The long-awaited return of Superman to theaters is fast approaching. Man of Steel, the franchise's ambitious reboot, is set to premiere on June 14, and the latest trailer suggests it will be a surefire hit.
With the movie just a few weeks away, it's a good time to take a step back and look into Superman's history, which dates back to the 1930s, when Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster conceived him as a villain, bent on world domination. The character has changed a lot since his first appearance in a 1933 short story entitled "The Reign of the Superman," published in a fanzine.
In the following 80 years the superhero has been featured in countless comic books, five movies, a TV show and several cartoon series. In eight years, Superman has become a full-fledged cultural icon.
Take a look at the history of the character in the infographic below, created by 8ball.co.uk.
