Saturday, November 13, 2010

Untold tale of Bill Finger #6: Superman by Bill Finger

Bill Finger is best (un)known for co-creating Batman, but he contributed lasting elements to the Superman mythos as well.

Though kryptonite, Superman’s weakness, was first used on the Superman radio program, Bill was the first to include it in a comic book story; in the same story, Superman reaches perhaps an even more significant milestone: he first learns of his alien heritage. Bill also wrote the story introducing Superman’s first love, Lana Lang.

2/13/22 addendum: The stellar sleuthing of Brian Cronin determined that the first time Batman faced off against Lex Luthor without Superman (Batman #130, 1960) was written by...no drum roll needed...Bill Finger. 

3 comments:

Michael Town said...

Very cool. But it should be noted that Jerry Siegel wrote "The K-Metal From Krypton" for Superman #8 in 1940 BEFORE the radio show introduced Kryptonite. (The story was rejected, apparently because Superman revealed his secret identity to Lois)
Various artists/fans did complete the story, though, and the unpublished comic can be read at http://superman.nu/k-metal/?page=0&w=1440

Marc Tyler Nobleman said...

Good point, Michael!

Anonymous said...

Bill also wrote the Superman story introducing Lori Lemaris. He wrote some really good Superman tales.