DC has announced support for refugees on World Refugee Day, posting a picture of Superman on their Twitter page.
The behemoth comic book publisher wrote in a tweet, “Superman stands up for what is right. Did you know also that he is a refugee? This #WorldRefugeeDay, be like Superman and stand up for what’s right. Stand with refugees and the IRC “. The IRC, of course, is an abbreviation for the International Rescue Committee.
You can see the tweet – and its colourful accompanying image of DC’s Boy Scout – below.
Superman stands up for what’s right. Did you also know he’s a refugee? This #WorldRefugeeDay, be like Superman and stand up for what’s right. #StandWithRefugees and @theIRC. pic.twitter.com/Qn9wY4rDGp
— DC (@DCComics) June 20, 2018
When DC says that Superman is a refugee, they are referring to the fact that the bulletproof superhero is actually Kryptonian, who was sent to Earth by his scientist father shortly before his home planet was destroyed (the cause of this differs between the various versions of his origin story). Upon reaching Earth in his spaceship, the infant Kal-El is found in a field in Smallville, Kansas by the loving Kent family, who adopt him and name him ‘Clark Kent’. Young Clark Kent inherits the Midwestern values of his adoptive family and moves to Metropolis as an adult to work as a reporter for leading tabloid, the Daily Planet – all the while, saving lives daily as Superman.
Superman was created by writer Jerry Siegel and artist Joe Shuster in 1933 when they were in high school and they sold the character to Detective Comics (DC) in 1938. The superhero’s first appearance was in Action Comics #1, which was released in June of that year. The immediate success of Superman’s character meant that DC released a comic simply titled Superman in 1939, with stories dedicated exclusively to the character. From then on, the man considered to be the first superhero has starred in a large array of various comics, movies and TV Shows, still maintaining huge popularity decades after his first appearance. Siegel and Shuster based Superman on such mythological characters as Hercules and Samson.
What are your thoughts on Superman representing World Refugee Day? Sound off in the comments below!