As I usually find when I already have an inkling of the correct answer, Google's AI response is wrong. (Is it ever right? What's the point of having access to the accrued knowledge of the human race if you never actually read it?)

I've read a lot of Superman comics, and I know that Superman has a yellow S-shield on a cape. However, I'll grant that not a lot of people actually read comic books anymore, Google apparently included. I'll also grant that Superman's cape in the influential 1940s animated Fleisher Studio cartoons was solid red (to make the animation easier and less costly), a trend that has been followed often in animated adaptations for similar reasons. But every live-action adaptation since Kirk Alyn's 15-part 1948 Superman serial has an S-shield on his cape. Maybe Google needs to watch more television.

Google's obviously wrong answer sent me looking through old comics for the real answer to my question of its first appearance, and the earliest I could find the cape shield in my copies of The Superman Chronicles reprints was in the historically significant¹ untitled Superman story² in Action Comics #13, cover dated June 1939, published on April 14, 1939.

Here's a sample panel, easily found in a Google Search™ (once I knew what I was looking for):

And, as if I needed any further confirmation, here are the issue's indexer notes from the fantastic (and Google-able) Grand Comics Database (GCD), online at comics.org since 1994:

The "S" symbol first appears on Superman's cape. ... Paul Cassidy is credited with adding the "S" symbol to the cape (but it only appears in some panels and not others), and the pencils and inks here look like his work. Note in particular the odd flying poses of Superman in panels one and five of the final page, which are characteristic of Cassidy. He claimed that [Superman creators Jerry] Siegel and [Joe] Shuster gave both he and Wayne Boring free reign to interpret the scripts as they liked.

Old school library for the win. Why did you make that so hard, Google?

¹ Action Comics #13 is most famous for being the first appearance of Superman's first recurring super villain: a bald criminal mastermind who vowed to "use this great intellect for crime" who called himself The Ultra-Humanite. (What, did you think it was Lex Luthor? That second-rate knock-off wouldn't show up for another 12 months.)

² The original publication has no printed title, which is not uncommon at the time. Modern reprints often refer this story as "Superman vs. the Cab Protective League," named for a protection racket organized by, you guessed it, the Ultra-Humanite. His criminal genius obviously didn't extend to naming things.

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Welcome to June, the 18th annual Wriphe.com Superman Month!

I'm typing this without my left index finger, which I cut while washing my car. (I'll never make that mistake again. Stay dirty, car!) My injury made me wonder when was the first time in comics we actually see Superman bleeding. So I went looking.

As you can see in the above panel from his two-page origin story published in Superman #1, Summer 1939, Superman's skin was essentially impenetrable from the get-go, so the opportunities for him to visibly bleed have always been few and far between.

If those aforementioned bursting shells led to any bloodshed, it was always hidden by smoke and debris. When Superman needed to give blood to save Lois Lane's life in 1940's Superman #6, he had to give the doctor a hand. Literally.

But that wasn't technically an injury, so I kept looking for something that could hurt Superman that wasn't Superman.

Magic was an early weakness (bloodlessly stealing Superman's powers multiple times in 1942), but Kryptonite wasn't introduced into the comics until 1949 in Superman #61. (Like many elements of the Superman mythos, Kryptonite first appeared in 1943 on the Adventures of Superman radio show.) It usually just made Superman weak and fall down. He doesn't even scrape his knees.

March 1960's Action Comics #262 would introduce Superman's immediate weakness under a red sun. In that issue Clark Kent gets stung by a bee for the first time. Two years later, a bare-knuckle boxing match against Lex Luthor on the planet Lexor under a red sun would give Superman a face full of bruises, but still no visible blood. This might be because beginning in 1954, the Comics Code Authority strictly forbid showing, among many other things, "All scenes of horror, excessive bloodshed, gory or gruesome crimes, depravity, lust, sadism, masochism." Bloodless injuries were no longer optional.

Action Comics #49, June 1942

The code would relax beginning in 1971, and by the time Superman was beaten to "death" by Doomsday in 1993's Superman #75, blood was everywhere. (The 90s were a violent time.) Unfortunately for Superman, the Code was nowhere to be found on the cover of 1978's All New Collectors' Edition #C-56, better known as "Superman Vs. Muhammad Ali." In that issue, following a different boxing match under a red sun, Superman gets beaten so badly by Ali that he bleeds all over his pillow. If there's a lesson here, it's probably that Superman should give up boxing.

For whatever reason, that bloody pillow was removed in a re-colored 2010 reprinting. But that's okay. I'm sure it wasn't the first time Superman unwillingly bled on panel anyway. Because after four (delightful) hours of looking through comics and comics websites, I found this sequence in 1976's Superman #297:

Ouch! Be careful where you put those fingers, Superman.

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After years of pandemic-driven disruption, the 43rd annual Metropolis, Illinois Superman Celebration returned to its traditional calendar slot this weekend. The highlight of this year's event was last night, when Smallville Superman (Tom Welling) and Lex Luthor (Michael Rosenbaum) reunited to re-enact scenes from their television show on stage.

As it happens, the 2022 Celebration is marking the 50th anniversary of Metropolis being the "Home of Superman," a title they gave themselves. While 1972 was inarguably a significant milestone for Metropolis in several aspects, not the least of which is the agreement with National Periodicals to license Superman's name and likeness, many websites, including Wikipedia, mark the start of Metropolis' official relationship to Superman with the June 9, 1972, passage of State of Illinois General Assembly House Resolution 572, which reads:

Whereas, Metropolis is, as everyone knows, the base of operations of SUPERMAN, the Man of Steel, battler for Truth, Justice, and the American Way; leaper of tall buildings in single bounds; overpowerer of powerful locomotives; outspeeder of speeding bullets; changer of the course of might rivers; and performer of other important functions of not inconsiderable civic utility; and

Whereas, the civic leaders of Metropolis, Illinois, have finally decided that their illustrious citizen is, in fact, neither a bird nor a plane but a resource of not inconsiderable civic utility; and

Whereas, the familiar red and blue caped Superman uniform has been seen of late draped on other prominent citizens of Metropolis on important civic occasions (giving one pause to reflect that Clark Kent must have been considerably embarrassed when he last dashed into a telephone booth to strip for action and found that his Superman uniform had mysteriously disappeared);

now therefore be it Resolved By The House of Representatives in the seventy-seventh Session of the General Assembly, that we do hereby commend and congratulate Mr. Robert Westerfield, Mayor J.P. Williams, and Mr. C. Harold Mescher of Metropolis, Illinois, for conceiving and organizing "Project Superman' by which outstanding citizens are honored as recipients of the Superman Award for their contributions to the civic welfare of Metropolis; and we extend the thanks of the civic leaders to Mr. Carmine Infantino of National Periodical Publications, Inc., for his kind permission to use the Superman format and for supplying the original uniform of the television Superman to use in the promotion of Project Superman; and finally we congratulate the Reverend Charles Chandler on his selection as the first recipient of the Superman Award and find it wholly appropriate that a man of his calling be so chosen;

and be it further Resolved, that a suitable copy of this preamble and resolution be forwarded to Mr. Robert Westerfield for acceptance by him on behalf of the Project Superman Screening Committee.

Personally, I'm not particularly confident about that June 9 date or whether the Illinois Senate ever had anything to do with this particular resolution. The actual online records of the 77th Illinois Senate meeting that day do not remark on that specific piece of legislation. Admittedly, that does not necessarily mean the date is incorrect, as the online records themselves warn of their incompleteness. The text above is taken directly from the Illinois House record for April 25, 1972, the date the resolution was introduced and passed the House.

And while we're on that topic, I should mention that House Resolution 572 was just one of many non-binding resolutions passed that day. Resolution 569 congratulated a congressman for staying married to the same woman for 19 years. Resolution 571 gave Chicago Cubs pitcher Burt Hooton a pat on the back for throwing a no-hitter, and Resolution 573 pledged undying loyalty to the Chicago Black Hawks "no matter what."

But the real kicker is House Resolution 575, congratulating Illinois native Gene Hackman for receiving the Oscar for Best Actor (in The French Connection). Though Superman: The Movie would be six years in their future, the Illinois House of Representatives still managed to praise both Superman and Lex Luthor in the very same meeting!

That's congress for you.

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Last month Ned "Otis" Beatty died. This month it's director Richard Donner. Twenty Twenty-One is proving to be a bad year for people associated with Superman: The Movie.

Should we start a pool on who's going to be August's victim? As you might expect from a 43-year-old movie, there really aren't too many principal cast and crew left. Long retired Gene Hackman (Lex Luthor) is 91. Valerie Perrine (Ms. Teschmacher), 77, has been fighting Parkinson's for years. The longest odds go to Marc McClure (Jimmy Olsen), a comparatively sprightly 64.

Somewhere behind the camera, executive producer Ilya Salkind is 73 and editor Stuart Baird is 74. Only one of the five credited screenwriters, Robert Benton survives at 88. And who wants to live in a world without John Williams in it? He's 89.

Fortunately, all three of the Kyrptonian villains from the opening scenes of Superman: The Movie are still stalking the Earth. Terrance Stamp (General Zod) is 82, Jack O'Halloran (Non) is 78, and Sara Douglas (Ursa) is barely older than Jimmy Olsen at 68. One would hope they get to keep terrorizing Planet Houston for years to come.

I don't mean to be callous. It would be nice if someone could fly around the world fast enough to reverse the flow of time and stave off death. But that sort of thing can only happen in the movies.

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The annual Superman Celebration in Metropolis, Illinois kicks off today. If you can make it, the opening ceremonies will be at 5PM, with an outdoor screening of 1978's Superman movie to follow at 9PM. Other events this weekend include appearances by Lois & Clark's Lex Luthor and Superboy's Lana Lang, the "Fortress of Jellotude" eating contest, and the Superman v. Batman tug of war. And of course the Superman Museum will be open from 7AM to 9PM every day.

If that doesn't sound like a great way to pass a weekend, I don't know what is. (At least until football season returns.)

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Movies 15-21 watched in June:

93. (630.) Black Orpheus (1959)
This is fundamentally the same story as the French Orpheus. It won an Academy Award and a Palme d'Or which I find amazing because it is so very boring. If I'd been in charge, there would have been less dancing and more mystery.

94. (631.) They Only Kill Their Masters (1972)
This movie is a very laid back murder mystery, and therein lies its charm. If you get the chance to see James Gardner play a small town policeman puzzling out a mystery built around a doberman named Murphy, watch it.

95. (632.) Destination Moon (1950)
The highlight of this moonshot informercial is the embedded Woody Woodpecker cartoon. I'm sure that I know more about space travel than the average viewer, but I found these astronauts completely unprepared for spaceflight.

96. (633.) A Majority of One (1961)
Everything about this dramedy is great except for Alec Guinness. He's usually so good, but he should not have been cast in the yellow-face role of a Japanese businessman. Suspension of disbelief only goes so far.

97. (634.) Rooster Cogburn (1975)
Katherine Hepburn and John Wayne? Yes, please. It's Hepburn's movie, and she makes the most of it.

98. (635.) Marooned (1969)
Doesn't NASA put their astronauts through a psyche profile? In this precursor of the Apollo 13 debacle, only one of the stranded men seems capable of keeping his head together, and he's not a pilot but the scientist. (I think roles like this are why I didn't like Gene Hackman while I was growing up. Or maybe it was just his Lex Luthor.) It's not a great film, but it is captivating to pretend that it is a real event.

99. (636.) Knowing (2009)
I'm mad at this movie. It sets up a very suspenseful and intriguing mystery steeped in the supernatural, physics, and philosophy, then it fumbles the ball on the goal line with a ridiculous conclusion that makes everything that came before it a frustrating exercise in random pointlessness. Grr. You got me again, Nic Cage!

Nine more movies remaining before we finish off June. We'll get to them next week.

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Let's count the Superman mythos references in this Mirror.com.uk "news" article posted earlier this week:

Faster than a speeding bullet: Police pull over SUPERMAN in Solihull
posted Jun 22, 2014 21:58 by Mikey Smith, Mike Lockley

Is it a bird? Is it a plane? No it's a rusty Peugeot 106 with a cape and no insurance carrying two guys dressed up as Superman

The Man of Steel is supposed to fight for truth, justice and the American way - but even he needs car insurance.

Police in Solihull couldn't believe their eyes when they pulled over Superman - or should we say Supermen - after a Krypto-nite out on suspicion of driving with no insurance.

They spotted a vehicle with no back window, but a red cape fluttering through the opening in a (Lois) lane of the M42 last night.

They did a double take as the scene unfolded, and the driver and passenger - both dressed as the Last Son of Krypton - stepped out of the rusty Peugeot 106.

After stopping the pair of Brainiacs near Junction 4, the force tweeted: "Even Superman needs insurance. We don't work for Lex Luthor, but we had to remove Superman's wheels from the road."

One Superman reference per sentence? That's an article that Clark Kent could be proud of.

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On June 5 last week, I said that a Canadian company had played "dirty pool" buy paying for costumes to steal the Guinness World Record for "Largest Gathering of People Dressed as Superman" record. Little did I know that on that very same day, an American company bought the title with the very same strategy.

Guinness World Records website reports the story:

In anticipation of the upcoming Warner Bros. movie release, "Man of Steel," Sears invited hundreds of employees to gather at its corporate headquarters in Hoffman Estates, Illinois, USA, to try and break the record for largest gathering of people dressed as Superman on June 5.

And as easy as leaping tall buildings in a single bound, they did it, surpassing the previous mark of 437 with a new GUINNESS WORLD RECORDS number of 566 people dressed as America's most iconic superhero.

Elsewhere, the not-for-profit Superman Celebration managed only 268 people in costume on Sunday. Corporate synergy wins again! Did you notice that the record was achieved exclusively in Man of Steel costumes that were prohibited at the Superman Celebration? I suspect that Lex Luthor must be working for Sears.

While I cannot deny that capitalism is indeed the American Way, I also cannot say that there is much satisfaction to be had in having corporations continue to leverage their work force into achieving a dubious record for the sake of public relations. Certainly, this isn't the way that Superman would shoot for the record. Sears, you can put on Superman's boots, but you clearly cannot fill his shoes.

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You might think that DC would advertise their 1979 newspaper comic strip with an actual super hero appearance, but DC knows that what their fans really want is not flying men with laser vision but street cops with flaccid bullets. And kudos on the selection of "gravity magnification" as Luthor's terrifying new scheme. You know what looks visually exciting in comics? Heavy things!

On the up-side, I think I've decided that in my next comic strip, Victoria will be wearing a wig, glasses, and a fake mustache.

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