Since his inception, Superman has fought for social justice and societal change, and his earliest stories in Action Comics prove this. With more than 80 years of stories in comics and numerous other media, Superman has evolved, and while he’s best known for battling mad scientists and extraterrestrial threats, his first stories had him fighting against real-world evils. At his core, Superman represents incorruptible good and the potential for positive societal change, rather than maintaining a potentially unjust status quo.
Created by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster, Superman is widely considered to be the first modern superhero, creating the genre that remains a pop culture powerhouse. Superman comics are more than just a means of telling action-packed comics, however. His story is also a metaphor for refugees and immigrants who prosper in the United States while holding on to their heritage. Superman is a cathartic figure for many, as his character is as invulnerable as his physiology, making him an unstoppable force of social justice who might even operate outside of the law if it means helping others.
Superman’s fight for social justice is depicted particularly well in the eighth issue of Action Comics, by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster, where Superman prevents the arrest of a group of young thieves. The delinquents are impoverished, living in slums and committing crimes to simply survive. Superman then destroys the slums and leaves the city with no choice but to replace them with affordable housing. Superman becomes an outlaw as a result, but even the chief of police privately appreciates his actions. Superman protects people instead of property and breaks a cycle of poverty of crime rather than simply allowing the young thieves to be arrested.
Stories like this were quite common in Superman’s first appearances. While Superman gradually accumulated a rogues gallery of enemies like Ultra-Humanite and Lex Luthor, his earliest villains were corrupt capitalists, racists, sexists, and the autocratic leaders of fascist regimes. While Superman himself was a fantasy, the evils he fought were all too real, making Superman a force for change. It’s not enough to simply arrest wrongdoers when altering the system that creates them in the first place is possible.
In other Action Comics issues, Superman forces an arms dealer to witness a war his actions created, forces a corrupt mine owner to ensure safer working conditions for his workers, and combats the corrupt and cruel prison system to prevent it from becoming a revolving door. Superman’s stories are best known for being science fiction, but at his core, he fights for social justice. Superman’s earliest Action Comics appearances show him solving real-world issues, creating a better society, even if it makes him an outlaw.