Metropolis (comics)
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- For other uses, see Metropolis (comics) (disambiguation)}}}.
The co-creator and original artist of Superman, Joe Shuster, modeled the Metropolis skyline after both Toronto, Ontario (where he was born), and Cleveland, Ohio (where he later lived and met co-creator Jerry Siegel in high school). Since then, however, it has become a fictional analogue of New York City.
The real town of Metropolis, Illinois, has proclaimed itself the "hometown of Superman," and celebrates its "local hero" in every possible way that it can. Among the ways it celebrates the character include a large Superman statue in the city, a small Superman museum, an annual Superman festival, and its local newspaper The Metropolis Planet, a name inspired by the major newspaper in fictional Metropolis, The Daily Planet.
Location
Like many of DC's other fictional cities, the location of Metropolis has varied greatly over the years. Metropolis, however, is usually portrayed as a major city on the east coast of the United States.It has been said that, metaphorically, Metropolis is New York during the day, and Gotham City (home to Batman) is New York at night; this comparison is usually attributed to Frank Miller. Longtime Batman writer and editor Dennis O'Neil also said figuratively that Metropolis is New York above 14th Street, and that Gotham City is New York below 14th Street. However, New York City does exist as a separate city from Metropolis and Gotham City within the comics; the Justice Society of America, for example, is based out of New York.
A role playing game DC Universe atlas guide published by Mayfair Games claimed that Metropolis was in the state of Delaware, which DC itself has also cited on occasion. See bottom of section.
The 2005 comic Countdown to Infinite Crisis places Metropolis in the state of New York. Were Metropolis to be on the coast of the state (without a change in boundaries), it would either take the place of New York City, or be on the rest of Long Island.
Metropolis is frequently depicted as being within driving distance of Gotham City, home of Batman. DC has on occasion cited Gotham as being located in the state of New Jersey, though, like Metropolis, its location isn't permanent; however, Gotham is usually treated as also being a major east coast city. The distance between the two cities has varied greatly over the years, ranging from being hundreds of miles apart to Gotham and Metropolis being twin cities on opposite sides of a large bay. In the Seven Soldiers of Victory series Klarion the Witch Boy, New York City is called the "Cinderella City", referring to nearby Metropolis and Gotham as its "ugly step-sisters."
In the pre-Crisis on Infinite Earths comics, Smallville was often shown as being within driving distance of Metropolis, though with no definitive location. Since John Byrne's revamp of Superman in 1986, however, its location has usually been cited as being in Kansas.
In the Smallville television series, Metropolis seems to be located in Kansas or in a neighboring state. In an interview, the creators of Smallville have stated that Metropolis is approximately 100 miles (160 kilometers) from Smallville. In one episode, a letter is shown with the address "Metropolis, KA," suggesting the city is located in Kansas; however, the United States postal abbreviation for Kansas is "KS", not "KA." In the series, Vancouver stands in for Metropolis. The zip code for Metropolis, Kansas is 66632.
Superman creator Joe Shuster grew up in Toronto and co-creator Jerry Siegel grew up in Ohio and worked in Cleveland. Originally intending to sell the Superman strips to a local newspaper, they set the stories there as well, and when the strips were re-used for the comicbooks, they changed the location to Metropolis. Action Comics #2, however, mistakenly portrays Clark Kent as a reporter for the Cleveland Evening News, although Metropolis is based on Toronto, Ontario (see [Superman co-creator has humble Canadian roots]).
In 1978's Superman: The Movie and its sequels, Metropolis is shown as being in (or taking the place of) New York, including depicting such New York landmarks as the Statue of Liberty and the World Trade Center.
In the 1990s television series , Chicago landmarks such as the John Hancock Center, the Tribune Tower and the Wrigley Building are easily identifiable. However, several repeated references, especially early in the first season, state that Metropolis is located in the same general area as New York City. Later seasons place it in the fictional New Troy State.
2006's Superman Returns places Metropolis as its own city (or state), unrelated to New York City or New York state. Automobles seen in the film have license plates with the name Metropolis, including taxi cabs & city buses. As in the comics, Metropolis is a fictional city just like Gotham City from the Batman franchise; in fact, Bryan Singer pointed out that Metropolis was going to be a cross between 1930's New York and current New York. However, a map onscreen portrays it as possibly near or taking the place of Dover, Delaware. This contradicts comments made by senior production designer Guy Dyas in The Art of Superman Returns(Chronicle Books, 2006): "We wiped out, I think, half of New Jersey to put in Metropolis."
Legion-Era Metropolis
Metropolis is traditionally depicted as continuing to survive, thrive and expand well into the 30th and 31st Century timeframes used as the backdrop of the Legion of Super-Heroes in all that series' varied incarnations to date.
Features
Over the years, Metropolis' features have greatly changed in the comics; however, Metropolis is always presented as being a world class city on the same caliber as New York City or Chicago, Illinois. It is often referred to as The Big Apricot just as New York City is nicknamed as The Big Apple.
The first map of Metropolis designed for Mayfair Games' first edition of the DC Heroes Role-Playing Game resembled that of the city of Montreal.
Metropolis' features became more defined (and more obviously based on New York) following both 1985's Crisis on Infinite Earths miniseries and John Byrne's subsequent revamping of Superman, including the late 1980s comic special The World of Metropolis. Metropolis is presently divided into six regions or "boroughs", centered around "New Troy", an island borough based on Manhattan. The Daily Planet Building, the most recognizable landmark in Metropolis, is located here (in "Planet Square"), as was Lex Luthor's corporate headquarters, the Lexcorp Tower. The now-married Clark Kent and Lois Lane currently live in an apartment in New Troy, at 1938 Sullivan Lane (a tribute to the year Superman first appeared); Clark Kent's traditional apartment address of 344 Clinton St., Apt. #3B, was usually described as being located in midtown Metropolis.
New Troy is separated from the suburban boroughs by the West River and Hobb's River. Jimmy Olsen lives in the borough of Bakerline, north of downtown. There is also an economically-depressed area in northwestern New Troy called Suicide Slum, best known for the 1940s adventures of the Guardian and his street urchin companions, the Newsboy Legion. Although the northwestern location is similar to the relationship of Harlem to midtown Manhattan, the neighborhood bears more physical and cultural resemblance to Manhattan's Lower East Side.
A statue of Superman can be found in Centennial Park, Metropolis' largest park, based on New York's Central Park. The statue was erected after Superman's death. A second statue, of Superboy Conner Kent was built next to it after Infinite Crisis. Topaz Lane stands in for Broadway in Metroplolis.
Other major media located in Metropolis include WGBS-TV, flagship station of the Galaxy Broadcasting System (GBS) television network, both subsidiaries of media conglomerate Galaxy Communications. Popular shows included The Midnight Show Starring Johnny Nevada (a fictional version of NBC's The Tonight Show, with Johnny Nevada being an analogue of Johnny Carson). During the 1970s, both Clark Kent and Lois Lane worked for WGBS (after Galaxy Communications purchased The Daily Planet in a 1971 storyline), with Clark as the anchorman for the WGBS evening news (he was eventually joined by Lana Lang as a co-anchor). After John Byrne's revamp of Superman's origins, though, Clark and Lois were reverted to working at The Daily Planet once again.
In the Silver Age comics, another major Metropolis landmark was the Superman Museum, which featured various exhibits dedicated to Metropolis' favorite superhero.
The central branch of S.T.A.R. Labs, a major scientific research institution, is located in Metropolis.
Metropolis' police department also possesses a special crimes unit dedicated to defending the city against superhuman menaces in case Superman is absent. The unit is headed by Maggie Sawyer and Dan Turpin, with both maintaining frequent contact with the Man of Steel. Another of Superman's police contacts over the years has been Inspector William Henderson, who in the current comics is the Metropolis police commissioner.
Around 2000, the city was given a futuristic makeover by the time-traveling Brainiac 13, a villainous descendant of Superman foe Brainiac. The transformation of Metropolis was covered in greater depth by the 2003 miniseries . The city has since reverted to its former state.
The people of Metropolis are depicted as a diverse group of large city-dwellers, befitting Metropolis being (within the comics) one of the country's largest and most important cities outside of New York.
Mayors
At least two mayors are known to be considered part of Metropolis' history:
- Frank Berkowitz, whose term began prior to Superman's first known public meeting with Lex Luthor as depicted in the Man of Steel mini-series by John Byrne. Berkowitz was killed by a sniper hired by Luthor years later.
- "Buck" Sackett, elected as Berkowitz's successor, and covertly Luthor's "puppet".
Notable areas, landmarks, institutions and businesses
Major facets of Metropolis as seen in the Superman comics include:
- Ace o' Clubs: a bar owned by Bibbo Bibbowski in Suicide Slum.
- Bessolo Boulevard: Metropolis' version of Broadway in New York City (its counterpart in Gotham City is called Grand Avenue). The name is derived from The Adventures of Superman lead actor George Reeves' middle name. Other Metropolis boulevards in the New Troy borough are similarly named for other actors from that series and from its radio predecessor of the same name(e.g.: Coates, Larson, Collyer, etc.).
- Centennial Park: Metropolis' largest city park; its most noteworthy feature is a statue of Superman, erected after his death fighting Doomsday. A statue of Superboy has been added in the wake of the events of Infinite Crisis.
- The Daily Planet Building: the most recognizable landmark in the Metropolis skyline, particularly for the Daily Planet globe atop the building. The Daily Planet is one of the most renowned news organizations in the DC Universe.
- Glenmorgan Square: one of a number of New Troy's counterparts to New York's Times Square.
- LexCorp headquarters: the main base of operations for Lex Luthor's company.
- Suicide Slum: an impoverished and crime-infested neighborhood in Metropolis.
- WGBS-TV: the flagship television station of the Galaxy Broadcasting System television network.
- Metropolis Meteors: a MLB baseball team, first mentioned in 52, which at the time of mention had a rivalry with the St. Louis Cardinals, possibly placing the Meteors in the National League's Central Division.
External links
- [Supermanica: Metropolis] Supermanica entry on the Pre-Crisis Metropolis
| Superman | |
|---|---|
| Characters | Superman / Clark Kent | Lois Lane | Jor-El | Ma Kent | Pa Kent | Lex Luthor |
| Places | Metropolis | Smallville | Krypton | Fortress of Solitude |
| Miscellaneous | Kryptonite | Powers | Daily Planet | Clark and Lois | Alternate versions of Superman |
| People | Joe Shuster | Jerry Siegel | Christopher Reeve |
| Comics | Action Comics | Superman | All Star Superman | Superman/Batman |
| | Death of Superman | Man of Steel | Last Son of Krypton | |
| Television | Adventures of Superman | Superboy | ' | ' | Smallville | Legion of Super Heroes |
| Other media | Radio | Broadway Theater | | Newspaper Strips |
| Films | |
| Fleischer Studios | 1940s cartoons |
| Kirk Alyn | Superman | Atom Man vs. Superman |
| George Reeves | Superman and the Mole Men |
| Christopher Reeve | Superman* | Superman II* () | Superman III | |
| Spin-Off | Supergirl |
| Animated | |
| Brandon Routh | Superman Returns* |
| Canceled | Canceled Superman films | Batman vs. Superman |
| Miscellanea | | Ultimate Collection |
| *Official Film Continuity | |
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