National Superman Day is celebrated every year on June 12 to honor the creation of the famous superhero, fondly known as the "Man of Steel."

DC Entertainment declared June 12 as Superman Day in 2013. The day was initially called "Man of Steel day," but was later changed to "Superman Day." The superhero was created for DC Comics by writer Jerry Siegel and artist Joe Shuster, and first appeared in Action Comics, no. 1, in June 1938. The character was initially supposed to be a bald telepathic villain, who wanted to dominate the world, but the writers instead created a superhero character wearing a blue uniform with a flowing red cape.

DC Comics describe Superman as "Faster than a speeding bullet, more powerful than a locomotive… The Man of Steel fights a never-ending battle for truth, justice, and the American way. The Man of Steel is the ultimate symbol of truth, justice, and hope. He is the world's first Super Hero and a guiding light to all."

Here are five quotes about the "Man of Steel," courtesy Brainy Quotes -

  • "For a lot of people, Superman is and has always been America's hero. He stands for what we believe is the best within us: limitless strength tempered by compassion, that can bear adversity and emerge stronger on the other side. He stands for what we all feel we would like to be able to stand for, when standing is hardest." — J. Michael Straczynski
  • "The first Superman film took up a huge chunk of our lives, but it was a wonderful time for us. We were young, my daughter was little, we were filming in London for a year, so we became like a close family." — Margot Kidder
  • "What makes Superman a hero is not that he has power, but that he has the wisdom and the maturity to use the power wisely. From an acting point of view, that's how I approached the part." — Christopher Reeve
  • "I grew up watching 'Superman.' As a child, when I first learned to dive into a swimming pool, I wasn't diving, I was flying, like Superman. I used to dream of rescuing a girl I had a crush on from a playground bully." — Tom Hiddleston
  • "When I first found out that Superman wasn't real, I was about maybe eight. And I was talking to my mother about it. And she was like, 'No, no, no. There's no Superman.' And I started crying. I really thought he was coming to rescue us. The chaos, the violence, the danger. No hero was coming." — Geoffrey Canada
Superman
A Superman figure from the original set of the "Seinfeld" television comedy series is seen on display at Hulu's "Seinfeld: The Apartment", a temporary exhibit on West 14th street in the Manhattan borough of New York City, June 24, 2015. Reuters
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