In 1933, teenage science fiction buffs Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster published the illustrated short story "The Reign of the Superman" in self-published fanzine "Science Fiction: The Advance Guard of Future Civilization." He wasn't a good guy -- much closer to Nietzsche's "ubermensch" -- instead a bald, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Reign_of_the_Superman#/media/File:Reign_of_the_Superman.jpg" target="_blank" target="_blank">telepathic villain</a>. But that soon changed. In June 1938 the "Man of Steel" arrived in "Action Comics (#1)" (pictured), complete with red cape, super strength and an unwavering moral code. One of America's greatest exports, he's featured in everything from WWII propaganda grabbing <a href="https://www.cbr.com/punch-a-nazi-15-times-superheroes-fought-fascism/" target="_blank" target="_blank">Hitler</a> by the scruff of his neck to teaching children in <a href="https://www.gettyimages.co.uk/license/51616729" target="_blank" target="_blank">Kosovo</a> about the dangers of landmines.