Metropolis (comics)
Encyclopedia
Metropolis is a fictional city that appears in comic books published by DC Comics
, and is the home of Superman
. Metropolis first appeared by name in Action Comics
#16 (September 1939).
Within the DC Universe
, Metropolis is portrayed as one of the largest and wealthiest cities on Earth. Since then, Metropolis has become a city inspired by New York City
, Chicago
, Cleveland, Detroit, Toronto
, Vancouver
, and Los Angeles
. Most of the notable landmarks in Metropolis are based on real-life landmarks in New York City
.
, lending to the idea that Metropolis is the DC Universe equivalent to New York City
. Superman co-creator Joe Shuster
moved to Cleveland by age ten, where he met co-creator and Ohio
native Jerry Siegel
. Originally intending to sell the Superman strips to a Cleveland newspaper, they set the stories there as well, and when the strips were re-used for the comic books, they changed the location to Metropolis. (Action Comics #2, however, mistakenly portrays Clark Kent as a reporter for the Cleveland Evening News. The earliest specific reference to Metropolis located it in New York State: in Superman #2 (Fall 1939), Clark (Superman) Kent sent a telegram to George Taylor, the editor of the Daily Star (the antecedent to the Daily Planet
), addressed to "Metropolis, N.Y."
In the 1940s, Superman cartoons produced by Paramount Pictures
and Fleischer Studios
, Superman is said to live in New York City
rather than Metropolis in the seventh cartoon in the series, "Electric Earthquake." A Native American
mad scientist claims that his people are the rightful owners of Manhattan
, thus placing these cartoons in New York City. In the fifth episode in the series, "The Bulleteers," however, the city had already been identified as Metropolis, as the Bulleteers address in that cartoon the population of Superman's city as "citizens of Metropolis"; and in the 13th episode "Destruction Inc.," Metropolis is even seen spelled out twice on the Metropolis Munition Works, so it can be assumed that "Electric Earthquake" is an anomaly.
In a 1970s edition of "Ask the Answer Man," a column that ran occasionally in DC publications, it was stated that Metropolis and Gotham City were adjacent to New York City
; across the harbor from each other. That same column stated that Star City
(the home of Green Arrow) was in Connecticut, Flash's Central City
was in Ohio, and Hawkman's Midway City
was in Michigan. An earlier issue of DC's fanzine Amazing World of DC Comics, however, stated that Metropolis was located in Delaware
, while Gotham was placed in New Jersey
. The Atlas of the DC Universe role playing game supplement, published by Mayfair Games
, also claims that Metropolis is in Delaware.
A 1976 "imaginary" (i.e. out of canon) story describes the infant Kal-El arriving on Earth in that year, triggering a increase in cold war
tensions between the United States and the Soviet Union
. In that story's version of the year 2001, Metropolis is the name given to the new merging of the Northeast Corridor
of cities ranging from Washington, D.C.
through New York City
to Boston
, to form a megalopolis
.
In his 1978 work, The Great Superman Book, an encyclopedia of the first forty years of the Superman comics, author Michael Fleisher
cites many, many examples which demonstrate that Metropolis equates with New York City. The most blatant of these might be the statement he cites from Action Comics #143 (April 1950), which states that the Statue of Liberty
stands in "Metropolis Harbor". The Statue of Liberty, in fact, stands in New York Harbor
.
The 1992 "Death of Superman" storyline depicts Doomsday
on a path from Ohio through the state of New York, ending in Metropolis, and the 2005 comic Countdown to Infinite Crisis also places Metropolis in the state of New York
. The mini-series JLA/Avengers
depicts the city as along the multi-state Interstate 95
. Its corresponding location in the Marvel Universe
is forests and fields.
Frank Miller
has said that "Metropolis is New York
in the daytime; Gotham City
is New York
at night." Gotham City is home to Batman
, whose activities are more often nocturnal than those of Superman, who usually operates during the day. In terms of atmosphere, Batman
writer and editor Dennis O'Neil
has said that, figuratively, "Batman's Gotham City is Manhattan below Fourteenth Street at eleven minutes past midnight on the coldest night in November." However, New York City has been more recently used as a locale in the DC Universe, in which it exists as a separate city from Metropolis and Gotham City; the Justice Society of America
, for example, is based in New York, as were the Teen Titans.
, home of Batman
. This happens, for example, in the three-issue 1990 mini-series of World's Finest Comics
by Dave Gibbons
, Steve Rude
and Karl Kesel
. Like Metropolis, Gotham's location has never been definitely established; however, it is usually treated as also being a major city. The distance between the two cities has varied greatly over the years, ranging from being hundreds of miles apart to Gotham and Metropolis being twin cities
on opposite sides of Delaware Bay
, with Gotham City in New Jersey and Metropolis in Delaware. The film Superman Returns
mentions Gotham City, as does Batman in an episode of the Justice League TV series
. In Superman: The Animated Series
, Clark Kent's mother Martha Kent refers to Batman as "that nut in Gotham City." Similarly, the Batman Forever
movie mentions Metropolis, as Bruce Wayne tells Dick Grayson that the circus he and his family performed in has likely moved there. In Lois and Clark, when Lois finds out about Superman's secret identity and yells at Clark about how he's been hiding his secretly being Superman, he responds, "A little louder Lois — I don't think they could hear you in Gotham City". Also on the TV show Smallville
, Linda Lake mentions being able to see Gotham from an office at The Daily Planet, it is also established in Smallville that Metropolis is in Kansas as seen in the season 10 episode 'Shield' when Clark is purchasing a ticket to Cairo, Egypt from Metropolis, Kansas on his computer.
According to the Atlas of the DC Universe, Metropolis is located on the south end of Delaware Bay
. The Atlas shows Gotham City as being on the other side of the bay, near Cape May, New Jersey
.
is silent on the subject of the city's location, but in general, and in a departure from most other media depictions, Metropolis could be equated to Los Angeles, California
. In the first episode, "Superman on Earth", there is a quick stock clip of what appears to be the New York City
skyline as seen from one of the rivers around Manhattan
, labeled "Metropolis". Another early episode mentions that Jimmy is a fan of the Chicago White Sox
. However, nearly every exterior shot depicting Metropolis either contains landmarks readily identifiable as being in Los Angeles (such as the Los Angeles City Hall
or the Griffith Observatory
), or is known to have been filmed in Hollywood back lots. As the show's own credits state, the series was filmed in Hollywood.
's Superman and its sequels, Metropolis is shown as taking the place of New York City
. The original movie series made no attempt to hide this similarity, as prominent New York landmarks are seen throughout the movies, including the Statue of Liberty
, the World Trade Center
, the Brooklyn Bridge
, Grand Central Terminal
, and the New York Daily News
offices. In Superman III
, some Calgary, Alberta landmarks can be seen, including the Calgary Tower
and the St. Louis Hotel, as parts of the film were filmed there.
, the Tribune Tower
, the Wrigley Building
, and Wrigley Field
are easily identifiable. A reference is made to the city having the telephone area code 219, which would place it in northwestern Indiana
, near Chicago. In later seasons, the main area of the city is seen as being called "New Troy," like the comics of the time. Metropolis Channel 6 mentions of professional sports Major League Baseball Team, The Metropolitans. Later LSPN, Metropolis' version of ESPN, has interview coverage with quarter back Steve Law of the Metropolis Tigers regarding their up coming game with the San Francisco 49ers. Occasionally, such as in the third season episode Through a Glass Darkly, a map of Manhattan
is clearly identified as Metropolis.
. When Dick Grayson
(played by Chris O'Donnell
) plans to find Two-Face
, Bruce mentioned the circus is halfway to Metropolis.
comics, Smallville was often shown as being within driving distance of Metropolis, though with no definitive location. Since John Byrne's revamp of Superman in 1986, however, its location has usually been cited as being in Kansas
.
On the popular Smallville
television
series, Metropolis is located in Kansas (a six hour round trip quoted by Lana about Clark going for hot dogs at the stadium). Smallville was also the 2nd (the first being in "Lois & Clark:The New Adventures Of Superman" Episode 10 "The Man Of Steel Bars") Superman TV Show or movie to mention a sports team in Metropolis. In the Pilot episode, Whitney Fordman, Lana's jock boyfriend, mentions that Lionel Luthor
is the owner of the Metropolis Sharks football team in which Victor Stone played for during high school. In an interview, the creators of Smallville have stated that Metropolis is approximately 100 miles (160 kilometers) from Smallville, however beginning in the show's fifth season characters are shown routinely travelling back and forth between Smallville and Metropolis for work, Lois Lane
and Clark Kent
live in Smallville but work at the Daily Planet in Metropolis. In one episode, a letter is shown with the address "Metropolis, KA", suggesting the city is located in Kansas; however, the United States
postal abbreviation for Kansas is "KS", not "KA." In another episode ("Fallout"), a map is shown with "Metropolis, KS" clearly labeled; it is in the southwest quadrant of Kansas, somewhere near the real-world location of Dodge City, while Smallville on the same map (marked with a star) appears to be a couple hundred miles to the east, near real-world Wichita.
The zip code for Metropolis, Kansas is given at different times as 66632 or 66624. In another episode, it is shown that the Metropolis skyline can be seen from the top of a windmill in Smallville. Another possibility for Metropolis is Kansas City
, which sits on the Kansas/Missouri
border (a map shown during season 7 puts Metropolis in the same location as Kansas City). However scenes from Smallville show Metropolis as being near a large body of water (see image above), possibly the Kansas or Missouri Rivers. In the third season episode, "Phoenix", Lex is given an office with a "river view" implying that Metropolis is situated on a river; maps of Metropolis shown in the ninth season episode "Rabid" match satellite maps of Chicago, adjacent to Lake Michigan. In the ninth season episode "Crossfire," Lois lists her location as Metropolis, KS for her online dating profile. In the tenth season episode "Shield", Clark purchases an airplane ticket from Metropolis, Kansas to Cairo, Egypt. This clearly identifies Metropolis as being in Kansas in the Smallville mythos.
In filming the series, Vancouver
and Surrey, British Columbia
stand in for Metropolis, For example the Marine Building
in Vancouver stands in as the Daily Planet
Building and the Central City Building
in Surrey
stands in as the LuthorCorp. Other episodes do show other cities as Metropolis, such as Downtown Los Angeles
, Minneapolis (in the Season Four episode "Recruit"), New York City
, and Chicago
, either way, the city is shown as a clean and modern city.
director Bryan Singer
intended his version of Metropolis to be a stylistic cross between 1930s New York
and current New York. The many shots of Superman flying high above the city establish that although Metropolis has a rectangular park reminiscent of Central Park
, the city overall has a slightly different shape from New York City. Several New York City
landmarks, such as the American International Building
, Battery Park
, the MetLife Building
, the Woolworth Building
, World Financial Center
, 7 World Trade Center
and the Brooklyn Bridge
, were clearly shown, as was the street grid of lower Manhattan, with a fictional bridge inserted north of Battery Park City and a fictional pier
in the middle of Battery Park
. The map of Metropolis shown in this article, however, tries to make the city's form as different as possible from New York City's, given the scenery shown.) Photographs of some automobiles used in filming show license plates bearing the phrase "New York State" along the bottom, although the featured vehicles (including Lois Lane's car) are shown in the film to have license plates reading "The First State" Lex Luthor
's map onscreen portrays the city as directly in the location of New York City. Senior production designer Guy Dyas said in The Art of Superman Returns (Chronicle Books, 2006): "We wiped out, I think, half of New Jersey
to put in Metropolis." The map showed Metropolis clearly being in place for New York City
but in New York State. Long Island
was not shown.
Midtown Manhattan
was only shown twice, both in brief high aerial shots of the city at night. The first had the Empire State Building
and Chrysler Building
obstructed by clouds while the GE Building
was visible. The second, all three buildings would appear but very briefly. License Plates show the Daily Planet Building as the main symbol for Metropolis. With no World Trade Center
due to the September 11, 2001 attacks
(which took place during Superman's five year departure from Earth), the real life Empire State Building
, or in this case the Emperor Building as named in the comics, would be the tallest in Metropolis.
In past Superman movies, Metropolis was suggested to be New York City
itself. Landmarks like the World Trade Center
and Statue of Liberty
were seen. Here Metropolis is New York City
with minor changes. The movie really only focused on Lower Manhattan
with Midtown Manhattan
only shown twice in the distance. 17 State Street
, which is a recognizable glass tower at the tip of the island was replaced by an older looking tower and the tops of the two World Financial Center
Towers were removed. A small cluster of tall Art-Deco Towers along with the Daily Planet
building were added to the skyline near the Civic Center
. The LexCorp Tower never appeared in the movie; comics suggest LexCorp had a Twin Towered Headquarters, which suggests that if they still existed, the World Trade Center
North and South towers were the LexCorp Towers, but being 2006, unlike the older Superman movies, the World Trade Center
's Twin Towers
, did not appear, being that the setting is after the September 11, 2001 attacks
. It is implied that 9/11 happened shortly after Superman's 5 year departure from Earth, as in 2006, 5 years ago it was 2001 where the world was in no major wars until the events of 9/11. Despite this, one aerial shot showed several small buildings over the site, probably suggesting that they never existed, yet a quick scene showed footage of the War on Terror
on television news.
Parts of Superman Returns was filmed in Sydney, Australia, and some minor landmarks in Sydney can be identified such as Martin Place, when Superman catches the car. License plates on cars that state the first state may also refer to NSW
license plates.
in all that series' varied incarnations to date.
During the original incarnation of the series, Metropolis would be depicted as covering anything ranging from the entire Atlantic American coast to a more narrowed jurisdiction – according to one map officially published during Paul Levitz
and Keith Giffen
's initial partnership on the series, in Legion of Super-Heroes vol. 2 #313 (July 1984) – covering most of Massachusetts
, all of Rhode Island
and Connecticut
, New York State from Long Island
's eastern tip up into the Catskills, and a large portion of northern New Jersey
. In one imaginary Superman tale published in 1976 and partly set in then-futuristic 2001, "Metropolis" is the name of the new megalopolis
of the Eastern seaboard corridor, comprising the cities of Washington, D.C.
, New York and Boston
and all the territory in between (Superman vol. 1, #300, June 1976).
Whatever version was used, it was generally viewed as given that the original city, as well as Gotham City, were considered within Legion-era Metropolis' boundaries, from the mid-1960s until the events of Zero Hour
.
The first post-Infinite Crisis
version of the series as published in the "three-boot" edition has described Metropolis as having expanded over the intervening millennium up the "entire Atlantic seaboard" of North America in one issue (reminiscent of New York's future expansion in Isaac Asimov
's The Caves of Steel
and in Poul Anderson
's The Corridors of Time, and to an extent Mega City One of the Judge Dredd
comics). In Final Crisis: Legion of 3 Worlds, it is revealed that this version of Metropolis belongs to the newly restored Earth-Prime's 31st Century.
In Adventure Comics (vol. 2) # 12, Metropolis during the Legion's first year is described by Brainiac 5
as having a population of "78 million sentient inhabitants in the urban zone before you reach the greenbelt".
, Los Angeles
or Chicago
. It is often referred to as The Big Apricot just as New York City is nicknamed as The Big Apple.
The first map of Metropolis designed for Mayfair Games' first edition of the DC Heroes Role-Playing Game resembled that of the city of Montreal
.
Metropolis' features became more defined (and more obviously based on New York) following both 1985's Crisis on Infinite Earths
miniseries and John Byrne's subsequent revamping of Superman, including the late 1980s comic special The World of Metropolis.
, Metropolis is made up of six boroughs, the largest being New Troy. Each of the boroughs has its own distinct character and feel though all resemble and mimic some part of New York.
, New Troy is a skyscraper island bustling with commerce and business. The concrete and steel canyons of the city rise to dizzying heights. "1930s architecture stretched like a rubber band" as cited in the Art of Superman Returns book.
The Daily Planet
Building is the most recognizable landmark in the Metropolis skyline. Located in "Planet Square", it is particularly known for the Daily Planet globe atop the building. Other prominent skyscrapers include the Emperor Building (a reference to the Empire State Building
), the Newstime Building (home of the national Newstime magazine, a reference to and combination of Newsweek
and Time
) which is secretly owned for several years by Lord Satanus
posing as "Colin Thornton", and the Twin Towered LexCorp
Tower, (a reference to the former twin towers of the World Trade Center
), headquarters for Lex Luthor's company.
Besides the Financial District, notable areas of New Troy include Chinatown, Little Bohemia
(the arts capital of Metropolis and a reference to Little Italy in Manhattan), and Glenmorgan Square.
Famous streets in New Troy include Fifth Avenue
, Bessolo Boulevard, and Topaz Lane. The latter two are Metropolis' versions of Broadway
in New York City
. Bessolo Boulevard's name is derived from Adventures of Superman
lead actor George Reeves's
legal name before entering films. Other Metropolis boulevards in the New Troy borough are similarly named for other actors from that series and from its radio predecessor of the same name, such as Coates
, Larson
, and Collyer
.
Centennial Park (sometimes labeled as Metropolis Park) is Metropolis' largest city park and is based on real life Central Park
of New York City
. Its most noteworthy feature is a statue
of Superman with an American bald eagle
, erected after his death fighting Doomsday. A statue of Superboy
Conner Kent
was built next to it after the events of Infinite Crisis
.
Other notable places (and their NYC inspirations) include Wireless City Movie Theater (Radio City Music Hall
), the Halldorf Hotel (Waldorf Astoria
), Lacey's Department Store (Macy's
), Stacey's Department Store, and Spiffany's Jewelry Store (Tiffany's
).
In northwestern New Troy is the impoverished and crime-infested neighborhood of Suicide Slum
, best known for the 1940s adventures of the Guardian
and his street urchin companions, the Newsboy Legion
. Although the northwestern location is similar to the relationship of Harlem
to midtown Manhattan, the neighborhood bears more physical and cultural resemblance to Manhattan's Lower East Side
. The Ace o' Clubs is a bar owned by Bibbo Bibbowski
in Suicide Slum.
The now-married Clark Kent
and Lois Lane
currently live in an apartment in New Troy, at 1938 Sullivan Lane (a tribute to the year Superman first appeared); Clark Kent's traditional address of 344 Clinton Street, Apartment 3D, was usually described as being located in midtown Metropolis.
an boroughs by the West River
and Hobb's River
. Midvale is a suburb of Metropolis, more well known as the home of Supergirl
and the site of the Midvale Orphanage prior to the events of Crisis on Infinite Earths
. Bakerline is another borough
of Metropolis. Located north of New Troy, Bakerline is the home of newspaper reporter Jimmy Olsen
and appears to be based on The Bronx
.
Other boroughs and suburban areas include Queensland Park, Hell's Gate
(a reference to the Hell Gate Bridge), St. Martin's Island
(a reference to Staten Island), Park Ridge, Metrodale, and Highville.
Department possesses a Special Crimes Unit dedicated to defending the city against superhuman menaces in case Superman is absent. The unit is headed by Maggie Sawyer
and Dan Turpin
, with both maintaining frequent contact with the Man of Steel. Another of Superman's police contacts over the years has been Inspector William Henderson
, who in the current comics is the Metropolis police commissioner. At some point during the missing year following Infinite Crisis, the division of the Metropolis Police Department dedicated to superhuman crime was renamed the Science Police, seemingly a reference to the similarly named group in the Legion of Super-Heroes' 31st Century.
, Fireman Farrell
is shown to be a member of the Metropolis
fire department. As of Batman & Superman: World's Finest #4 (July 1999), Farrell is now a captain in the Metropolis FD.
is the Daily Planet
, one of the most renowned news organizations in the DC Universe. The city is also home to the national Newstime magazine.
Other major media located in Metropolis include WGBS-TV, flagship station of the Galaxy Broadcasting System (GBS) television network
, both subsidiaries of media conglomerate Galaxy Communications. Popular shows included The Midnight Show Starring Johnny Nevada (a fictional version of NBC's
The Tonight Show
, with Johnny Nevada being an analogue
of Johnny Carson
). During the 1970s, both Clark Kent and Lois Lane worked for WGBS (after Galaxy Communications purchased the Daily Planet in a 1971 storyline), with Clark as the anchorman for the WGBS evening news (he was eventually joined by Lana Lang
as a co-anchor). After John Byrne's revamp of Superman's origins, though, Clark and Lois were reverted to working at the Daily Planet once again. Galaxy Broadcasting and WGBS-TV still exist post-Crisis, however. The station is usually used in any story where a television station is needed or shown. Post-Crisis, Clark, Lois and Lana never worked for the station. During the 1990s however, both Jimmy Olsen
and Cat Grant
did work there.
In the Silver Age comics, another major Metropolis landmark was the Superman Museum, which featured various exhibits dedicated to Metropolis' favorite superhero, Superman.
Metropolis is home to Metropolis University, of which Clark Kent is a graduate with a journalism degree. The central branch of S.T.A.R. Labs
, a major scientific research institution, is also located in Metropolis.
The Daily Planet
building is a widely-recognized icon for the city, much like the Empire State Building
for New York City
.
teams, the Metropolis Monarchs are Clark Kent's favorite, while the other team, the Metropolis Meteors, is mentioned in 52
as having a rivalry with the St. Louis Cardinals
.
In football
, Metropolis is home to a team called the Metropolis Sharks (on the show Smallville) as well as the Metropolis Metros.
The city is also home to the Metropolis Generals basketball
team and the Metropolis Mammoths hockey
team.
, has proclaimed itself the "hometown of Superman," and celebrates its "local hero" in every possible way that it can. Among the ways it celebrates the character include a large Superman statue in the city, a Superman museum, an annual Superman festival, and its local newspaper The Metropolis Planet, a name inspired by the major newspaper in fictional Metropolis, The Daily Planet
. A version of the town has appeared in the comics itself, as a city whose citizens idolize the hero who lives in their 'sister' city.
DC Comics
DC Comics, Inc. is one of the largest and most successful companies operating in the market for American comic books and related media. It is the publishing unit of DC Entertainment a company of Warner Bros. Entertainment, which itself is owned by Time Warner...
, and is the home of Superman
Superman
Superman is a fictional comic book superhero appearing in publications by DC Comics, widely considered to be an American cultural icon. Created by American writer Jerry Siegel and Canadian-born American artist Joe Shuster in 1932 while both were living in Cleveland, Ohio, and sold to Detective...
. Metropolis first appeared by name in Action Comics
Action Comics
Action Comics is an American comic book series that introduced Superman, the first major superhero character as the term is popularly defined...
#16 (September 1939).
Within the DC Universe
DC Universe
The DC Universe is the shared universe where most of the comic stories published by DC Comics take place. The fictional characters Superman, Batman and Wonder Woman are well-known superheroes from this universe. Note that in context, "DC Universe" is usually used to refer to the main DC continuity...
, Metropolis is portrayed as one of the largest and wealthiest cities on Earth. Since then, Metropolis has become a city inspired by New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
, Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
, Cleveland, Detroit, Toronto
Toronto
Toronto is the provincial capital of Ontario and the largest city in Canada. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. A relatively modern city, Toronto's history dates back to the late-18th century, when its land was first purchased by the British monarchy from...
, Vancouver
Vancouver
Vancouver is a coastal seaport city on the mainland of British Columbia, Canada. It is the hub of Greater Vancouver, which, with over 2.3 million residents, is the third most populous metropolitan area in the country,...
, and Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
. Most of the notable landmarks in Metropolis are based on real-life landmarks in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
.
Location
Like many other fictional cities in DC Comics, the location of Metropolis has varied greatly over the years. Metropolis is usually portrayed as a major city on the East CoastEast Coast of the United States
The East Coast of the United States, also known as the Eastern Seaboard, refers to the easternmost coastal states in the United States, which touch the Atlantic Ocean and stretch up to Canada. The term includes the U.S...
, lending to the idea that Metropolis is the DC Universe equivalent to New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
. Superman co-creator Joe Shuster
Joe Shuster
Joseph "Joe" Shuster was a Canadian-born American comic book artist. He was best known for co-creating the DC Comics character Superman, with writer Jerry Siegel, first published in Action Comics #1...
moved to Cleveland by age ten, where he met co-creator and Ohio
Ohio
Ohio is a Midwestern state in the United States. The 34th largest state by area in the U.S.,it is the 7th‑most populous with over 11.5 million residents, containing several major American cities and seven metropolitan areas with populations of 500,000 or more.The state's capital is Columbus...
native Jerry Siegel
Jerry Siegel
Jerome "Jerry" Siegel , who also used pseudonyms including Joe Carter, Jerry Ess, and Herbert S...
. Originally intending to sell the Superman strips to a Cleveland newspaper, they set the stories there as well, and when the strips were re-used for the comic books, they changed the location to Metropolis. (Action Comics #2, however, mistakenly portrays Clark Kent as a reporter for the Cleveland Evening News. The earliest specific reference to Metropolis located it in New York State: in Superman #2 (Fall 1939), Clark (Superman) Kent sent a telegram to George Taylor, the editor of the Daily Star (the antecedent to the Daily Planet
Daily Planet
The Daily Planet is a fictional broadsheet newspaper in the , appearing mostly in the stories of Superman. The building's original features were based upon the AT&T Huron Road Building in Cleveland, Ohio...
), addressed to "Metropolis, N.Y."
In the 1940s, Superman cartoons produced by Paramount Pictures
Paramount Pictures
Paramount Pictures Corporation is an American film production and distribution company, located at 5555 Melrose Avenue in Hollywood. Founded in 1912 and currently owned by media conglomerate Viacom, it is America's oldest existing film studio; it is also the last major film studio still...
and Fleischer Studios
Fleischer Studios
Fleischer Studios, Inc., was an American corporation which originated as an Animation studio located at 1600 Broadway, New York City, New York...
, Superman is said to live in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
rather than Metropolis in the seventh cartoon in the series, "Electric Earthquake." A Native American
Native Americans in the United States
Native Americans in the United States are the indigenous peoples in North America within the boundaries of the present-day continental United States, parts of Alaska, and the island state of Hawaii. They are composed of numerous, distinct tribes, states, and ethnic groups, many of which survive as...
mad scientist claims that his people are the rightful owners of Manhattan
Manhattan
Manhattan is the oldest and the most densely populated of the five boroughs of New York City. Located primarily on the island of Manhattan at the mouth of the Hudson River, the boundaries of the borough are identical to those of New York County, an original county of the state of New York...
, thus placing these cartoons in New York City. In the fifth episode in the series, "The Bulleteers," however, the city had already been identified as Metropolis, as the Bulleteers address in that cartoon the population of Superman's city as "citizens of Metropolis"; and in the 13th episode "Destruction Inc.," Metropolis is even seen spelled out twice on the Metropolis Munition Works, so it can be assumed that "Electric Earthquake" is an anomaly.
In a 1970s edition of "Ask the Answer Man," a column that ran occasionally in DC publications, it was stated that Metropolis and Gotham City were adjacent to New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
; across the harbor from each other. That same column stated that Star City
Star City (comics)
Star City is a fictional city that appears in stories published by DC Comics, best known as the traditional home of the superheroes known by, or affiliated with, the shared alias of the Green Arrow...
(the home of Green Arrow) was in Connecticut, Flash's Central City
Central City (DC Comics)
Central City is a fictional city that appears in stories published by DC Comics, and is the home of the Silver Age version of the Flash, Barry Allen. It first appeared in Showcase #4 in September-October 1956.-Location:...
was in Ohio, and Hawkman's Midway City
Midway City
Midway City is a fictional city in the DC Universe, the shared universe of comic book titles published by DC Comics. Midway is always shown to be a midwestern city based loosely on the real world city of Chicago, Illinois...
was in Michigan. An earlier issue of DC's fanzine Amazing World of DC Comics, however, stated that Metropolis was located in Delaware
Delaware
Delaware is a U.S. state located on the Atlantic Coast in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It is bordered to the south and west by Maryland, and to the north by Pennsylvania...
, while Gotham was placed in New Jersey
New Jersey
New Jersey is a state in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States. , its population was 8,791,894. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York, on the southeast and south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Pennsylvania and on the southwest by Delaware...
. The Atlas of the DC Universe role playing game supplement, published by Mayfair Games
Mayfair Games
Mayfair Games is a publisher of board, card, and roleplaying games. They also license German-style board games and publish them in English throughout the world...
, also claims that Metropolis is in Delaware.
A 1976 "imaginary" (i.e. out of canon) story describes the infant Kal-El arriving on Earth in that year, triggering a increase in cold war
Cold War
The Cold War was the continuing state from roughly 1946 to 1991 of political conflict, military tension, proxy wars, and economic competition between the Communist World—primarily the Soviet Union and its satellite states and allies—and the powers of the Western world, primarily the United States...
tensions between the United States and the Soviet Union
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
. In that story's version of the year 2001, Metropolis is the name given to the new merging of the Northeast Corridor
Northeast Corridor
The Northeast Corridor is a fully electrified railway line owned primarily by Amtrak serving the Northeast megalopolis of the United States from Boston in the north, via New York to Washington, D.C. in the south, with branches serving other cities...
of cities ranging from Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
through New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
to Boston
Boston
Boston is the capital of and largest city in Massachusetts, and is one of the oldest cities in the United States. The largest city in New England, Boston is regarded as the unofficial "Capital of New England" for its economic and cultural impact on the entire New England region. The city proper had...
, to form a megalopolis
Megalopolis (city type)
A megalopolis is typically defined as a chain of roughly adjacent metropolitan areas. The term was used by Oswald Spengler in his 1918 book, The Decline of the West, and Lewis Mumford in his 1938 book, The Culture of Cities, which described it as the first stage in urban overdevelopment and...
.
In his 1978 work, The Great Superman Book, an encyclopedia of the first forty years of the Superman comics, author Michael Fleisher
Michael Fleisher
Michael L. "Mike" Fleisher is an American writer known for his DC Comics of the 1970s and 1980s, particularly for the characters the Spectre and Jonah Hex.-Early life and career:...
cites many, many examples which demonstrate that Metropolis equates with New York City. The most blatant of these might be the statement he cites from Action Comics #143 (April 1950), which states that the Statue of Liberty
Statue of Liberty
The Statue of Liberty is a colossal neoclassical sculpture on Liberty Island in New York Harbor, designed by Frédéric Bartholdi and dedicated on October 28, 1886...
stands in "Metropolis Harbor". The Statue of Liberty, in fact, stands in New York Harbor
New York Harbor
New York Harbor refers to the waterways of the estuary near the mouth of the Hudson River that empty into New York Bay. It is one of the largest natural harbors in the world. Although the U.S. Board of Geographic Names does not use the term, New York Harbor has important historical, governmental,...
.
The 1992 "Death of Superman" storyline depicts Doomsday
Doomsday (comics)
Doomsday is a fictional character, a supervillain that appears in comic books published by DC Comics. The character first appears in Superman: The Man of Steel #18 , and was created by writer-artist Dan Jurgens. IGN's list of the Top 100 Comic Book Villains of All Time ranked Doomsday as #46...
on a path from Ohio through the state of New York, ending in Metropolis, and the 2005 comic Countdown to Infinite Crisis also places Metropolis in the state of New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
. The mini-series JLA/Avengers
JLA/Avengers
JLA/Avengers is a comic book limited series and crossover published in prestige format by DC Comics and Marvel Comics from September 2003 to May 2004. The series was written by Kurt Busiek, with art by George Pérez...
depicts the city as along the multi-state Interstate 95
Interstate 95
Interstate 95 is the main highway on the East Coast of the United States, running parallel to the Atlantic Ocean from Maine to Florida and serving some of the most populated urban areas in the country, including Boston, Providence, New Haven, New York City, Newark, Philadelphia, Baltimore,...
. Its corresponding location in the Marvel Universe
Marvel Universe
The Marvel Universe is the shared fictional universe where most comic book titles and other media published by Marvel Entertainment take place, including those featuring Marvel's most familiar characters, such as Spider-Man, the Hulk, the X-Men, and the Avengers.The Marvel Universe is further...
is forests and fields.
Frank Miller
Frank Miller (comics)
Frank Miller is an American comic book artist, writer and film director best known for his dark, film noir-style comic book stories and graphic novels Ronin, Daredevil: Born Again, Batman: The Dark Knight Returns, Sin City and 300...
has said that "Metropolis is New York
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
in the daytime; Gotham City
Gotham City
Gotham City is a fictional U.S. city appearing in DC Comics, best known as the home of Batman. Batman's place of residence was first identified as Gotham City in Batman #4 . Gotham City is strongly inspired by Trenton, Ontario's history, location, atmosphere, and various architectural styles...
is New York
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
at night." Gotham City is home to Batman
Batman
Batman is a fictional character created by the artist Bob Kane and writer Bill Finger. A comic book superhero, Batman first appeared in Detective Comics #27 , and since then has appeared primarily in publications by DC Comics...
, whose activities are more often nocturnal than those of Superman, who usually operates during the day. In terms of atmosphere, Batman
Batman (comic book)
Batman is an ongoing comic book series featuring the DC Comics hero of the same name. The character first appeared in Detective Comics #27, published in May 1939. Batman proved to be so popular that a self-titled ongoing comic book series began publication in the spring of 1940...
writer and editor Dennis O'Neil
Dennis O'Neil
Dennis J. "Denny" O'Neil is an American comic book writer and editor, principally for Marvel Comics and DC Comics in the 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s, and Group Editor for the Batman family of books until his retirement....
has said that, figuratively, "Batman's Gotham City is Manhattan below Fourteenth Street at eleven minutes past midnight on the coldest night in November." However, New York City has been more recently used as a locale in the DC Universe, in which it exists as a separate city from Metropolis and Gotham City; the Justice Society of America
Justice Society of America
The Justice Society of America, or JSA, is a DC Comics superhero group, the first team of superheroes in comic book history. Conceived by editor Sheldon Mayer and writer Gardner Fox, the JSA first appeared in All Star Comics #3 ....
, for example, is based in New York, as were the Teen Titans.
In relation to Gotham City
Metropolis is frequently depicted as being within driving distance of Gotham CityGotham City
Gotham City is a fictional U.S. city appearing in DC Comics, best known as the home of Batman. Batman's place of residence was first identified as Gotham City in Batman #4 . Gotham City is strongly inspired by Trenton, Ontario's history, location, atmosphere, and various architectural styles...
, home of Batman
Batman
Batman is a fictional character created by the artist Bob Kane and writer Bill Finger. A comic book superhero, Batman first appeared in Detective Comics #27 , and since then has appeared primarily in publications by DC Comics...
. This happens, for example, in the three-issue 1990 mini-series of World's Finest Comics
World's Finest Comics
World's Finest Comics was an American comic book series published by DC Comics from 1941 to 1986. The series was initially titled World's Best Comics for its first issue; issue #2 switched to the more familiar name...
by Dave Gibbons
Dave Gibbons
Dave Gibbons is an English comic book artist, writer and sometime letterer. He is best known for his collaborations with writer Alan Moore, which include the miniseries Watchmen and the Superman story "For the Man Who Has Everything"...
, Steve Rude
Steve Rude
-Career:In 1981, Rude became widely known in the comics world when he and writer Mike Baron created Nexus, an independent science fiction comic book with a large supporting cast. For the series, Rude designed a dozen or so distinctive alien races, including the Thunes, the Amphibs, the Quattros,...
and Karl Kesel
Karl Kesel
Karl Kesel is an American comics writer and inker whose works have primarily been under contract for DC Comics...
. Like Metropolis, Gotham's location has never been definitely established; however, it is usually treated as also being a major city. The distance between the two cities has varied greatly over the years, ranging from being hundreds of miles apart to Gotham and Metropolis being twin cities
Twin cities
Twin cities are a special case of two cities or urban centres which are founded in close geographic proximity and then grow into each other over time...
on opposite sides of Delaware Bay
Delaware Bay
Delaware Bay is a major estuary outlet of the Delaware River on the Northeast seaboard of the United States whose fresh water mixes for many miles with the waters of the Atlantic Ocean. It is in area. The bay is bordered by the State of New Jersey and the State of Delaware...
, with Gotham City in New Jersey and Metropolis in Delaware. The film Superman Returns
Superman Returns
Superman Returns is a 2006 superhero film directed by Bryan Singer. It is the fifth and final installment in the original Superman film series and serves as a alternate sequel to Superman and Superman II by ignoring the events of Superman III and Superman IV: The Quest for Peace .The film stars...
mentions Gotham City, as does Batman in an episode of the Justice League TV series
Justice League (TV series)
Justice League is an American animated television series about a team of superheroes which ran from 2001 to 2004 on Cartoon Network. The show was produced by Warner Bros. Animation. It is based on the Justice League of America and associated comic book characters published by DC Comics...
. In Superman: The Animated Series
Superman: The Animated Series
Superman: The Animated Series is an American animated television series starring DC Comics' flagship character, Superman. The series was produced by Warner Bros. Animation and aired on The WB from September 6, 1996 to February 12, 2000. Warner Bros...
, Clark Kent's mother Martha Kent refers to Batman as "that nut in Gotham City." Similarly, the Batman Forever
Batman Forever
Batman Forever is a 1995 American superhero film directed by Joel Schumacher and produced by Tim Burton. Based on the DC Comics character Batman, the film is a sequel to Batman Returns , with Val Kilmer replacing Michael Keaton as Batman...
movie mentions Metropolis, as Bruce Wayne tells Dick Grayson that the circus he and his family performed in has likely moved there. In Lois and Clark, when Lois finds out about Superman's secret identity and yells at Clark about how he's been hiding his secretly being Superman, he responds, "A little louder Lois — I don't think they could hear you in Gotham City". Also on the TV show Smallville
Smallville
Smallville is the hometown of Superman in comic books published by DC Comics. While growing up in Smallville, the young Clark Kent attended Smallville High with best friends Lana Lang, Chloe Sullivan and Pete Ross...
, Linda Lake mentions being able to see Gotham from an office at The Daily Planet, it is also established in Smallville that Metropolis is in Kansas as seen in the season 10 episode 'Shield' when Clark is purchasing a ticket to Cairo, Egypt from Metropolis, Kansas on his computer.
According to the Atlas of the DC Universe, Metropolis is located on the south end of Delaware Bay
Delaware Bay
Delaware Bay is a major estuary outlet of the Delaware River on the Northeast seaboard of the United States whose fresh water mixes for many miles with the waters of the Atlantic Ocean. It is in area. The bay is bordered by the State of New Jersey and the State of Delaware...
. The Atlas shows Gotham City as being on the other side of the bay, near Cape May, New Jersey
Cape May, New Jersey
Cape May is a city at the southern tip of Cape May Peninsula in Cape May County, New Jersey, where the Delaware Bay meets the Atlantic Ocean and is one of the country's oldest vacation resort destinations. It is part of the Ocean City Metropolitan Statistical Area. As of the 2010 United States...
.
Adventures of Superman (1952–1958)
The 1950s television series Adventures of SupermanAdventures of Superman (TV series)
Adventures of Superman is an American television series based on comic book characters and concepts created in 1938 by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster. The show is the first television series to feature Superman and began filming in 1951 in California...
is silent on the subject of the city's location, but in general, and in a departure from most other media depictions, Metropolis could be equated to Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles , with a population at the 2010 United States Census of 3,792,621, is the most populous city in California, USA and the second most populous in the United States, after New York City. It has an area of , and is located in Southern California...
. In the first episode, "Superman on Earth", there is a quick stock clip of what appears to be the New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
skyline as seen from one of the rivers around Manhattan
Manhattan
Manhattan is the oldest and the most densely populated of the five boroughs of New York City. Located primarily on the island of Manhattan at the mouth of the Hudson River, the boundaries of the borough are identical to those of New York County, an original county of the state of New York...
, labeled "Metropolis". Another early episode mentions that Jimmy is a fan of the Chicago White Sox
Chicago White Sox
The Chicago White Sox are a Major League Baseball team located in Chicago, Illinois.The White Sox play in the American League's Central Division. Since , the White Sox have played in U.S. Cellular Field, which was originally called New Comiskey Park and nicknamed The Cell by local fans...
. However, nearly every exterior shot depicting Metropolis either contains landmarks readily identifiable as being in Los Angeles (such as the Los Angeles City Hall
Los Angeles City Hall
Los Angeles City Hall, completed 1928, is the center of the government of the city of Los Angeles, California, and houses the mayor's office and the meeting chambers and offices of the Los Angeles City Council...
or the Griffith Observatory
Griffith Observatory
Griffith Observatory is in Los Angeles, California, United States. Sitting on the south-facing slope of Mount Hollywood in L.A.'s Griffith Park, it commands a view of the Los Angeles Basin, including downtown Los Angeles to the southeast, Hollywood to the south, and the Pacific Ocean to the southwest...
), or is known to have been filmed in Hollywood back lots. As the show's own credits state, the series was filmed in Hollywood.
Superman: The Movie (1978)
In 19781978 in film
The year 1978 in film involved some significant events.-Events:* February 1 - Bob Dylan's film Renaldo and Clara, a documentary of the "Rolling Thunder Revue" tour premieres in Los Angeles, California....
's Superman and its sequels, Metropolis is shown as taking the place of New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
. The original movie series made no attempt to hide this similarity, as prominent New York landmarks are seen throughout the movies, including the Statue of Liberty
Statue of Liberty
The Statue of Liberty is a colossal neoclassical sculpture on Liberty Island in New York Harbor, designed by Frédéric Bartholdi and dedicated on October 28, 1886...
, the World Trade Center
World Trade Center
The original World Trade Center was a complex with seven buildings featuring landmark twin towers in Lower Manhattan, New York City, United States. The complex opened on April 4, 1973, and was destroyed in 2001 during the September 11 attacks. The site is currently being rebuilt with five new...
, the Brooklyn Bridge
Brooklyn Bridge
The Brooklyn Bridge is one of the oldest suspension bridges in the United States. Completed in 1883, it connects the New York City boroughs of Manhattan and Brooklyn by spanning the East River...
, Grand Central Terminal
Grand Central Terminal
Grand Central Terminal —often incorrectly called Grand Central Station, or shortened to simply Grand Central—is a terminal station at 42nd Street and Park Avenue in Midtown Manhattan in New York City, United States...
, and the New York Daily News
New York Daily News
The Daily News of New York City is the fourth most widely circulated daily newspaper in the United States with a daily circulation of 605,677, as of November 1, 2011....
offices. In Superman III
Superman III
Superman III is a 1983 superhero film and the third film in the Superman film series based upon the long-running DC Comics superhero. Christopher Reeve, Jackie Cooper, Marc McClure and Margot Kidder are joined by new cast members Annette O'Toole, Annie Ross, Pamela Stephenson, Robert Vaughn and...
, some Calgary, Alberta landmarks can be seen, including the Calgary Tower
Calgary Tower
The Calgary Tower is a 191 metre free standing observation tower in Downtown Calgary, Alberta, Canada. Originally called the Husky Tower, it was conceived as a joint venture between Marathon Realty Company Limited and Husky Oil as part of an urban renewal plan and to celebrate Canada's centennial...
and the St. Louis Hotel, as parts of the film were filmed there.
Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman (1993–1997)
In the 1990s television series Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman, Chicago landmarks such as the John Hancock CenterJohn Hancock Center
John Hancock Center at 875 North Michigan Avenue in the Streeterville area of Chicago, Illinois, is a 100-story, 1,127-foot tall skyscraper, constructed under the supervision of Skidmore, Owings and Merrill, with chief designer Bruce Graham and structural engineer Fazlur Khan...
, the Tribune Tower
Tribune Tower
The Tribune Tower is a neo-Gothic building located at 435 North Michigan Avenue in Chicago, Illinois. It is the home of the Chicago Tribune and Tribune Company. WGN Radio also broadcasts from the building, with ground-level studios overlooking nearby Pioneer Court and Michigan Avenue. CNN's...
, the Wrigley Building
Wrigley Building
The Wrigley Building is a skyscraper located directly across Michigan Avenue from the Tribune Tower on the Magnificent Mile...
, and Wrigley Field
Wrigley Field
Wrigley Field is a baseball stadium in Chicago, Illinois, United States that has served as the home ballpark of the Chicago Cubs since 1916. It was built in 1914 as Weeghman Park for the Chicago Federal League baseball team, the Chicago Whales...
are easily identifiable. A reference is made to the city having the telephone area code 219, which would place it in northwestern Indiana
Indiana
Indiana is a US state, admitted to the United States as the 19th on December 11, 1816. It is located in the Midwestern United States and Great Lakes Region. With 6,483,802 residents, the state is ranked 15th in population and 16th in population density. Indiana is ranked 38th in land area and is...
, near Chicago. In later seasons, the main area of the city is seen as being called "New Troy," like the comics of the time. Metropolis Channel 6 mentions of professional sports Major League Baseball Team, The Metropolitans. Later LSPN, Metropolis' version of ESPN, has interview coverage with quarter back Steve Law of the Metropolis Tigers regarding their up coming game with the San Francisco 49ers. Occasionally, such as in the third season episode Through a Glass Darkly, a map of Manhattan
Manhattan
Manhattan is the oldest and the most densely populated of the five boroughs of New York City. Located primarily on the island of Manhattan at the mouth of the Hudson River, the boundaries of the borough are identical to those of New York County, an original county of the state of New York...
is clearly identified as Metropolis.
Batman Forever
Metropolis is briefly mentioned in the movie Batman ForeverBatman Forever
Batman Forever is a 1995 American superhero film directed by Joel Schumacher and produced by Tim Burton. Based on the DC Comics character Batman, the film is a sequel to Batman Returns , with Val Kilmer replacing Michael Keaton as Batman...
. When Dick Grayson
Dick Grayson
Dick Grayson is a fictional superhero that appears in comic books published by DC Comics. Created by Bob Kane and Bill Finger and illustrator Jerry Robinson, he first appeared in Detective Comics #38 in April 1940....
(played by Chris O'Donnell
Chris O'Donnell
Christopher Eugene "Chris" O'Donnell is an American actor. He has played Robin in two Batman films, Batman Forever and Batman & Robin, Charlie Simms in Scent of a Woman, Finn Dandridge in Grey's Anatomy, Peter Garrett in Vertical Limit, and more recently, Jack McAuliffe in The Company. O'Donnell...
) plans to find Two-Face
Two-Face
Two-Face is a fictional comic book supervillain who appears in comic books published by DC Comics. and is an enemy of Batman. The character first appeared in Detective Comics #66 , and was created by Bob Kane and Bill Finger....
, Bruce mentioned the circus is halfway to Metropolis.
Smallville (2001–2011)
In the pre-Crisis on Infinite EarthsCrisis on Infinite Earths
Crisis on Infinite Earths is a 12-issue American comic book limited series and crossover event, produced by DC Comics in 1985 to simplify its then 50-year-old continuity...
comics, Smallville was often shown as being within driving distance of Metropolis, though with no definitive location. Since John Byrne's revamp of Superman in 1986, however, its location has usually been cited as being in Kansas
Kansas
Kansas is a US state located in the Midwestern United States. It is named after the Kansas River which flows through it, which in turn was named after the Kansa Native American tribe, which inhabited the area. The tribe's name is often said to mean "people of the wind" or "people of the south...
.
On the popular Smallville
Smallville
Smallville is the hometown of Superman in comic books published by DC Comics. While growing up in Smallville, the young Clark Kent attended Smallville High with best friends Lana Lang, Chloe Sullivan and Pete Ross...
television
Television
Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
series, Metropolis is located in Kansas (a six hour round trip quoted by Lana about Clark going for hot dogs at the stadium). Smallville was also the 2nd (the first being in "Lois & Clark:The New Adventures Of Superman" Episode 10 "The Man Of Steel Bars") Superman TV Show or movie to mention a sports team in Metropolis. In the Pilot episode, Whitney Fordman, Lana's jock boyfriend, mentions that Lionel Luthor
Lionel Luthor
Lionel Luthor is a fictional character in the television series Smallville, portrayed continuously by John Glover. Initially a recurring guest in season one, the character became a series regular in season two and continued with that status until he was written out of the show in the seventh season...
is the owner of the Metropolis Sharks football team in which Victor Stone played for during high school. In an interview, the creators of Smallville have stated that Metropolis is approximately 100 miles (160 kilometers) from Smallville, however beginning in the show's fifth season characters are shown routinely travelling back and forth between Smallville and Metropolis for work, Lois Lane
Lois Lane
Lois Lane is a fictional character, the primary love interest of Superman in the comic books of DC Comics. Created by writer Jerry Siegel and artist Joe Shuster, she first appeared in Action Comics #1 ....
and Clark Kent
Clark Kent
Clark Kent is a fictional character created by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster. Appearing regularly in stories published by DC Comics, he debuted in Action Comics #1 and serves as the civilian and secret identity of the superhero Superman....
live in Smallville but work at the Daily Planet in Metropolis. In one episode, a letter is shown with the address "Metropolis, KA", suggesting the city is located in Kansas; however, the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
postal abbreviation for Kansas is "KS", not "KA." In another episode ("Fallout"), a map is shown with "Metropolis, KS" clearly labeled; it is in the southwest quadrant of Kansas, somewhere near the real-world location of Dodge City, while Smallville on the same map (marked with a star) appears to be a couple hundred miles to the east, near real-world Wichita.
The zip code for Metropolis, Kansas is given at different times as 66632 or 66624. In another episode, it is shown that the Metropolis skyline can be seen from the top of a windmill in Smallville. Another possibility for Metropolis is Kansas City
Kansas City Metropolitan Area
The Kansas City Metropolitan Area is a fifteen-county metropolitan area that is anchored by Kansas City, Missouri and is bisected by the border between the states of Missouri and Kansas. As of the 2010 Census, the metropolitan area has a population of 2,035,334. The metropolitan area is the...
, which sits on the Kansas/Missouri
Missouri
Missouri is a US state located in the Midwestern United States, bordered by Iowa, Illinois, Kentucky, Tennessee, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Kansas and Nebraska. With a 2010 population of 5,988,927, Missouri is the 18th most populous state in the nation and the fifth most populous in the Midwest. It...
border (a map shown during season 7 puts Metropolis in the same location as Kansas City). However scenes from Smallville show Metropolis as being near a large body of water (see image above), possibly the Kansas or Missouri Rivers. In the third season episode, "Phoenix", Lex is given an office with a "river view" implying that Metropolis is situated on a river; maps of Metropolis shown in the ninth season episode "Rabid" match satellite maps of Chicago, adjacent to Lake Michigan. In the ninth season episode "Crossfire," Lois lists her location as Metropolis, KS for her online dating profile. In the tenth season episode "Shield", Clark purchases an airplane ticket from Metropolis, Kansas to Cairo, Egypt. This clearly identifies Metropolis as being in Kansas in the Smallville mythos.
In filming the series, Vancouver
Vancouver
Vancouver is a coastal seaport city on the mainland of British Columbia, Canada. It is the hub of Greater Vancouver, which, with over 2.3 million residents, is the third most populous metropolitan area in the country,...
and Surrey, British Columbia
Surrey, British Columbia
Surrey is a city in the province of British Columbia, Canada. It is a member municipality of Metro Vancouver, the governing body of the Greater Vancouver Regional District...
stand in for Metropolis, For example the Marine Building
Marine Building
The Marine Building is a skyscraper located at 355 Burrard Street in Downtown Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada near the Financial District, designed by McCarter Nairne and Partners. It is renowned for its Art Deco details....
in Vancouver stands in as the Daily Planet
Daily Planet
The Daily Planet is a fictional broadsheet newspaper in the , appearing mostly in the stories of Superman. The building's original features were based upon the AT&T Huron Road Building in Cleveland, Ohio...
Building and the Central City Building
Central City Shopping Centre
Central City Shopping Centre is a shopping mall and office tower complex in Whalley, Surrey, British Columbia, Canada, which is owned by Blackwood Partners Management Corporation. It is near Surrey Central Station of the SkyTrain system in the Whalley neighbourhood...
in Surrey
Surrey
Surrey is a county in the South East of England and is one of the Home Counties. The county borders Greater London, Kent, East Sussex, West Sussex, Hampshire and Berkshire. The historic county town is Guildford. Surrey County Council sits at Kingston upon Thames, although this has been part of...
stands in as the LuthorCorp. Other episodes do show other cities as Metropolis, such as Downtown Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
, Minneapolis (in the Season Four episode "Recruit"), New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
, and Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
, either way, the city is shown as a clean and modern city.
Superman Returns (2006)
Superman ReturnsSuperman Returns
Superman Returns is a 2006 superhero film directed by Bryan Singer. It is the fifth and final installment in the original Superman film series and serves as a alternate sequel to Superman and Superman II by ignoring the events of Superman III and Superman IV: The Quest for Peace .The film stars...
director Bryan Singer
Bryan Singer
Bryan Singer is an American film director and film producer. Singer won critical acclaim for his work on The Usual Suspects, and is especially well-known among fans of the science fiction and superhero genres for his work on the X-Men films and Superman Returns.-Early life:Singer was born in New...
intended his version of Metropolis to be a stylistic cross between 1930s New York
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
and current New York. The many shots of Superman flying high above the city establish that although Metropolis has a rectangular park reminiscent of Central Park
Central Park
Central Park is a public park in the center of Manhattan in New York City, United States. The park initially opened in 1857, on of city-owned land. In 1858, Frederick Law Olmsted and Calvert Vaux won a design competition to improve and expand the park with a plan they entitled the Greensward Plan...
, the city overall has a slightly different shape from New York City. Several New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
landmarks, such as the American International Building
American International Building
The American International Building is a 66-story, 952 foot tall building in Lower Manhattan in New York City. The official address is 70 Pine Street, New York, NY 10270 and is also bordered by Cedar Street and Pearl Street. It was completed in 1932 by the Cities Service Company for the oil and...
, Battery Park
Battery Park
Battery Park is a 25-acre public park located at the Battery, the southern tip of Manhattan Island in New York City, facing New York Harbor. The Battery is named for artillery batteries that were positioned there in the city's early years in order to protect the settlement behind them...
, the MetLife Building
MetLife Building
The MetLife Building, originally called the Pan Am Building, is a skyscraper located at 200 Park Avenue in Midtown Manhattan, New York City.-History:...
, the Woolworth Building
Woolworth Building
The Woolworth Building is one of the oldest skyscrapers in New York City. More than a century after the start of its construction, it remains, at 57 stories, one of the fifty tallest buildings in the United States as well as one of the twenty tallest buildings in New York City...
, World Financial Center
World Financial Center
The World Financial Center is a complex of buildings across West Street from the World Trade Center site in Lower Manhattan in New York City, overlooking the Hudson River. This complex is home to offices of companies including Merrill Lynch, RBC Capital Markets, Nomura Group, the Wall Street...
, 7 World Trade Center
7 World Trade Center
7 World Trade Center is a building in New York City located across from the World Trade Center site in Lower Manhattan. It is the second building to bear that name and address in that location. The original structure was completed in 1987 and was destroyed in the September 11 attacks...
and the Brooklyn Bridge
Brooklyn Bridge
The Brooklyn Bridge is one of the oldest suspension bridges in the United States. Completed in 1883, it connects the New York City boroughs of Manhattan and Brooklyn by spanning the East River...
, were clearly shown, as was the street grid of lower Manhattan, with a fictional bridge inserted north of Battery Park City and a fictional pier
Pier
A pier is a raised structure, including bridge and building supports and walkways, over water, typically supported by widely spread piles or pillars...
in the middle of Battery Park
Battery Park
Battery Park is a 25-acre public park located at the Battery, the southern tip of Manhattan Island in New York City, facing New York Harbor. The Battery is named for artillery batteries that were positioned there in the city's early years in order to protect the settlement behind them...
. The map of Metropolis shown in this article, however, tries to make the city's form as different as possible from New York City's, given the scenery shown.) Photographs of some automobiles used in filming show license plates bearing the phrase "New York State" along the bottom, although the featured vehicles (including Lois Lane's car) are shown in the film to have license plates reading "The First State" Lex Luthor
Lex Luthor
Lex Luthor is a fictional character, a supervillain who appears in comic books published by DC Comics, and the archenemy of Superman, although given his high status as a supervillain, he has also come into conflict with Batman and other superheroes in the DC Universe. Created by Jerry Siegel and...
's map onscreen portrays the city as directly in the location of New York City. Senior production designer Guy Dyas said in The Art of Superman Returns (Chronicle Books, 2006): "We wiped out, I think, half of New Jersey
New Jersey
New Jersey is a state in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States. , its population was 8,791,894. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York, on the southeast and south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Pennsylvania and on the southwest by Delaware...
to put in Metropolis." The map showed Metropolis clearly being in place for New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
but in New York State. Long Island
Long Island
Long Island is an island located in the southeast part of the U.S. state of New York, just east of Manhattan. Stretching northeast into the Atlantic Ocean, Long Island contains four counties, two of which are boroughs of New York City , and two of which are mainly suburban...
was not shown.
Midtown Manhattan
Midtown Manhattan
Midtown Manhattan, or simply Midtown, is an area of Manhattan, New York City home to world-famous commercial zones such as Rockefeller Center, Broadway, and Times Square...
was only shown twice, both in brief high aerial shots of the city at night. The first had the Empire State Building
Empire State Building
The Empire State Building is a 102-story landmark skyscraper and American cultural icon in New York City at the intersection of Fifth Avenue and West 34th Street. It has a roof height of 1,250 feet , and with its antenna spire included, it stands a total of 1,454 ft high. Its name is derived...
and Chrysler Building
Chrysler Building
The Chrysler Building is an Art Deco style skyscraper in New York City, located on the east side of Manhattan in the Turtle Bay area at the intersection of 42nd Street and Lexington Avenue. Standing at , it was the world's tallest building for 11 months before it was surpassed by the Empire State...
obstructed by clouds while the GE Building
GE Building
The GE Building is an Art Deco skyscraper that forms the centerpiece of Rockefeller Center in the midtown Manhattan section of New York City. Known as the RCA Building until 1988, it is most famous for housing the headquarters of the television network NBC...
was visible. The second, all three buildings would appear but very briefly. License Plates show the Daily Planet Building as the main symbol for Metropolis. With no World Trade Center
World Trade Center
The original World Trade Center was a complex with seven buildings featuring landmark twin towers in Lower Manhattan, New York City, United States. The complex opened on April 4, 1973, and was destroyed in 2001 during the September 11 attacks. The site is currently being rebuilt with five new...
due to the September 11, 2001 attacks
September 11, 2001 attacks
The September 11 attacks The September 11 attacks The September 11 attacks (also referred to as September 11, September 11th or 9/119/11 is pronounced "nine eleven". The slash is not part of the pronunciation...
(which took place during Superman's five year departure from Earth), the real life Empire State Building
Empire State Building
The Empire State Building is a 102-story landmark skyscraper and American cultural icon in New York City at the intersection of Fifth Avenue and West 34th Street. It has a roof height of 1,250 feet , and with its antenna spire included, it stands a total of 1,454 ft high. Its name is derived...
, or in this case the Emperor Building as named in the comics, would be the tallest in Metropolis.
In past Superman movies, Metropolis was suggested to be New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
itself. Landmarks like the World Trade Center
World Trade Center
The original World Trade Center was a complex with seven buildings featuring landmark twin towers in Lower Manhattan, New York City, United States. The complex opened on April 4, 1973, and was destroyed in 2001 during the September 11 attacks. The site is currently being rebuilt with five new...
and Statue of Liberty
Statue of Liberty
The Statue of Liberty is a colossal neoclassical sculpture on Liberty Island in New York Harbor, designed by Frédéric Bartholdi and dedicated on October 28, 1886...
were seen. Here Metropolis is New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
with minor changes. The movie really only focused on Lower Manhattan
Lower Manhattan
Lower Manhattan is the southernmost part of the island of Manhattan, the main island and center of business and government of the City of New York...
with Midtown Manhattan
Midtown Manhattan
Midtown Manhattan, or simply Midtown, is an area of Manhattan, New York City home to world-famous commercial zones such as Rockefeller Center, Broadway, and Times Square...
only shown twice in the distance. 17 State Street
17 State Street
17 State Street is a 42-story building in the Financial District of Manhattan. Completed in 1988, the building rises to 542 ft . It was designed by Emery Roth and Sons, and it is most noted for its distinct curved facade....
, which is a recognizable glass tower at the tip of the island was replaced by an older looking tower and the tops of the two World Financial Center
World Financial Center
The World Financial Center is a complex of buildings across West Street from the World Trade Center site in Lower Manhattan in New York City, overlooking the Hudson River. This complex is home to offices of companies including Merrill Lynch, RBC Capital Markets, Nomura Group, the Wall Street...
Towers were removed. A small cluster of tall Art-Deco Towers along with the Daily Planet
Daily Planet
The Daily Planet is a fictional broadsheet newspaper in the , appearing mostly in the stories of Superman. The building's original features were based upon the AT&T Huron Road Building in Cleveland, Ohio...
building were added to the skyline near the Civic Center
Civic center
A civic center or civic centre is a prominent land area within a community that is constructed to be its focal point or center. It usually contains one or more dominant public buildings, which may also include a government building...
. The LexCorp Tower never appeared in the movie; comics suggest LexCorp had a Twin Towered Headquarters, which suggests that if they still existed, the World Trade Center
World Trade Center
The original World Trade Center was a complex with seven buildings featuring landmark twin towers in Lower Manhattan, New York City, United States. The complex opened on April 4, 1973, and was destroyed in 2001 during the September 11 attacks. The site is currently being rebuilt with five new...
North and South towers were the LexCorp Towers, but being 2006, unlike the older Superman movies, the World Trade Center
World Trade Center
The original World Trade Center was a complex with seven buildings featuring landmark twin towers in Lower Manhattan, New York City, United States. The complex opened on April 4, 1973, and was destroyed in 2001 during the September 11 attacks. The site is currently being rebuilt with five new...
's Twin Towers
World Trade Center
The original World Trade Center was a complex with seven buildings featuring landmark twin towers in Lower Manhattan, New York City, United States. The complex opened on April 4, 1973, and was destroyed in 2001 during the September 11 attacks. The site is currently being rebuilt with five new...
, did not appear, being that the setting is after the September 11, 2001 attacks
September 11, 2001 attacks
The September 11 attacks The September 11 attacks The September 11 attacks (also referred to as September 11, September 11th or 9/119/11 is pronounced "nine eleven". The slash is not part of the pronunciation...
. It is implied that 9/11 happened shortly after Superman's 5 year departure from Earth, as in 2006, 5 years ago it was 2001 where the world was in no major wars until the events of 9/11. Despite this, one aerial shot showed several small buildings over the site, probably suggesting that they never existed, yet a quick scene showed footage of the War on Terror
War on Terror
The War on Terror is a term commonly applied to an international military campaign led by the United States and the United Kingdom with the support of other North Atlantic Treaty Organisation as well as non-NATO countries...
on television news.
Parts of Superman Returns was filmed in Sydney, Australia, and some minor landmarks in Sydney can be identified such as Martin Place, when Superman catches the car. License plates on cars that state the first state may also refer to NSW
New South Wales
New South Wales is a state of :Australia, located in the east of the country. It is bordered by Queensland, Victoria and South Australia to the north, south and west respectively. To the east, the state is bordered by the Tasman Sea, which forms part of the Pacific Ocean. New South Wales...
license plates.
History
The founding of Metropolis mimics that of New York City in the way that Swedish settlers bought it as a bargain from some natives on New Troy Island. The island was exchanged for a few trinkets.Legion-Era Metropolis
Metropolis is traditionally depicted as continuing to survive, thrive and expand well into the 30th and 31st Century timeframes used as the backdrop of the Legion of Super-HeroesLegion of Super-Heroes
The Legion of Super-Heroes is a fictional superhero team in the 30th and 31st centuries of the . The team first appears in Adventure Comics #247 , and was created by Otto Binder and Al Plastino....
in all that series' varied incarnations to date.
During the original incarnation of the series, Metropolis would be depicted as covering anything ranging from the entire Atlantic American coast to a more narrowed jurisdiction – according to one map officially published during Paul Levitz
Paul Levitz
Paul Levitz is an American comic book writer, editor and executive. The president of DC Comics from 2002–2009, he has worked for the company for over 35 years in a wide variety of roles...
and Keith Giffen
Keith Giffen
Keith Ian Giffen is an American comic book illustrator and writer.-Biography:Giffen was born in Queens, New York City....
's initial partnership on the series, in Legion of Super-Heroes vol. 2 #313 (July 1984) – covering most of Massachusetts
Massachusetts
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. It is bordered by Rhode Island and Connecticut to the south, New York to the west, and Vermont and New Hampshire to the north; at its east lies the Atlantic Ocean. As of the 2010...
, all of Rhode Island
Rhode Island
The state of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, more commonly referred to as Rhode Island , is a state in the New England region of the United States. It is the smallest U.S. state by area...
and Connecticut
Connecticut
Connecticut is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, and the state of New York to the west and the south .Connecticut is named for the Connecticut River, the major U.S. river that approximately...
, New York State from Long Island
Long Island
Long Island is an island located in the southeast part of the U.S. state of New York, just east of Manhattan. Stretching northeast into the Atlantic Ocean, Long Island contains four counties, two of which are boroughs of New York City , and two of which are mainly suburban...
's eastern tip up into the Catskills, and a large portion of northern New Jersey
New Jersey
New Jersey is a state in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States. , its population was 8,791,894. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York, on the southeast and south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Pennsylvania and on the southwest by Delaware...
. In one imaginary Superman tale published in 1976 and partly set in then-futuristic 2001, "Metropolis" is the name of the new megalopolis
Megalopolis (term)
A megalopolis is typically defined as a chain of roughly adjacent metropolitan areas. The term was used by Oswald Spengler in his 1918 book, The Decline of the West, and Lewis Mumford in his 1938 book, The Culture of Cities, which described it as the first stage in urban overdevelopment and...
of the Eastern seaboard corridor, comprising the cities of Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
, New York and Boston
Boston
Boston is the capital of and largest city in Massachusetts, and is one of the oldest cities in the United States. The largest city in New England, Boston is regarded as the unofficial "Capital of New England" for its economic and cultural impact on the entire New England region. The city proper had...
and all the territory in between (Superman vol. 1, #300, June 1976).
Whatever version was used, it was generally viewed as given that the original city, as well as Gotham City, were considered within Legion-era Metropolis' boundaries, from the mid-1960s until the events of Zero Hour
Zero Hour (comics)
Zero Hour: Crisis in Time is a five-issue comic book limited series and crossover storyline published by DC Comics in 1994. In it, the former hero Hal Jordan, who had until then been a member of the intergalactic police force known as the Green Lantern Corps, mad with grief after the destruction of...
.
The first post-Infinite Crisis
Infinite Crisis
Infinite Crisis is a 2005 - 2006 comic book storyline published by DC Comics, consisting of an eponymous, seven-issue comic book limited series written by Geoff Johns and illustrated by Phil Jimenez, George Pérez, Ivan Reis, and Jerry Ordway, and a number of tie-in books...
version of the series as published in the "three-boot" edition has described Metropolis as having expanded over the intervening millennium up the "entire Atlantic seaboard" of North America in one issue (reminiscent of New York's future expansion in Isaac Asimov
Isaac Asimov
Isaac Asimov was an American author and professor of biochemistry at Boston University, best known for his works of science fiction and for his popular science books. Asimov was one of the most prolific writers of all time, having written or edited more than 500 books and an estimated 90,000...
's The Caves of Steel
The Caves of Steel
The Caves of Steel is a novel by Isaac Asimov. It is essentially a detective story, and illustrates an idea Asimov advocated, that science fiction is a flavor that can be applied to any literary genre, rather than a limited genre itself. Specifically, in the book Asimov's Mysteries, he states that...
and in Poul Anderson
Poul Anderson
Poul William Anderson was an American science fiction author who began his career during one of the Golden Ages of the genre and continued to write and remain popular into the 21st century. Anderson also authored several works of fantasy, historical novels, and a prodigious number of short stories...
's The Corridors of Time, and to an extent Mega City One of the Judge Dredd
Judge Dredd
Judge Joseph Dredd is a comics character whose strip in the British science fiction anthology 2000 AD is the magazine's longest running . Dredd is an American law enforcement officer in a violent city of the future where uniformed Judges combine the powers of police, judge, jury and executioner...
comics). In Final Crisis: Legion of 3 Worlds, it is revealed that this version of Metropolis belongs to the newly restored Earth-Prime's 31st Century.
In Adventure Comics (vol. 2) # 12, Metropolis during the Legion's first year is described by Brainiac 5
Brainiac 5
Brainiac 5 is a fictional character who exists in the 30th and 31st centuries of the DC Universe. He is a long standing member of the Legion of Super-Heroes. Brainiac 5 is from the planet Colu...
as having a population of "78 million sentient inhabitants in the urban zone before you reach the greenbelt".
Features
Over the years, Metropolis' features have greatly changed in the comics; however, Metropolis is always presented as being a world class city on the same caliber as New York CityNew York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
, Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
or Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
. It is often referred to as The Big Apricot just as New York City is nicknamed as The Big Apple.
The first map of Metropolis designed for Mayfair Games' first edition of the DC Heroes Role-Playing Game resembled that of the city of Montreal
Montreal
Montreal is a city in Canada. It is the largest city in the province of Quebec, the second-largest city in Canada and the seventh largest in North America...
.
Metropolis' features became more defined (and more obviously based on New York) following both 1985's Crisis on Infinite Earths
Crisis on Infinite Earths
Crisis on Infinite Earths is a 12-issue American comic book limited series and crossover event, produced by DC Comics in 1985 to simplify its then 50-year-old continuity...
miniseries and John Byrne's subsequent revamping of Superman, including the late 1980s comic special The World of Metropolis.
Districts and boroughs
Similar to New York CityNew York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
, Metropolis is made up of six boroughs, the largest being New Troy. Each of the boroughs has its own distinct character and feel though all resemble and mimic some part of New York.
New Troy
New Troy is the largest borough in Metropolis. Resembling ManhattanManhattan
Manhattan is the oldest and the most densely populated of the five boroughs of New York City. Located primarily on the island of Manhattan at the mouth of the Hudson River, the boundaries of the borough are identical to those of New York County, an original county of the state of New York...
, New Troy is a skyscraper island bustling with commerce and business. The concrete and steel canyons of the city rise to dizzying heights. "1930s architecture stretched like a rubber band" as cited in the Art of Superman Returns book.
The Daily Planet
Daily Planet
The Daily Planet is a fictional broadsheet newspaper in the , appearing mostly in the stories of Superman. The building's original features were based upon the AT&T Huron Road Building in Cleveland, Ohio...
Building is the most recognizable landmark in the Metropolis skyline. Located in "Planet Square", it is particularly known for the Daily Planet globe atop the building. Other prominent skyscrapers include the Emperor Building (a reference to the Empire State Building
Empire State Building
The Empire State Building is a 102-story landmark skyscraper and American cultural icon in New York City at the intersection of Fifth Avenue and West 34th Street. It has a roof height of 1,250 feet , and with its antenna spire included, it stands a total of 1,454 ft high. Its name is derived...
), the Newstime Building (home of the national Newstime magazine, a reference to and combination of Newsweek
Newsweek
Newsweek is an American weekly news magazine published in New York City. It is distributed throughout the United States and internationally. It is the second-largest news weekly magazine in the U.S., having trailed Time in circulation and advertising revenue for most of its existence...
and Time
Time (magazine)
Time is an American news magazine. A European edition is published from London. Time Europe covers the Middle East, Africa and, since 2003, Latin America. An Asian edition is based in Hong Kong...
) which is secretly owned for several years by Lord Satanus
Blaze and Satanus
Blaze and Satanus are fictional demonic siblings published by DC Comics. Blaze debuted in Action Comics #655 ; she was created by Roger Stern and Bob McLeod...
posing as "Colin Thornton", and the Twin Towered LexCorp
LexCorp
LexCorp is the fictional company founded by Lex Luthor in the popular DC Comics Superman series. It made its first proper appearance in John Byrne's The Man of Steel miniseries, which established the post-Crisis Superman setting...
Tower, (a reference to the former twin towers of the World Trade Center
World Trade Center
The original World Trade Center was a complex with seven buildings featuring landmark twin towers in Lower Manhattan, New York City, United States. The complex opened on April 4, 1973, and was destroyed in 2001 during the September 11 attacks. The site is currently being rebuilt with five new...
), headquarters for Lex Luthor's company.
Besides the Financial District, notable areas of New Troy include Chinatown, Little Bohemia
Little Italy
Little Italy is a general name for an ethnic enclave populated primarily by Italians or people of Italian ancestry, usually in an urban neighborhood.-Canada:*Little Italy, Edmonton, in Alberta*Little Italy, Montreal, in Quebec...
(the arts capital of Metropolis and a reference to Little Italy in Manhattan), and Glenmorgan Square.
Famous streets in New Troy include Fifth Avenue
Fifth Avenue (Manhattan)
Fifth Avenue is a major thoroughfare in the center of the borough of Manhattan in New York City, New York, United States. The section of Fifth Avenue that crosses Midtown Manhattan, especially that between 49th Street and 60th Street, is lined with prestigious shops and is consistently ranked among...
, Bessolo Boulevard, and Topaz Lane. The latter two are Metropolis' versions of Broadway
Broadway (New York City)
Broadway is a prominent avenue in New York City, United States, which runs through the full length of the borough of Manhattan and continues northward through the Bronx borough before terminating in Westchester County, New York. It is the oldest north–south main thoroughfare in the city, dating to...
in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
. Bessolo Boulevard's name is derived from Adventures of Superman
Adventures of Superman (TV series)
Adventures of Superman is an American television series based on comic book characters and concepts created in 1938 by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster. The show is the first television series to feature Superman and began filming in 1951 in California...
lead actor George Reeves's
George Reeves
George Reeves was an American actor best known for his role as Superman in the 1950s television program Adventures of Superman....
legal name before entering films. Other Metropolis boulevards in the New Troy borough are similarly named for other actors from that series and from its radio predecessor of the same name, such as Coates
Phyllis Coates
Phyllis Coates is an American film and television actress. She is perhaps best known for her portrayal of reporter Lois Lane in the 1951 film Superman and the Mole Men, and during the first season of the Adventures of Superman television series.-Early life and career:After graduating from high...
, Larson
Jack Larson
Jack Edward Larson is an American actor, librettist, screenwriter and producer. He is best known for his portrayal of photographer/cub reporter Jimmy Olsen on the TV series Adventures of Superman.-Biography:...
, and Collyer
Bud Collyer
Bud Collyer was an American radio actor/announcer who became one of the nation's first major television game show stars...
.
Centennial Park (sometimes labeled as Metropolis Park) is Metropolis' largest city park and is based on real life Central Park
Central Park
Central Park is a public park in the center of Manhattan in New York City, United States. The park initially opened in 1857, on of city-owned land. In 1858, Frederick Law Olmsted and Calvert Vaux won a design competition to improve and expand the park with a plan they entitled the Greensward Plan...
of New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
. Its most noteworthy feature is a statue
Statue
A statue is a sculpture in the round representing a person or persons, an animal, an idea or an event, normally full-length, as opposed to a bust, and at least close to life-size, or larger...
of Superman with an American bald eagle
Bald Eagle
The Bald Eagle is a bird of prey found in North America. It is the national bird and symbol of the United States of America. This sea eagle has two known sub-species and forms a species pair with the White-tailed Eagle...
, erected after his death fighting Doomsday. A statue of Superboy
Superboy
Superboy is the name of several fictional characters that have been published by DC Comics, most of them youthful incarnations of Superman. These characters have also been the main characters of four ongoing Superboy comic book series published by DC....
Conner Kent
Superboy (Kon-El)
Superboy is a fictional character, a comic book superhero in the DC Comics universe. A modern update of the original Superboy, who is a younger version of Superman, the character first appeared in Adventures of Superman #500 , and was created by writer Karl Kesel and artist Tom Grummett.Originally...
was built next to it after the events of Infinite Crisis
Infinite Crisis
Infinite Crisis is a 2005 - 2006 comic book storyline published by DC Comics, consisting of an eponymous, seven-issue comic book limited series written by Geoff Johns and illustrated by Phil Jimenez, George Pérez, Ivan Reis, and Jerry Ordway, and a number of tie-in books...
.
Other notable places (and their NYC inspirations) include Wireless City Movie Theater (Radio City Music Hall
Radio City Music Hall
Radio City Music Hall is an entertainment venue located in New York City's Rockefeller Center. Its nickname is the Showplace of the Nation, and it was for a time the leading tourist destination in the city...
), the Halldorf Hotel (Waldorf Astoria
Waldorf-Astoria Hotel
The Waldorf-Astoria is a luxury hotel in New York. It has been housed in two historic landmark buildings in New York City. The first, designed by architect Henry J. Hardenbergh, was on the Fifth Avenue site of the Empire State Building. The present building at 301 Park Avenue in Manhattan is a...
), Lacey's Department Store (Macy's
Macy's
Macy's is a U.S. chain of mid-to-high range department stores. In addition to its flagship Herald Square location in New York City, the company operates over 800 stores in the United States...
), Stacey's Department Store, and Spiffany's Jewelry Store (Tiffany's
Tiffany & Co.
Tiffany & Co. is an American jewelry and silverware company. As part of its branding, the company is strongly associated with its Tiffany Blue , which is a registered trademark.- History :...
).
In northwestern New Troy is the impoverished and crime-infested neighborhood of Suicide Slum
Suicide Slum
Suicide Slum is a notorious fictional slum in publications from DC Comics. The area was first introduced in the "The Newsboy Legion" feature as a slum in New York City. It was later placed in Superman's city, Metropolis, when the Newsboy Legion was reintroduced...
, best known for the 1940s adventures of the Guardian
Guardian (DC Comics)
Guardian is a comic book fictional character, a DC Comics superhero, created by Jack Kirby and Joe Simon. He first appeared in Star Spangled Comics #7...
and his street urchin companions, the Newsboy Legion
Newsboy Legion
The Newsboy Legion are fictional characters, a kid gang in the DC Comics Universe. Created by Joe Simon and Jack Kirby, they appeared in their own self-titled feature which ran from Star Spangled Comics #7 to Star Spangled Comics #64 .-Pre-Crisis version:A group of orphans, living on the streets...
. Although the northwestern location is similar to the relationship of Harlem
Harlem
Harlem is a neighborhood in the New York City borough of Manhattan, which since the 1920s has been a major African-American residential, cultural and business center. Originally a Dutch village, formally organized in 1658, it is named after the city of Haarlem in the Netherlands...
to midtown Manhattan, the neighborhood bears more physical and cultural resemblance to Manhattan's Lower East Side
Lower East Side
The Lower East Side, LES, is a neighborhood in the southeastern part of the New York City borough of Manhattan. It is roughly bounded by Allen Street, East Houston Street, Essex Street, Canal Street, Eldridge Street, East Broadway, and Grand Street....
. The Ace o' Clubs is a bar owned by Bibbo Bibbowski
Bibbo Bibbowski
Bo "Bibbo" Bibbowski is a supporting character in Superman comics. He first appeared in Adventures of Superman #428 .-Fictional character biography:...
in Suicide Slum.
The now-married Clark Kent
Clark Kent
Clark Kent is a fictional character created by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster. Appearing regularly in stories published by DC Comics, he debuted in Action Comics #1 and serves as the civilian and secret identity of the superhero Superman....
and Lois Lane
Lois Lane
Lois Lane is a fictional character, the primary love interest of Superman in the comic books of DC Comics. Created by writer Jerry Siegel and artist Joe Shuster, she first appeared in Action Comics #1 ....
currently live in an apartment in New Troy, at 1938 Sullivan Lane (a tribute to the year Superman first appeared); Clark Kent's traditional address of 344 Clinton Street, Apartment 3D, was usually described as being located in midtown Metropolis.
Other boroughs and suburbs
New Troy is separated from the suburbSuburb
The word suburb mostly refers to a residential area, either existing as part of a city or as a separate residential community within commuting distance of a city . Some suburbs have a degree of administrative autonomy, and most have lower population density than inner city neighborhoods...
an boroughs by the West River
East River
The East River is a tidal strait in New York City. It connects Upper New York Bay on its south end to Long Island Sound on its north end. It separates Long Island from the island of Manhattan and the Bronx on the North American mainland...
and Hobb's River
Hudson River
The Hudson is a river that flows from north to south through eastern New York. The highest official source is at Lake Tear of the Clouds, on the slopes of Mount Marcy in the Adirondack Mountains. The river itself officially begins in Henderson Lake in Newcomb, New York...
. Midvale is a suburb of Metropolis, more well known as the home of Supergirl
Supergirl
Supergirl is a female counterpart to the DC Comics Superman. As his cousin, she shares his super powers and vulnerability to Kryptonite. She was created by writer Otto Binder and designed by artist Al Plastino in 1959. She first appeared in the Action Comics comic book series and later branched out...
and the site of the Midvale Orphanage prior to the events of Crisis on Infinite Earths
Crisis on Infinite Earths
Crisis on Infinite Earths is a 12-issue American comic book limited series and crossover event, produced by DC Comics in 1985 to simplify its then 50-year-old continuity...
. Bakerline is another borough
Borough
A borough is an administrative division in various countries. In principle, the term borough designates a self-governing township although, in practice, official use of the term varies widely....
of Metropolis. Located north of New Troy, Bakerline is the home of newspaper reporter Jimmy Olsen
Jimmy Olsen
Jimmy Olsen is a fictional character who appears mainly in DC Comics’ Superman stories. Olsen is a young photojournalist working for the Daily Planet. He is close friends with Lois Lane, Clark Kent/Superman and Perry White...
and appears to be based on The Bronx
The Bronx
The Bronx is the northernmost of the five boroughs of New York City. It is also known as Bronx County, the last of the 62 counties of New York State to be incorporated...
.
Other boroughs and suburban areas include Queensland Park, Hell's Gate
Hell Gate Bridge
The Hell Gate Bridge or Hell's Gate Bridge is a steel through arch railroad bridge between Astoria in the borough of Queens and Randall's and Wards Islands in New York City, over a portion of the East River known...
(a reference to the Hell Gate Bridge), St. Martin's Island
Staten Island
Staten Island is a borough of New York City, New York, United States, located in the southwest part of the city. Staten Island is separated from New Jersey by the Arthur Kill and the Kill Van Kull, and from the rest of New York by New York Bay...
(a reference to Staten Island), Park Ridge, Metrodale, and Highville.
Mayors
At least three mayors are known to be considered part of Metropolis' history:- Frank Berkowitz, whose term began prior to Superman's first known public meeting with Lex Luthor as depicted in the Man of Steel mini-series by John Byrne. Berkowitz was killed by a sniper hired by Luthor years later.
- "Buck" Sackett, elected as Berkowitz's successor, and covertly Luthor's "puppet".
- Mayor Fleming, an African American female who has been introduced in Nick Spencer's Jimmy Olsen back-ups.
Metropolis Police Department
The Metropolis PolicePolice
The police is a personification of the state designated to put in practice the enforced law, protect property and reduce civil disorder in civilian matters. Their powers include the legitimized use of force...
Department possesses a Special Crimes Unit dedicated to defending the city against superhuman menaces in case Superman is absent. The unit is headed by Maggie Sawyer
Maggie Sawyer
Maggie Sawyer is a fictional character that appears in stories published by DC Comics, and has been a supporting character in both Superman and Batman comic books.-Fictional character biography:...
and Dan Turpin
Dan Turpin
Daniel "Terrible" Turpin is a character published by DC Comics. He first appeared as Brooklyn in Detective Comics #64 , and first appeared as Dan Turpin in New Gods #5 .-Publication history:...
, with both maintaining frequent contact with the Man of Steel. Another of Superman's police contacts over the years has been Inspector William Henderson
Inspector William Henderson
Inspector William Henderson is a supporting character in Superman comics published by DC Comics.Inspector Henderson first appeared in the 1940s radio series The Adventures of Superman, in which he was Superman's police contact. He was subsequently introduced in a similar role in the 1950s...
, who in the current comics is the Metropolis police commissioner. At some point during the missing year following Infinite Crisis, the division of the Metropolis Police Department dedicated to superhuman crime was renamed the Science Police, seemingly a reference to the similarly named group in the Legion of Super-Heroes' 31st Century.
Metropolis Fire Department
Post-CrisisCrisis on Infinite Earths
Crisis on Infinite Earths is a 12-issue American comic book limited series and crossover event, produced by DC Comics in 1985 to simplify its then 50-year-old continuity...
, Fireman Farrell
Fireman Farrell
Fireman Farrell is a fictional character in the DC Comics universe. He first appeared in Showcase vol. 1, #1 . Farrell was created by writer Arnold Drake and artist John Prentice.-Fictional character background:...
is shown to be a member of the Metropolis
Metropolis (comics)
Metropolis is a fictional city that appears in comic books published by DC Comics, and is the home of Superman. Metropolis first appeared by name in Action Comics #16 ....
fire department. As of Batman & Superman: World's Finest #4 (July 1999), Farrell is now a captain in the Metropolis FD.
People and culture
The people of Metropolis are depicted as a diverse group of large city-dwellers, befitting Metropolis being (within the comics) one of the country's largest and most important cities outside of New York.Media
Metropolis' premier newspaperNewspaper
A newspaper is a scheduled publication containing news of current events, informative articles, diverse features and advertising. It usually is printed on relatively inexpensive, low-grade paper such as newsprint. By 2007, there were 6580 daily newspapers in the world selling 395 million copies a...
is the Daily Planet
Daily Planet
The Daily Planet is a fictional broadsheet newspaper in the , appearing mostly in the stories of Superman. The building's original features were based upon the AT&T Huron Road Building in Cleveland, Ohio...
, one of the most renowned news organizations in the DC Universe. The city is also home to the national Newstime magazine.
Other major media located in Metropolis include WGBS-TV, flagship station of the Galaxy Broadcasting System (GBS) television network
Television network
A television network is a telecommunications network for distribution of television program content, whereby a central operation provides programming to many television stations or pay TV providers. Until the mid-1980s, television programming in most countries of the world was dominated by a small...
, both subsidiaries of media conglomerate Galaxy Communications. Popular shows included The Midnight Show Starring Johnny Nevada (a fictional version of NBC's
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
The Tonight Show
The Tonight Show
The Tonight Show is an American late-night talk show that has aired on NBC since 1954. It is the longest currently running regularly scheduled entertainment program in the United States, and the third longest-running show on NBC, after Meet the Press and Today.The Tonight Show has been hosted by...
, with Johnny Nevada being an analogue
Analogy
Analogy is a cognitive process of transferring information or meaning from a particular subject to another particular subject , and a linguistic expression corresponding to such a process...
of Johnny Carson
Johnny Carson
John William "Johnny" Carson was an American television host and comedian, known as host of The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson for 30 years . Carson received six Emmy Awards including the Governor Award and a 1985 Peabody Award; he was inducted into the Television Academy Hall of Fame in 1987...
). During the 1970s, both Clark Kent and Lois Lane worked for WGBS (after Galaxy Communications purchased the Daily Planet in a 1971 storyline), with Clark as the anchorman for the WGBS evening news (he was eventually joined by Lana Lang
Lana Lang
Lana Lang is a fictional supporting character in DC Comics' Superman series. Created by writer Bill Finger and artist John Sikela, the character first appears in Superboy #10...
as a co-anchor). After John Byrne's revamp of Superman's origins, though, Clark and Lois were reverted to working at the Daily Planet once again. Galaxy Broadcasting and WGBS-TV still exist post-Crisis, however. The station is usually used in any story where a television station is needed or shown. Post-Crisis, Clark, Lois and Lana never worked for the station. During the 1990s however, both Jimmy Olsen
Jimmy Olsen
Jimmy Olsen is a fictional character who appears mainly in DC Comics’ Superman stories. Olsen is a young photojournalist working for the Daily Planet. He is close friends with Lois Lane, Clark Kent/Superman and Perry White...
and Cat Grant
Cat Grant
Catherine "Cat" Jane Grant is a fictional DC Comics character appearing in Superman comics. She first appeared in Adventures of Superman #424 as a gossip columnist for the Daily Planet...
did work there.
Cultural, educational, and research institutions
The Metropolis Museum of Natural History was featured in the film Superman Returns.In the Silver Age comics, another major Metropolis landmark was the Superman Museum, which featured various exhibits dedicated to Metropolis' favorite superhero, Superman.
Metropolis is home to Metropolis University, of which Clark Kent is a graduate with a journalism degree. The central branch of S.T.A.R. Labs
S.T.A.R. Labs
S.T.A.R. Labs, is a fictional research facility, and comic book organization appearing in titles published by DC Comics. They first appeared in Superman vol. 1 #246 , and was created by Cary Bates and Rich Buckler.-Publication history:...
, a major scientific research institution, is also located in Metropolis.
The Daily Planet
Daily Planet
The Daily Planet is a fictional broadsheet newspaper in the , appearing mostly in the stories of Superman. The building's original features were based upon the AT&T Huron Road Building in Cleveland, Ohio...
building is a widely-recognized icon for the city, much like the Empire State Building
Empire State Building
The Empire State Building is a 102-story landmark skyscraper and American cultural icon in New York City at the intersection of Fifth Avenue and West 34th Street. It has a roof height of 1,250 feet , and with its antenna spire included, it stands a total of 1,454 ft high. Its name is derived...
for New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
.
Sports
As befitting any world city, Metropolis is represented by teams in all major-league sports. Like New York City, it is home to two teams in baseball and football. Of the two baseballBaseball
Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each. The aim is to score runs by hitting a thrown ball with a bat and touching a series of four bases arranged at the corners of a ninety-foot diamond...
teams, the Metropolis Monarchs are Clark Kent's favorite, while the other team, the Metropolis Meteors, is mentioned in 52
52 (comic book)
52 was a weekly American comic book limited series published by DC Comics that debuted on May 10, 2006, one week after the conclusion of the seven-issue Infinite Crisis. The series was written by Geoff Johns, Grant Morrison, Greg Rucka, and Mark Waid with layouts by Keith Giffen...
as having a rivalry with the St. Louis Cardinals
St. Louis Cardinals
The St. Louis Cardinals are a professional baseball team based in St. Louis, Missouri. They are members of the Central Division in the National League of Major League Baseball. The Cardinals have won eleven World Series championships, the most of any National League team, and second overall only to...
.
In football
American football
American football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...
, Metropolis is home to a team called the Metropolis Sharks (on the show Smallville) as well as the Metropolis Metros.
The city is also home to the Metropolis Generals basketball
Basketball
Basketball is a team sport in which two teams of five players try to score points by throwing or "shooting" a ball through the top of a basketball hoop while following a set of rules...
team and the Metropolis Mammoths hockey
Hockey
Hockey is a family of sports in which two teams play against each other by trying to maneuver a ball or a puck into the opponent's goal using a hockey stick.-Etymology:...
team.
Metropolis, Illinois
The real town of Metropolis, IllinoisMetropolis, Illinois
Metropolis is a city located along the Ohio River in Massac County, Illinois, in the United States. As of the 2000 census, the city population was 6,482...
, has proclaimed itself the "hometown of Superman," and celebrates its "local hero" in every possible way that it can. Among the ways it celebrates the character include a large Superman statue in the city, a Superman museum, an annual Superman festival, and its local newspaper The Metropolis Planet, a name inspired by the major newspaper in fictional Metropolis, The Daily Planet
Daily Planet
The Daily Planet is a fictional broadsheet newspaper in the , appearing mostly in the stories of Superman. The building's original features were based upon the AT&T Huron Road Building in Cleveland, Ohio...
. A version of the town has appeared in the comics itself, as a city whose citizens idolize the hero who lives in their 'sister' city.
External links
- Supermanica: Metropolis Supermanica entry on the Pre-Crisis Metropolis