Think you know the one-and-only origin story of Superman? Here is how it usually goes: Jor-El sends Kal-El to Earth, Krypton explodes, Clark grows up with the Kents in Smallville, moves to Metropolis, becomes Superman, etc. etc. But it wasn't always so. Here are some little-known facts about the development of his origin:

<< It was the SUPERMAN radio show that created Jimmy Olsen, Perry White, the Daily Planet, kryptonite, and -- here's a biggie -- they gave him the ability to fly (that's right: a new medium opened the comic creatively). Originally Krypton's people were all superhuman -- they could fly and move mountains just like Superman could. (This idea was axed -- after a long, long time of being around -- because it was essentially nonsensical: if the Kryptonians could fly, why didn't they get the hell off their planet when it was quaking to oblivion?). Superman's powers were later credited to Earth's lesser gravity. It wasn't until 1960 that this was dropped for the "yellow sun of Earth" explanation. There was a time when Clark had no farm-life to speak of. He went to high school in Metropolis. Then Superboy came around and we learned of a place
called Smallville. Clark had a girlfriend, Lana Lang, had an enormous history with those parents, the Kents, and didn't leave for Metropolis until he was much older. And wasn't there a storyline somewhere after all this which showed a three-year- old Clark on Krypton, pre-blowup, and had him remembering the planet, its people, his parents, and its ruination? Listen, I'm no expert on SUPERMAN. (Far from it, in fact.) However, the Superman we know today is not the same one that existed when he first raced into our world. >>