Comic Title: Superman #53
Publisher: DC (National Comics Publications, Inc.)
Address: 480 Lexington Avenue, New York, NY
Cover Date: Jul/Aug 1948
On Sale Date: May 5, 1948 Newsstand Date May 5, 1948
Source: House Ad, Action Comics #121, Page 12

Copyright Date May 3, 1948
Source: Library of Congress, Periodicals 1948
Until 1958 DC did not report actual on sale dates to the copyright office
The publication dates listed in LoC records are NOT release dates.

Frequency: Bi-monthly
Cover Price: $0.10
Page Count: 48
Editor: Mort Weisinger

Title: "The Origin of Superman"
Pages: 10

Feature(s):
Superman (of Earth-2)

Writer: Bill Finger
Penciller: Wayne Boring
Inker: Stan Kaye

Reprinted In:
Superman from the Thirties to the Seventies HC (1971)
Best of DC #16 (1981)
Greatest Superman Stories Ever Told HC (1988)
Greatest Superman Stories Ever Told TPB (1989)
Superman in the Forties TPB (2005)
Superman:A Celebration of 75 Years HC (2014)
Superman:The Golden Age Omnibus Vol. 6 HC (2019)

Feature Character(s)

• Superman (last appearance in Action Comics #121; next appearance in Superman #53)

Supporting Character(s)

• Jor-El (dies in this story; first appearance; last appearance in Superman #80; no further appearances)
• Lara (dies in this story; first appearance; no further appearances)
• John Kent (appear concurrently in the first story of Superman #1; next appearance in New Adventures of Superboy #15)
• Mary Kent (appear concurrently in the first story of Superman #1; next appearance in New Adventures of Superboy #15)

Other Character(s)

• The Council of Five (no further appearances)
• The staff at an orphanage (no further appearances)

Flashback Appearance(s)

• Kal-L (as a baby; Kryptonian name not revealed in this story; earliest chronological appearance; next appearance in New Adventures of Superboy #15)
• Jor-El (during his meeting with the council; last appearance in Superman #78; next appearance in Superman #80)

Cameo Appearance(s)

• Luthor (in flashback)

Comments:
This story is a fleshed out version of Superman's origin. Many of the events depicted herein were originally established in the origin sequences from the first story of Action Comics #1 and the first story of Superman #1.

Jor-L's name is spelled Jor-El in this story which is the same spelling used by his Earth-1 counterpart. Later stories establish that the Earth-2 version spells his name Jor-L which is consistent with the spelling established in the 1939 newspaper strip.

John and Mary Kent are Superman's Earth parents. John's first name is revealed for the first time in this story. Mary's first name was given in the first story of Superman #1.

Clark Kent's meeting with the Earth-1 Superboy occurs between pages 9 and 10 of this story as shown in the second story of New Adventures of Superboy #15 and the second story of New Adventures of Superboy #16.

This story is split into scenes which take place during multiple time periods as follows:

• Pages 3-4: Jor-El warns the council of Krypton's impending doom.
• Pages 5-6: Krypton is destroyed. Kal-El is sent to Earth.
• Pages 6-8: The Kents find Kal-El and take him to an orphanage. They return later to adopt the baby, naming him Clark.
• Page 9: Clark's powers develop.
• Page 10: The Kents die. Clark becomes Superman.

Synopsis:
Jor-El, Krypton's greatest scientist, delivers a message of the planet's impending doom to the Council of Five. He explains that the planet's uranium core is dangerously close to exploding. He proposes that they build giant rocket ships to carry the population to Earth. His warnings are met with laughter, and the council dismisses Jor-El.

Jor-El returns home to his wife and child as quakes rock the planet. He tells his wife to get in the small rocket with their son and go to Earth. Lara refuses to go, so the baby is placed in the ship alone. It blasts into space as the planet Krypton is destroyed.

The rocket bearing Krypton's last son lands on Earth where it is found by passing motorists John and Mary Kent. The couple take the baby to an orphanage while putting in a request to adopt the child. The baby terrorizes the orphanage staff with displays of tremendous strength. The administration quickly pushes through the adoption, and the Kents are allowed to take the baby home. They name him Clark.

As years pass, Clark discovers that he possesses amazing abilities including strength, speed, leaping ability, and x-ray vision. As Clark matured into manhood, his mother died. His dying father then requests that Clark use his powers as a force for good. Clark honors Pa Kent's wishes and becomes Superman.