On The Road Again: Superman

Superman Museum Metropolis, Ill.

By RAY BALOGH | The Municipal

There is a place where one can visit Superman and learn about his life. That place, unsurprisingly, is called Metropolis.

That Metropolis, population 6,106, was dubbed the “Hometown of Superman” by the state legislature on June 9, 1972, is located near the southern tip of Illinois and houses the world famous Superman Museum, which opened on Superman Square in 1993. Standing guard over the front entrance is a 15-foot bronze statue of the Man of Steel.

The museum features more than 70,000 items laboriously collected by founder Jim Hambrick, who has amassed perhaps the world’s most comprehensive collection of Superman memorabilia.

On display are samples of just about every Superman toy ever manufactured, movie props, promotional items, actors’ wigs and hairpieces, wristwatches and other collectibles, a View Master-type device shaped like a pistol and one of the only George Reeves Superman costumes still in existence. Reeves played the titular superhero on the television show, “Adventures of Superman,” which ran from 1952 to 1958.

The museum hosts about 72,000 visitors a year and has been hailed as the “No. 1 Small Town Attraction in America.” It has been featured on “Entertainment Tonight,” “Unsolved Mysteries,” “Collector’s Call,” all the major networks and other documentary and news programs throughout the world.

Hambrick is a lifelong Superman devotee, having started his collection with a Superman lunchbox his mother gave him on his fifth birthday. Riveted by the television series, he built a shrine around his lunchbox composed of crayon drawings he made in kindergarten.

During grade school, he opened the first Superman Museum in his bedroom and posted a cardboard sign on the front porch of his home, which was one block away from the elementary school. He charged a nickel for admission and made about “a buck a week.”

Several years later, Hambrick was asked to display his collection in the Daily News building in New York. Hambrick, initially apprehensive about the project, served as curator and was impressed “when the

LEFT: The 15-foot statue of the Man of Steel stands on his pedestal in front of the museum. A smaller Lois Lane bronze statue is located nearby.

(All photos courtesy of the Superman Museum)

The Superman Museum in Metropolis, Ill., houses more than 70,000 items, is open seven days a week and averages about 200 visitors a day year-round.

lines showed up, and the people, the respect they showed for these things, and the reverence they had for the stuff.”

He was contacted by DC Comics, who recommended he open his own museum and a promotional showcase for the Superman films.

Although Hambrick initially “just got off on the colors,” his most prized possession is the brown and gray George Reeves Superman created for the black-and-white television series. “George was my favorite Superman,” he said.

He also savors his possession of three Action Comics No. 1, cover dated June 1938, in which Superman made his comic book debut. All three issues are in mint condition and would each fetch more than $100,000 at auction.

One collectibles appraiser estimated the museum items’ worth at well over a million dollars. Hambrick frequently rotates the format and content of his displays to entice repeat visits.

Hambrick is now retirement age and his daughter currently serves as curator of the family-run museum.

An article about Superman is not complete without some trivia about the “strange visitor from another planet who came to Earth with powers and abilities far beyond those of mortal men” who “wages a never-ending battle for truth, justice and the American way.” • Superman, and his alter ego, Clark Kent, stands 6 foot 4 inches and weighs 225 pounds. • Clark Kent’s middle name is variously referred to as Joseph,

Jerome and Jonathan. • Superman’s Kryptonian name was Kal-El. He was born to Jor-El and Lara. • His adoptive parents were Kansas couple Jonathan and Martha

Kent. • Superman’s favorite meal was beef bourguignon with ketchup.

Action Comics No. 1,000, however, suggested Superman never needs to eat. • The “S” symbol on his suit is not a letter of the alphabet, but rather the Kryptonian symbol for hope. • Superman has died, and subsequently brought to life, several times during his comic book career. • Superman and Lois Lane tied the knot in 1996. The museum displays are divided into eras corresponding to the comic book series, television shows and movies.

The museum has a collection of nearly every toy and action figure manufactured under the Superman brand.

• There are several colors of kryptonite, each with a different effect: green (the most common type, weakens Superman during exposure); red (more potent than green and may cause mood swings and mutations); blue (effects Bizarros); white (kills plants); gold (permanently removes superpowers); silver (causes hallucinations); black (splits a Kryptonian into good and evil entities); orange (gives animals superpowers); and periwinkle (causes

Superman to lose all his inhibitions).

The Superman Museum and gift shop, 517 Market St., Metropolis, Ill., is open 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. seven days a week. Admission is $8, with children 5 and under able to enter for free with paid adult.

For more information, call (618) 524-5518 or visit supermuseum.com.