The newest Superman movie, Man of Steel, hits theaters today, so how could June’s Icons project focus on any other character?

Superman is, quite simply, my favorite fictional character. There’s something grand and powerful about him that not everybody seems to understand and not every writer can capture… when it’s captured well, though, there is simply nothing better than a great Superman story. 2013 marks his 75th anniversary, and a great number of actors have played the Man of Steel, but only five have actually made it to movie theaters. So next week, we’ll look at them:

• Kirk Alyn: Superman (1948 theatrical serial)
• George Reeves: Superman and the Mole-Men (1951)
• Christopher Reeve: Superman (1978)
• Brandon Routh: Superman Returns (2006)
• Henry Cavill: Man of Steel (2013)

This is even a little more exciting to me than usual actually, since as I post this I have not yet seen Man of Steel and have no idea what the final article in this little experiment will read. (If you have seen it, don’t tell me anything. Anything. I swear, I will cut you.)

So since we’re spending next week with the world’s first superhero, who exactly is he?

The Character:

Kal-El is the last son of the doomed planet Krypton, sent to Earth as an infant by his father Jor-El moments before his world’s destruction. On Earth he is found and raised by a kindly farming couple and given the name “Clark Kent.” As he grows, he discovers incredible powers which he swears to use to protect mankind in a neverending battle for truth, justice, and the American way.

And oh, goodness, I’m excited for this. See you Monday.