A screenshot of a page from 1941's Superman #10, where artist Leo Nowak depicted Superman appearing to hover (without movement lines) in the top-right frame.
MENTION "Faster than a speeding bullet! More powerful than a locomotive! Able to leap tall buildings in a single bound!" and, of course, the first thing that comes to mind is Superman, the original Man of Steel.
The phrase no longer requires any introduction as it describes the only superhero who can confidently wear his flaming-red underwear outside his pants while saving the day.
We know Superman for his strength, bulletproof skin and gliding through the skies in flight. But if we look closer at the above phrase, it says “able to leap tall buildings in a single bound,” and not fly over them.
Is it true Superman has always been able to fly?
VERDICT:
FALSE
When we think of Superman, we envision him gracefully flying over Metropolis, looking out for injustice and crime in the city.
But the truth is, when Superman first appeared in 1938, he did not fly - he leaped, an eighth of a mile at a time. Impressive, yes, but not quite the airborne superhero we know today.
Superman’s ability to fly was introduced a few years later.
Many say Superman first flew in the 1940s animated Fleischer Studios cartoons because animators were unsatisfied with how Superman leaping through Metropolis looked in animation. They contacted DC Comics and asked if they could have Superman fly, and the rest is history.
Some, however, argue that Superman appears to have “flown” in the comics before the cartoons. And this was due to an error by the artist, Leo Nowak.
While most artists at the time drew Superman leaping through the air, being new to the book, Nowak took things a little further in 1941’s “Superman #10” when he drew several panels in which Superman appears to be hovering in mid-air rather than in mid-leap. His cape shows no movement, and there are no action lines indicating movement.
Either way, this change was a hit, and the transformation helped solidify Superman’s place as the ultimate superhero, giving him an edge over villains and making travel much faster than waiting for the bus.
How does one go from leaping to flying?
The comics didn’t bother with cumbersome details like physics. After all, who needs gravity when you’re an alien with a cape?
References:
https://scifi.stackexchange.
https://screenrant.com/
https://www.supermanhomepage.
