 It's rare in the world of pop culture that we even get to examine something as old as Superman. From his humble beginnings to becoming a blockbuster movie star, The Son of Krypton has stood the test of time, being a comic stable for almost 80 years. But where did it all begin? Well how about a Cleveland High School classroom in 1933? Jerry Siegel and Joe Schuster were classmates and friends. Who read pulp science fiction and adventure magazines and dreamed of one day publishing their own works. The character of Superman can be traced back to a short story that Jerry Siegel wrote entitled The Reign of the Superman. The story was illustrated by Joe Schuster and published in their own magazine. When the title didn't sell well, the pair switched their attention to comic strips. Continuing on their path to becoming professional authors, the pair tried to sell their comic to a number of publishers with little success. Thinking it was due to their young and unknown status, Siegel looked for ways to boost their chances. And when I mean their chances, I mean his own chances. He decided to find a more established artist to replace his friend and partner. Now on his own, Siegel began working with multiple other artists and continued to evolve the character. For the first time, he featured superhuman strength and bulletproof skin, and you can start to see influences like John Carter from Mars with his low gravity jumping and superhuman abilities shine through. Superman was slowly but surely becoming a character we know and love. Believing in his character when nobody else did, Siegel and Schuster put aside their past conflict and re-collaborated to put the final touches on the character. Now all they needed was somebody to publish it. DC expressed interest and in 1938 bought 100% of the rights to the Superman character for the grand total of $130. On April 18, 1938, Action Comics No. 1 hit shelves and was an instant hit. Featuring the legendary Superman on the cover, the comic will pave the way for Superman to become the star of Action Comics and his own spin-off self-titled series. The two series have continued to be published to this day. Over the years, Superman has evolved. His villain's roster has expanded, he's died, he's come back to life, he's been featured on TV, in animation, and on the silver screen. Everybody knows what that S shield means on his chest. Most people can hum the John Williams Superman theme, a few people can name every episode of Lawson Clark, but at the end of the day, Superman has reached levels of pop culture fandom that Segal and Schuster could have never dreamed of, and he is truly the definition of a classic character.