No superhero has had more longevity in popular culture, in any medium, than Superman, the character created for D.C. Comics by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster in 1938. The comic book and the 15 minute radio serial told the story of the destruction of the planet Krypton, how the scientist Jor-El and his wife Lara sent their child to Earth at the last minute before their planet's destruction. Living in the Earth's atmosphere gave the child amazing powers. He could fly, he was pretty much invincible, had x-ray vision, and incredible strength. In short, he wasn't just a man, he was a, well, super man. Superman hid his identity by playing the role of mild-mannered newspaper reporter Clark Kent, even though it meant that his sexy coworker Lois Lane, who always seemed to be getting into trouble, would direct her amorous attentions to Superman instead of Clark. The flying special effect was accomplished on radio by a wind-like sound, and Superman saying "Up, up, and away!" Superman fought against both the Nazis and the "Japs" during WWII, and in 1946 the show ran a story line campaigning against religious and racial intolerance, the first story line of its kind. Fans of the show remember the famous introduction most of all:

Faster than a speeding bullet!
More powerful than a locomotive!
Able to leap tall buildings in a single bound!
"Look! Up in the sky!"
"It's a bird!"
"It's a plane!"
"It's Superman!"