Happy Birthday, Superman!
By Steve Lam
Happy Birthday, Superman!
It’s your day and you deserve to have a super-giant slice of cake. I would think that — contrary to the article image — giving you a surprise birthday party would be virtually impossible. How could we ever evade that super-vision and super-hearing? And let’s also not forget about your X-ray vision! There is no way we could get anything past you. We can also forget about wrapping your gifts because you can just look right through the wrapping paper. What’s that you say, Ma and Pa Kent? Oh, when Clark was growing up you guys used lead-lined wrapping paper? Hmm, good idea!
Yep, today is the Man of Steel’s birthday. It’s kind of fitting, don’t you think? Being that it falls on leap year and Superman has an affinity to “leap” tall buildings in a single bound. I suppose on non-leap years, he celebrates his birthday on March 1st, which puts him right in the month of my birthday. How awesome is that!?
Originally, Superman’s age was left undefined until the early 1970s and early 1990s when he was usually said to be 29 years old. In “The Death of Superman” storyline, Clark Kent’s age was written as 34 years old. In the 1994 storyline “Zero Hour”, his age was given as 35 years old.
As for the Superman’s birthdate, it has never been clearly documented, but February 29 is, currently, the widely accepted date. In Action Comics #149 (October 1950), October was mentioned as his birth month. From the 1960s to the 1980s, his birthday was given as February 29 in the comics.
Superman’s alter ego, Clark Kent, would celebrate his birthday on June 18, which was the birthdate of Superman voice actor Bud Collyer. After the Crisis on Infinite Earths reboot, Clark Kent’s birthday was synced with Superman’s and also became February 29. In Superman: Secret Origins #1 (2009), Clark’s birthday changed once again, now to December 1.
Next month, Superman fans will celebrate once again when Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice is released. Tickets are actually slated to go on sale today. It’s unknown if this presale date was chosen due to its special meaning or just coincidence. Whatever the reasons, ticketing sites like Fandango should’ve already prepared their servers and websites to be as bulletproof as the Man of Steel himself. Why? Back in October 2015, Fandango and other sites experienced repeated crashes and site timeouts from the deluge of customers attempting to purchase tickets for Star Wars: The Force Awakens. They really don’t want a repeat of that incident for the biggest movie of 2016.
So celebrate today with a slice of cake. And make sure to secure your seat for the first live-action match-up between Superman and Batman!
Next: 15 Box Office Records For Batman V Superman: Dawn Of Justice To Break
Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice – Official Synopsis: Fearing the actions of a god-like super hero left unchecked, Gotham City’s own formidable, forceful vigilante takes on Metropolis’s most revered, modern-day savior, while the world wrestles with what sort of hero it really needs. And with Batman and Superman at war with one another, a new threat quickly arises, putting mankind in greater danger than it’s ever known before.
Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice has a United States release date of March 25, 2016. It will be directed by Zack Snyder, written by Chris Terrio from a story by David Goyer and Zack Snyder, and will star Henry Cavill as Clark Kent / Superman, Ben Affleck as Bruce Wayne / Batman, Gal Gadot as Diana Prince / Wonder Woman, Jason Momoa as Aquaman, Jesse Eisenberg as Lex Luthor, Amy Adams as Lois Lane, Laurence Fishburne as Perry White, Diane Lane as Martha Kent, Jeremy Irons as Alfred Pennyworth, Tao Okamoto as Mercy Graves, Holly Hunter as Senator Finch, Ray Fisher as Victor Stone / Cyborg, and Callan Mulvey, Scoot McNairy, and Jena Malone in unspecified roles.