00:20:33,438 transferred all of their rights 344 00:20:33,440 --> 00:20:36,774 in, and to, the comic strip Superman, 345 00:20:36,776 --> 00:20:43,314 including the title, names, characters, and concept to the defendant. 346 00:20:43,316 --> 00:20:48,553 This court affirms that the defendant is the sole and exclusive owner 347 00:20:48,555 --> 00:20:51,189 of the character Superman. 348 00:20:51,191 --> 00:20:52,857 This court is adjourned. 349 00:20:56,261 --> 00:20:57,728 They lose that case. 350 00:20:57,730 --> 00:21:00,565 They do not get Superman back... 351 00:21:02,234 --> 00:21:06,955 But it then goes on to say that the Superboy character 352 00:21:06,956 --> 00:21:09,674 was indeed created by Jerry Siegel. 353 00:21:09,676 --> 00:21:12,443 DC Comics should have bought that character from him, 354 00:21:12,445 --> 00:21:14,645 so they enter into a settlement. 355 00:21:14,647 --> 00:21:17,782 They got a settlement, but it went to all the lawyers, 356 00:21:17,784 --> 00:21:22,616 and they were fired from working on Superman at DC. 357 00:21:22,822 --> 00:21:26,424 There's this really strange thing that Jerry says. 358 00:21:26,426 --> 00:21:33,151 He's in the courtroom, and he looks over and he sees Superman... 359 00:21:34,300 --> 00:21:37,768 and he disappears. 360 00:21:39,872 --> 00:21:41,839 He knows that this is the moment 361 00:21:41,841 --> 00:21:45,776 where this thing they'd worked so hard on 362 00:21:45,778 --> 00:21:48,646 has been taken away... 363 00:21:48,648 --> 00:21:54,524 and now they've been barred from the character they created. 364 00:21:55,287 --> 00:21:57,605 They're devastated by it, 365 00:21:57,606 --> 00:22:01,325 but they're together, and they say, 366 00:22:01,327 --> 00:22:04,929 "Let's just do it again. Let's do something better. 367 00:22:04,931 --> 00:22:08,499 Lightning can strike twice." 368 00:22:08,501 --> 00:22:12,501 And so, they come up with Funnyman. 369 00:22:12,772 --> 00:22:13,999 They took the humor of, like, 370 00:22:14,000 --> 00:22:17,529 Danny Kaye's movies and combined it with Superman, 371 00:22:17,564 --> 00:22:21,480 but the jokes weren't very funny and he wasn't all that super, 372 00:22:21,515 --> 00:22:24,916 and that fell flat after about a half a dozen issues. 373 00:22:24,918 --> 00:22:28,452 People were expecting another Superman, 374 00:22:28,454 --> 00:22:31,656 and it was as far from Superman as could be... 375 00:22:33,425 --> 00:22:36,861 And I think that's where they really felt it. 376 00:22:36,863 --> 00:22:41,500 "Not only did we lose Superman, but we lost the spark. 377 00:22:41,668 --> 00:22:45,942 What do we have now?" 378 00:22:45,977 --> 00:22:48,773 In hindsight, they should've never filed the '47 lawsuit, 379 00:22:48,775 --> 00:22:52,643 because in 1948, it did appear that they were going to get 380 00:22:52,645 --> 00:22:54,645 another renewal of their contract, 381 00:22:54,647 --> 00:22:56,781 and if they'd taken that renewal, 382 00:22:56,783 --> 00:23:01,260 that would've taken them into the Superman TV show. 383 00:23:01,295 --> 00:23:03,588 The Adventures of Superman! 384 00:23:03,590 --> 00:23:07,291 That would've taken them to a whole new era of merchandising. 385 00:23:07,293 --> 00:23:09,273 They could've been set for life. 386 00:23:09,308 --> 00:23:12,463 More powerful than a locomotive... 387 00:23:12,465 --> 00:23:16,434 The 1950s sees the dawn of a new visual medium, 388 00:23:16,436 --> 00:23:20,436 and once again Superman is a sensation. 389 00:23:20,440 --> 00:23:22,707 Alongside I Love Lucy, 390 00:23:22,709 --> 00:23:27,612 The Adventures of Superman is one of the biggest hits on television. 391 00:23:27,614 --> 00:23:30,565 There can only be one Superman, of course, but did you ever 392 00:23:30,566 --> 00:23:34,721 think about some of the super things that you can do for yourself? 393 00:23:34,756 --> 00:23:37,519 Kids were completely enamored of it, 394 00:23:37,857 --> 00:23:40,391 but also a lot of adults were, too. 395 00:23:40,393 --> 00:23:45,296 The idea of someone who's the best version of ourselves 396 00:23:45,298 --> 00:23:48,666 was very appealing to us as a society, 397 00:23:48,668 --> 00:23:51,469 especially at the end of World War II. 398 00:23:51,471 --> 00:23:53,537 Here was a guy who had all this power, 399 00:23:53,539 --> 00:23:56,474 and, unlike people with power who abuse it, 400 00:23:56,476 --> 00:23:58,542 Superman never abused his power, 401 00:23:58,544 --> 00:24:02,813 and people just really gravitated to it, so it was a huge hit. 402 00:24:02,815 --> 00:24:04,515 Yes, it's Superman! 403 00:24:04,517 --> 00:24:05,983 The strange visitor from another planet 404 00:24:05,985 --> 00:24:08,319 who came to Earth with powers and abilities 405 00:24:08,321 --> 00:24:10,388 far beyond those of mortal men. 406 00:24:10,390 --> 00:24:13,165 Superman, who... 407 00:24:14,760 --> 00:24:16,360 Do you know how many people are watching this right now? 408 00:24:16,362 --> 00:24:18,442 - Jerry... - Do you know how much that 409 00:24:18,443 --> 00:24:21,164 George Reeves makes? How much those crooks, 410 00:24:21,199 --> 00:24:23,334 Donenfeld and Liebowitz, make off of what we did? 411 00:24:23,336 --> 00:24:26,394 There wouldn't even be a Superman if it wasn't for us. 412 00:24:26,429 --> 00:24:29,227 How is it that we're sitting here with nothing? 413 00:24:29,609 --> 00:24:33,144 There's never going to be another Superman, Joe. 414 00:24:33,979 --> 00:24:36,681 Things for Jerry got really bad really fast. 415 00:24:36,683 --> 00:24:38,620 He couldn't get work. 416 00:24:38,917 --> 00:24:44,488 His wife, Joanne... she had Jerry's conviction that 417 00:24:44,490 --> 00:24:48,059 there was an injustice done. 418 00:24:48,061 --> 00:24:51,495 Joanne Siegel was Lois Lane. 419 00:24:51,497 --> 00:24:54,932 She was the physical model for Lois Lane, first of all, 420 00:24:54,934 --> 00:24:58,536 but more important, later in life, 421 00:24:58,538 --> 00:25:01,539 she was kind of sticking up for Jerry 422 00:25:01,541 --> 00:25:05,376 at a time when he wasn't sticking up for himself. 423 00:25:05,378 --> 00:25:08,379 Joanne called DC Comics 424 00:25:08,381 --> 00:25:10,614 and tried to shame them into giving Jerry a job 425 00:25:10,616 --> 00:25:13,918 so he could at least make some money to keep his family going. 426 00:25:13,920 --> 00:25:16,617 Thank you. 427 00:25:17,689 --> 00:25:20,493 Jerry gets hired as a staff writer. 428 00:25:23,428 --> 00:25:25,663 No celebration of his return. 429 00:25:25,665 --> 00:25:29,665 He's just this anonymous... writer. 430 00:25:30,703 --> 00:25:32,903 Even though Jerry was told, 431 00:25:32,905 --> 00:25:36,540 "We'll never put your name on these issues. 432 00:25:36,542 --> 00:25:38,109 No one will ever know you wrote it," 433 00:25:38,111 --> 00:25:43,047 he still found a way to get his voice into the stories. 434 00:25:43,049 --> 00:25:44,982 I mean, he would write these wonderful stories 435 00:25:44,984 --> 00:25:48,301 of going back to Krypton. 436 00:25:49,121 --> 00:25:51,155 Superman's return to Krypton, 437 00:25:51,157 --> 00:25:52,857 I think that played into the fantasy 438 00:25:52,859 --> 00:25:56,527 of "Well, if you could fix your life, if you could go back 439 00:25:56,562 --> 00:25:58,805 and do things over again, what would you do?" 440 00:25:58,840 --> 00:26:00,739 and here was Superman going back 441 00:26:00,740 --> 00:26:03,968 and trying to save his parents and finding that things 442 00:26:03,969 --> 00:26:06,604 were not as simple as he thought they were, 443 00:26:06,606 --> 00:26:10,324 and that ultimately he failed anyway. 444 00:26:11,477 --> 00:26:14,745 There's a funnier story; Superboy 100, 445 00:26:14,747 --> 00:26:17,148 a milestone issue of the character, 446 00:26:17,150 --> 00:26:20,401 and Superboy's parents come back, but it turns out that his 447 00:26:20,402 --> 00:26:23,652 parents are evil pretenders who are not really his parents, 448 00:26:23,689 --> 00:26:26,157 which is a clear jibe at Jerry Siegel's belief 449 00:26:26,159 --> 00:26:29,460 that he's the true creator of Superboy... 450 00:26:29,462 --> 00:26:35,785 so he sneaks in these interesting little jabs at the company. 451 00:26:37,135 --> 00:26:39,036 With Jerry writing for DC, 452 00:26:39,038 --> 00:26:43,808 Joe earns money as an artist... but not drawing comic books. 453 00:26:43,810 --> 00:26:47,011 What he's doing isn't for kids. 454 00:26:48,580 --> 00:26:53,525 He actually started doing S&M fetish drawings. 455 00:26:54,187 --> 00:26:56,654 They were the pornography of their time, 456 00:26:56,656 --> 00:26:58,189 these under-the-counter pulps 457 00:26:58,191 --> 00:27:02,191 that had very racy inside artwork and stories. 458 00:27:02,228 --> 00:27:05,729 Whether he was specifically trying to look like 459 00:27:05,731 --> 00:27:10,468 the Superman family as a kind of a revenge against DC Comics 460 00:27:10,470 --> 00:27:13,003 in these illustrated booklets that he did, 461 00:27:13,005 --> 00:27:14,672 called Nights of Horror, 462 00:27:14,674 --> 00:27:17,708 I couldn't say, but that's what Joe had been doing 463 00:27:17,710 --> 00:27:22,813 in those kind of lost years that nobody knew how he was getting by. 464 00:27:22,815 --> 00:27:25,015 Joe was a jobber. 465 00:27:25,017 --> 00:27:26,717 He had an assignment, he was gonna do it... 466 00:27:26,719 --> 00:27:31,635 But for Jerry, he felt like he never had what he deserved. 467 00:27:31,670 --> 00:27:33,757 Jerry was back working at DC, 468 00:27:33,759 --> 00:27:35,626 and had a rough time of it. 469 00:27:35,628 --> 00:27:38,262 Hey, Siegel. How are those changes coming along? 470 00:27:38,264 --> 00:27:41,799 I'm just finishing them up right now, sir. 471 00:27:41,801 --> 00:27:44,068 Jerry would go in and say, 472 00:27:44,070 --> 00:27:48,070 "Hey, I've got an idea about Superman does this and that." 473 00:27:48,107 --> 00:27:53,530 Sir? Did you get my story about Krypton I sent you? 474 00:27:54,613 --> 00:27:58,960 It's not gonna work. Just stick to what the editor gave you. 475 00:27:58,995 --> 00:28:02,130 And he would actually trade the story off to another writer 476 00:28:02,165 --> 00:28:03,423 and kind of make it as if it were him, 477 00:28:03,458 --> 00:28:06,174 which is sort of the worst thing you can do to a writer. 478 00:28:06,209 --> 00:28:09,560 It kind of demoralizes them. It was tough. 479 00:28:09,562 --> 00:28:13,562 So, Jerry Siegel persuades Joe to go in with him 480 00:28:13,733 --> 00:28:17,668 to try to get Superman back... again. 481 00:28:17,670 --> 00:28:22,755 For Jerry, the risk was being let go and losing his writer job, 482 00:28:22,790 --> 00:28:27,043 but he had this core conviction that they were being mistreated, 483 00:28:27,078 --> 00:28:31,702 and until he had that judgment, he was not going to be happy. 484 00:28:38,123 --> 00:28:42,932 In 1967, a new copyright law is enacted. 485 00:28:43,162 --> 00:28:46,931 Jerry and Joe sue again, 486 00:28:46,933 --> 00:28:50,755 trying to regain the rights to Superman. 487 00:28:51,102 --> 00:28:52,636 We are persuaded here 488 00:28:52,638 --> 00:28:56,006 that the court judgment of May 21, 1948 489 00:28:56,008 --> 00:28:59,710 effectively stopped Mr. Siegel and Mr. Shuster 490 00:28:59,712 --> 00:29:01,612 from contesting the issue 491 00:29:01,614 --> 00:29:03,981 of ownership of copyright of Superman. 492 00:29:03,983 --> 00:29:09,153 What they found was that the Superboy settlement 493 00:29:09,155 --> 00:29:12,656 had effectively closed the door on any other litigation. 494 00:29:12,658 --> 00:29:15,125 This precludes the plaintiffs from contesting... 495 00:29:15,127 --> 00:29:18,696 Leaving Jerry and Joe without a job, 496 00:29:18,698 --> 00:29:23,233 and without any other possibility of opening it up again. 497 00:29:23,235 --> 00:29:28,172 - ...the defendants, DC Comics. - They were out of comics. 498 00:29:28,174 --> 00:29:34,252 They were kind of out of everything. They were pretty bleak times. 499 00:29:35,013 --> 00:29:40,020 Joe is in New York, unmarried, without children. 500 00:29:40,055 --> 00:29:42,987 He stays in his brother's one-bedroom apartment, 501 00:29:42,989 --> 00:29:46,366 scraping by even to survive. 502 00:29:47,058 --> 00:29:48,892 He slept on a cot, 503 00:29:48,894 --> 00:29:52,196 next to a window that had no curtains... 504 00:29:52,198 --> 00:29:56,646 and had tape on the broken cracks. 505 00:29:57,902 --> 00:30:01,739 The artist of Superman... 506 00:30:01,741 --> 00:30:04,597 sleeping on a cot. 507 00:30:05,411 --> 00:30:10,594 In wintertime, he couldn't afford, uh, to buy an overcoat. 508 00:30:10,629 --> 00:30:15,152 For a period of time, he was a messenger in Manhattan... 509 00:30:16,388 --> 00:30:19,891 And one of his deliveries was to DC Comics, and he came in 510 00:30:19,926 --> 00:30:22,758 and saw the big painting of Superman there. 511 00:30:22,962 --> 00:30:25,095 Here he was, delivering packages. 512 00:30:25,097 --> 00:30:30,518 Can you sign this, please? Line 17. Right there. 513 00:30:30,553 --> 00:30:32,506 Meanwhile, the people that were now taking over 514 00:30:32,534 --> 00:30:34,438 Superman were doing very well for themselves. 515 00:30:34,440 --> 00:30:38,275 - The Sanchez file. - Hello, Mr. Liebowitz. 516 00:30:38,277 --> 00:30:43,013 Jack Liebowitz said, "What are you doing around here?" 517 00:30:43,015 --> 00:30:46,383 - He said, "Delivering messages." - Delivery? 518 00:30:46,385 --> 00:30:51,976 - "You don't have a coat." - Oh, I don't mind the cold. 519 00:30:54,726 --> 00:30:58,577 You buy yourself a warm coat, you hear me? 520 00:30:58,612 --> 00:31:02,190 Thank you, Mr. Liebowitz. 521 00:31:03,101 --> 00:31:08,542 There's too many stories like this. Bad stories. 522 00:31:15,080 --> 00:31:19,490 Jerry is married with one daughter in Southern California. 523 00:31:21,786 --> 00:31:24,648 He works as a postal clerk. 524 00:31:25,757 --> 00:31:31,160 Very few are aware that he created the most iconic hero of our time. 525 00:31:33,679 --> 00:31:37,267 Then something happens that makes Jerry snap, 526 00:31:37,269 --> 00:31:43,258 and it's the news that they're going to make a Superman movie. 527 00:31:43,341 --> 00:31:47,811 It's going to be this huge blockbuster with Marlon Brando. 528 00:31:47,813 --> 00:31:50,247 Mario Puzo, the guy who wrote The Godfather movie's 529 00:31:50,249 --> 00:31:53,851 getting paid to write the Superman movie, 530 00:31:53,853 --> 00:31:58,935 which Jerry Siegel sees... and he loses it. 531 00:31:58,970 --> 00:32:01,738 Here's a guy that created Superman. 532 00:32:01,773 --> 00:32:05,062 We're going to be in every major theatre in the United States, 533 00:32:05,064 --> 00:32:09,064 and this guy has to work as a mailman for his income. 534 00:32:09,235 --> 00:32:12,035 The person who won't speak up for himself 535 00:32:12,037 --> 00:32:13,904 finally finds his voice... 536 00:32:15,007 --> 00:32:18,570 ...that kind of angry voice. 537 00:32:18,843 --> 00:32:23,814 Jerry is tired. He's tired of losing. 538 00:32:23,816 --> 00:32:26,016 He's tired of being bullied, 539 00:32:26,018 --> 00:32:29,787 and he's not going to take it any longer. 540 00:32:29,789 --> 00:32:32,456 Jerry writes letters... 541 00:32:32,458 --> 00:32:35,192 letters full of vitriol and spite, 542 00:32:35,194 --> 00:32:39,550 even putting a curse on the Superman film. 543 00:32:39,564 --> 00:32:44,168 He curses Warner Brothers and DC, and says, 544 00:32:44,170 --> 00:32:47,104 "Your Superman is built on lies." 545 00:32:47,106 --> 00:32:52,242 He writes, "My American dream has turned into an American nightmare." 546 00:32:52,244 --> 00:32:55,212 He said, "I believed people. I trusted people, 547 00:32:55,214 --> 00:32:56,914 and then they took it all away from me, 548 00:32:56,916 --> 00:32:59,116 and the courts didn't back me up." 549 00:32:59,118 --> 00:33:02,245 He said, "Our system is broken." 550 00:33:02,320 --> 00:33:04,588 Finally, he gets it all out 551 00:33:04,590 --> 00:33:08,525 and he sends it to every newspaper in the country. 552 00:33:08,527 --> 00:33:10,861 Of course, nobody, you know, does anything with it. 553 00:33:10,863 --> 00:33:12,930 They don't believe it... 554 00:33:12,931 --> 00:33:17,234 except one guy... Neal Adams. 555 00:33:17,236 --> 00:33:18,836 Neal Adams infused comics 556 00:33:18,838 --> 00:33:22,606 with a sense of self-confidence and swagger that wasn't there before. 557 00:33:22,608 --> 00:33:26,243 He understood the value of creativity, 558 00:33:26,245 --> 00:33:30,722 and he had been around enough people from the prior generation 559 00:33:30,757 --> 00:33:33,841 to recognize that they were not getting their proper due. 560 00:33:34,119 --> 00:33:36,420 Ever since I got into comics, 561 00:33:36,422 --> 00:33:39,957 I had been asking about Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster, 562 00:33:39,959 --> 00:33:43,193 and, uh, one day, there was a letter waiting for me, 563 00:33:43,195 --> 00:33:45,996 and it was from Jerry Siegel... 564 00:33:46,331 --> 00:33:48,332 ...and it was the whole story 565 00:33:48,334 --> 00:33:52,035 of what happened with Jerry and Joe, from his point of view. 566 00:33:52,037 --> 00:33:54,571 It was devastating. 567 00:33:54,573 --> 00:33:58,475 The creators of Superman are no longer associated with Superman? 568 00:33:58,477 --> 00:34:02,146 Hmm... No. That's not right. 569 00:34:06,317 --> 00:34:10,220 By the mid 1970s, the United States is hurting. 570 00:34:11,256 --> 00:34:13,557 Vietnam... 571 00:34:13,559 --> 00:34:16,460 Watergate... 572 00:34:16,462 --> 00:34:20,462 and a crumbling economy have all taken their toll. 573 00:34:20,566 --> 00:34:24,167 Corporate greed has run amok. 574 00:34:25,069 --> 00:34:28,976 Once again, America needs a hero. 575 00:34:29,240 --> 00:34:32,075 The bicentennial is approaching, 576 00:34:32,077 --> 00:34:35,345 and the public wants to believe 577 00:34:35,347 --> 00:34:39,882 that the virtues of America will be restored. 578 00:34:40,285 --> 00:34:43,420 And that's where Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster 579 00:34:43,422 --> 00:34:46,156 come back into the story. 580 00:34:46,158 --> 00:34:49,393 People now, in the comics community, particularly like Neal Adams, 581 00:34:49,395 --> 00:34:52,129 sense that this is really unfair. 582 00:34:52,131 --> 00:34:57,534 $300,000... to Mario Puzo? 583 00:34:57,536 --> 00:35:01,405 This guy, Jerry Siegel, he's spitting ve... 584 00:35:01,407 --> 00:35:03,573 He hates these... He's just "pshht!" 585 00:35:03,575 --> 00:35:06,710 You can't get a nice word out of him. He's just angry. 586 00:35:06,712 --> 00:35:10,414 He created Superman! Joe doesn't have $300! 587 00:35:10,416 --> 00:35:13,550 How does he get all that money, and we get nothing? 588 00:35:13,552 --> 00:35:15,485 I know you guys are upset about the movie, 589 00:35:15,487 --> 00:35:18,895 but I think you should look at this as an opportunity. 590 00:35:19,257 --> 00:35:22,106 - How? - Well, it just so happens that I talked 591 00:35:22,141 --> 00:35:24,061 to the president of the International Press Corps, 592 00:35:24,063 --> 00:35:26,730 and he agreed to set up a press conference for you guys, 593 00:35:26,732 --> 00:35:31,335 and when he does, the world is finally gonna hear your story. 594 00:35:31,337 --> 00:35:35,205 These guys went to DC and Warner Brothers, 595 00:35:35,207 --> 00:35:37,074 because Warner Brothers owned DC, 596 00:35:37,076 --> 00:35:40,129 and just said, "Look, you can't do this." 597 00:35:41,353 --> 00:35:44,014 For months, Adams leads a media crusade, 598 00:35:44,016 --> 00:35:46,550 and the public is ready to listen. 599 00:35:46,552 --> 00:35:48,719 Something doesn't have to be legal to be right, 600 00:35:48,721 --> 00:35:50,554 and it doesn't have to be right to be legal. 601 00:35:50,556 --> 00:35:53,023 This is about justice. 602 00:35:53,025 --> 00:35:56,611 The people want to right the wrong of what happened 603 00:35:56,612 --> 00:35:58,562 to Superman's creators. 604 00:35:58,564 --> 00:36:02,399 This is a story of two men who dreamed up a super idea 605 00:36:02,401 --> 00:36:04,468 and then saw others race away with it, 606 00:36:04,470 --> 00:36:06,737 faster than a speeding bullet. 607 00:36:06,739 --> 00:36:10,340 There's no courtroom in sight. 608 00:36:10,342 --> 00:36:13,827 It's the courtroom of public opinion. 609 00:36:14,679 --> 00:36:17,147 However much DC may have been in the right 610 00:36:17,149 --> 00:36:19,750 in the case, legally... 611 00:36:19,752 --> 00:36:24,277 there is this sense in the general public that this is not right. 612 00:36:25,427 --> 00:36:27,157 We do not want to live in an America 613 00:36:27,159 --> 00:36:29,259 where people can create something like this 614 00:36:29,261 --> 00:36:32,529 and other people can get rich off of it. 615 00:36:32,531 --> 00:36:34,398 And so an agreement is reached. 616 00:36:34,400 --> 00:36:37,300 If there is any story the American audience loves, 617 00:36:37,302 --> 00:36:40,137 it's the story of the little man triumphant, 618 00:36:40,139 --> 00:36:43,507 the individual who whups up on big government or big business. 619 00:36:43,509 --> 00:36:46,510 The publicity for Siegel and Shuster was so heavy 620 00:36:46,512 --> 00:36:49,379 that Warner Communications, current owners of Superman, 621 00:36:49,381 --> 00:36:53,250 decided to pay the two men even though three courts had ruled 622 00:36:53,252 --> 00:36:57,166 that Siegel and Shuster had no ownership. 623 00:36:57,388 --> 00:36:59,489 They end up giving Siegel and Shuster 624 00:36:59,491 --> 00:37:03,660 what's essentially a pension. They got enough to live off of. 625 00:37:03,662 --> 00:37:05,436 They seem pretty comfortable, they can travel, 626 00:37:05,437 --> 00:37:09,464 and there's a sense that maybe their fight wasn't in vain. 627 00:37:10,535 --> 00:37:12,402 Joe and Jerry were fine with the settlement. 628 00:37:12,404 --> 00:37:14,671 They said, "We love this. This is great," 629 00:37:14,673 --> 00:37:21,242 and Neal Adams said "No." He said, "We want the byline." 630 00:37:21,346 --> 00:37:25,346 I said to Warners, "Look, you take care of these boys, 631 00:37:25,384 --> 00:37:27,551 and you will have ambassadors of good will 632 00:37:27,553 --> 00:37:30,320 for anything you do with Superman. 633 00:37:30,322 --> 00:37:32,322 They're gonna be your friends. 634 00:37:32,324 --> 00:37:34,858 When you open the Superman movie, 635 00:37:34,860 --> 00:37:38,334 they'll be right there with you, smiling." 636 00:37:42,801 --> 00:37:45,368 Both men are invited to the world premiere 637 00:37:45,370 --> 00:37:48,672 of Superman: The Movie. 638 00:37:48,674 --> 00:37:52,175 After nearly 30 years of anguish, 639 00:37:52,177 --> 00:37:56,232 Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster have arrived. 640 00:37:58,783 --> 00:38:02,619 Jerry and Joe had gotten some money... 641 00:38:02,621 --> 00:38:06,698 but on this night, they would receive so much more. 642 00:38:11,429 --> 00:38:14,164 For on this night... 643 00:38:14,166 --> 00:38:18,886 Superman is theirs once again. 644 00:38:49,400 --> 00:38:50,867 They got their byline back. 645 00:38:50,869 --> 00:38:55,405 You know, for Siegel and Shuster, after 28, 29 years, 646 00:38:55,407 --> 00:38:58,642 they're seeing their names on film 647 00:38:58,644 --> 00:39:00,177 as the creators of this character. 648 00:39:00,179 --> 00:39:03,514 That is a big thing for them. That means a lot. 649 00:39:03,515 --> 00:39:05,448 It's vindication. 650 00:39:05,450 --> 00:39:08,752 Those two guys who implanted the imaginations 651 00:39:08,754 --> 00:39:11,421 of generations of children since then 652 00:39:11,423 --> 00:39:13,790 and generations of children to come, 653 00:39:13,792 --> 00:39:17,627 finally got acknowledged for that. 654 00:39:17,629 --> 00:39:20,330 Siegel and Shuster believed 655 00:39:20,332 --> 00:39:22,666 creative rights belong to creative people, 656 00:39:22,668 --> 00:39:25,769 and they had to fight for it. 657 00:39:25,771 --> 00:39:28,926 Everybody who makes a living dreaming about 658 00:39:28,961 --> 00:39:31,539 people who put on capes and masks and helping others 659 00:39:31,577 --> 00:39:34,477 bend a knee at the altar of Siegel and Shuster. 660 00:39:34,479 --> 00:39:37,814 Without them, you have nothing. 661 00:39:37,816 --> 00:39:41,952 Superman: The Movie is released in December 1978, 662 00:39:41,954 --> 00:39:43,820 and is a blockbuster smash, 663 00:39:43,822 --> 00:39:48,572 earning $300 million during its theatrical run. 664 00:39:54,232 --> 00:39:55,732 In the decade that follows, 665 00:39:55,734 --> 00:39:59,269 Joe and Jerry are comfortable, if not content. 666 00:40:01,272 --> 00:40:03,807 They live on the California coastline, 667 00:40:03,809 --> 00:40:07,590 just a few houses away from each other. 668 00:40:08,713 --> 00:40:11,191 And that's the best, you now? So at the end, 669 00:40:11,226 --> 00:40:16,286 it's not the court case or controversy about Superman. 670 00:40:16,288 --> 00:40:19,422 It's just two best friends. 671 00:40:19,424 --> 00:40:26,304 One of the big life lessons from this is "creator rights matter." 672 00:40:26,765 --> 00:40:29,499 A young person who's aware of Siegel and Shuster, 673 00:40:29,501 --> 00:40:33,501 they now know what they have to have in a row. 674 00:40:33,672 --> 00:40:36,668 Everybody now fights for their rights. 675 00:40:37,708 --> 00:40:42,879 The business has changed because everybody learned 676 00:40:42,881 --> 00:40:46,260 from Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster. 677 00:40:48,286 --> 00:40:49,686 Out of a kitchen, 678 00:40:49,688 --> 00:40:53,688 two kids create the world's first superhero. 679 00:40:55,060 --> 00:40:58,995 It's a fable almost as fantastical as flying. 680 00:41:00,464 --> 00:41:05,669 Theirs is a tale of struggle and heartache, but also of perseverance. 681 00:41:06,804 --> 00:41:11,600 They made it, and the world will always know... 682 00:41:12,376 --> 00:41:18,346 Superman, created by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster. 683 00:41:28,092 --> 00:41:32,607 _ 684 00:41:32,611 --> 00:41:36,828 __ 685 00:41:36,829 --> 00:41:43,723 _ 686 00:41:51,449 --> 00:41:56,186 sync & correction by f1nc0 ~ Addic7ed.com ~