How old is Superman?

[Kuwagaton]

Yeah we've gotten away from the times where it would be taboo to have a lead character past 30 and right, it doesn't change Superman anyway.

I imagine the earliest Superman wasn't much older than his creators, but that was back when moving out from home and receding hairlines were both very common for those in their early 20s. These days you have tons of working professionals who didn't start on their career path before 25.

Continuity wise, we've also advanced... to the point where all you have to know is NOT contained in the current run. But people have so many resources and often like researching to the point where you can partially excuse creators for skipping the leg work. CoIE and the following timeline would be completely different if executed now.

[Jim Kelly]

I get the feeling there was a time in this great land when people put more stock in older men. So even though it doesn't say so, Superman and Batman were probably supposed to be somewhat older. I just prefer them to be as young as possible at the start, so I can fit in more of their lives when thinking about their history.

Minus Jon Boy, Superman doesn't have to be old. If he is old, then where are the adventures he had? I don't like these big gaps. I prefer to think he left Smallville at 18 and started his adventures as Superman. By his early twenties, he was a reporter at the Daily Planet and he joined the Justice League. Other than his kid, there's no reason for him to be over thirty.

[Tzigone]

So even though it doesn't say so, Superman and Batman were probably supposed to be somewhat older.

I don't know about Superman. And I don't think they ever really had firm ideas, early on. But Batman's parents were killed "15 years ago" early on, so he wasn't more than 30, and maybe as young as 25 (kids' ages in comic books are always hard to tell, but he looked too tall to be younger than 10 to me). In his first appearance he was also called Gordon's "young socialite friend."

I've heard ideas varying for mid-20s to mid-30s for Superman and Batman in the Silver Age. Not sure if Wonder Woman was ever allowed to be that old (looking). Seen less info on her. There certainly seemed to be some issues with Barbara aging, but then she has to be younger than Batman, so that figures in.

[Jackalope89]

I don't know about Superman. And I don't think they ever really had firm ideas, early on. But Batman's parents were killed "15 years ago" early on, so he wasn't more than 30, and maybe as young as 25 (kids' ages in comic books are always hard to tell, but he looked too tall to be younger than 10 to me). In his first appearance he was also called Gordon's "young socialite friend."

I've heard ideas varying for mid-20s to mid-30s for Superman and Batman in the Silver Age. Not sure if Wonder Woman was ever allowed to be that old (looking). Seen less info on her. There certainly seemed to be some issues with Barbara aging, but then she has to be younger than Batman, so that figures in.

Diana being an Amazon, I just go with the whole "getting to a certain age and then not physically aging" sort of deal.

As for Clark, somewhere in his 30s-40s. Depending on how long he and Bruce have known one another (and yes, I do have Bruce pegged as an older guy).

[Tzigone]

Diana being an Amazon, I just go with the whole "getting to a certain age and then not physically aging" sort of deal.

Maybe. I don't know that it was ever brought up in the early days. Then the yearly JSA/JLA meetings came around. But I'd say she aged at same rate as everyone else (including Steve) when off the island.

As for Clark, somewhere in his 30s-40s. Depending on how long he and Bruce have known one another (and yes, I do have Bruce pegged as an older guy).

Me too. At least 40 when he meets 10-year-old Damian. Probably a few years older. And Selina close in age to Bruce. Lois close in age to Clark. I do tend to think of Clark as within 3 years of Bruce's age. Of them being peers. But I'm using bits from various continuities, not just the current one, so I know I'm not accurate.

[Adekis]

I figure Superman is as old as he's drawn. There were a few Rebirth stories where despite the fact that in the Lois & Clark mini he was clearly in his mid to late 40s, I thought he looked early-thirties at the oldest. During most of Rebirth I thought of him as his mid-to-late thirties, but somehow between Bendis' writing and the art he goes for, I see him back in his late 40s again starting with Bendis' The Man of Steel.

Which frankly, there's a way of writing "older Superman" that I can dig and a way I dislike. The first issue of Superman Beyond has this super great Superman who's aware of his responsibilities and ready for action, despite looking like he's in his mid '50s (if, you know, a really healthy mid 50s) and being in writing much older! And All-Star Comics from the '70s or '80s gives a similar vibe! But Bendis just makes Superman seem so bland to me, with a kind of alleged "maturity" that largely bores me, making Superman seem dispassionate about the Never-Ending Battle.

But then, my absolute favorite Superman design is Mike Grell's Superboy, who looks like a young man in his early 20s, and often seems a little shorter tempered than Superman is sometimes considered to be. I also love the New 52, and I'm quick to point out that Siegel frequently describes Superman as a "young man" in the Golden Age... So of course to keep in perspective, it makes sense to me that there's a lot of ways of doing "older Superman" that I have trouble with, when I keep in mind that my "platonic ideal" of Superman is very young.

[seismic-2]

In the "Lois and Clark" mini-series (right after Convergence, when we had 2 Supermen), the pre-Flashpoint one admitted to Lois that he could tell he wasn't quite as strong and fast as he used to be. Not by much, but at least enough that he could notice.

[Jim Kelly]

The reason I think he was older at different times in the past is that it seems like different generations would value one age over another. So in the hungry thirties, the young people probably looked up to the men who had fought in the war as being true heroes. But maybe once the Second World War started then those young soldiers became the new heroes. But by the 1950s, those men were in their thirties and forties. And Superman seems to be around that age at that time.

However in the 1960s, we were told not to trust anyone over thirty and being younger was more greatly valued. So I think that's why in 1970, most of the male JLAers were all supposed to be 29, so they could fit under that thirty year age limit.

[Jackalope89]

In the "Lois and Clark" mini-series (right after Convergence, when we had 2 Supermen), the pre-Flashpoint one admitted to Lois that he could tell he wasn't quite as strong and fast as he used to be. Not by much, but at least enough that he could notice.

That was because he and Nuperman had the whole "Superman Red/Superman Blue" thing going. Then they performed the Fusion Dance and became Superman once more.

[Ascended]

That was because he and Nuperman had the whole "Superman Red/Superman Blue" thing going. Then they performed the Fusion Dance and became Superman once more.

We also can't forget that Convergence Clark had Jon much older than the current mainstream version either. By the end of post-Crisis Clark had to be in his mid-30's if not a little older, spent a year or two on Convergence world, then spent ten years hiding in the New52. So he was pushing 50, maybe even past that age (depending on how old you think he was at the end of post-Crisis). But after Reborn, he had Jon much younger, so he's not as old as his Convergence counterpart even though Jon was still ten.

I imagine the earliest Superman wasn't much older than his creators, but that was back when moving out from home and receding hairlines were both very common for those in their early 20s.

Agreed. He looked (to modern eyes) like he'd be in his 30's or 40's (maybe even 50's) back in the Golden Age, which meant he was probably supposed to be in his 20's, and probably not much older than 25 at most. He likely was supposed to be close in age to S&S.

We age a lot better now than we used to, I guess.

If you go back to stories from the 30's-40's-50's, you'll also notice that Clark is drawn, by today's standards, as a little.....chunky. He doesn't have huge muscles and rock-hard definition, he's actually got a little bit of dad-bod going on. But in the 50's, that looked pretty ripped (or I guess the term today is swole?).

[superduperman]

The pre-Crisis timeline was actually a lot more stable than anything done since. There were clearly defined ages for certain points in his life. He came to Earth at about two. Started his career as Superboy at eight. Went off to college and became SuperMAN his senior year. And his "modern" adventures take place at 29. For all the popularity of the post-Crisis Superman, his history was really unstable. Particularly the missing years he went off to find himself or whatever before he came to Metropolis.

[stargazer01]

I prefer a Supeman who is a bit older around 30. I don't like it when he's drawn too young because he looks like a boy. I want him to look like a MAN.

[bat39]

I don't know about Superman. And I don't think they ever really had firm ideas, early on. But Batman's parents were killed "15 years ago" early on, so he wasn't more than 30, and maybe as young as 25 (kids' ages in comic books are always hard to tell, but he looked too tall to be younger than 10 to me). In his first appearance he was also called Gordon's "young socialite friend."

I've heard ideas varying for mid-20s to mid-30s for Superman and Batman in the Silver Age. Not sure if Wonder Woman was ever allowed to be that old (looking). Seen less info on her. There certainly seemed to be some issues with Barbara aging, but then she has to be younger than Batman, so that figures in.

Golden Age Bruce was definitely in his early to mid-20's in the earliest stories. Thomas and Martha were killed "15 years ago" and Bruce was no older than 10 at most. Earth Two continuity later gave Bruce a birth year of 1915, making him around 24 when he first put on the cowl - which is pretty consistent with what Kane/Finger established originally, and actually holds up pretty well even today.

Clark's age was never pinned down in the early stories, but it was clear that he was a young man, and almost certainly under 30. Secret Origins # 1 later established Earth Two Clark's rocket as having landed on earth early in WW1, so a 1914 birth year makes sense.

The characters remained pretty ageless thereafter, and we were only ever vaguely told that they had been famous for 'years'. The first time we were given an indication as to how long it'd been in-universe was in the first Red Hood story, published in 1951, where it was said that Batman chased Red Hood into the Ace Chemical Factory 'ten years ago' - for the first time establishing Bruce as having been Batman for at least a decade, and putting him in his early thirties. But Robin remained roughly around the same vague age - only possibly ageing up from around 8-10 to maybe about 12-13 by the 50's.

The next major 'progression of time' for Batman was Dick leaving to go to college. That made him 17-18, and meant that Batman had been around for at least 7-8 years, if not longer. And this was not a development which could easily be ignored, like a single line of dialogue, but a permanent change in status quo.

Ultimately, the sheer number of Robins and Batgirls, and their backstories, kinda forces Bruce to be older. Compressing all that into five years made the New 52 continuity impossible.

Superman, by contrast, didn't really have to contend with the progression of time much...at least not up until the marriage to Lois. But its Jon's birth, and him being a 10 year old kid, that really forced Superman to age...ironically just after a period of time when DC was obsessed with making Superman younger.

[Jon Clark]

The next major 'progression of time' for Batman was Dick leaving to go to college. That made him 17-18, and meant that Batman had been around for at least 7-8 years, if not longer. And this was not a development which could easily be ignored, like a single line of dialogue, but a permanent change in status quo.

Ultimately, the sheer number of Robins and Batgirls, and their backstories, kinda forces Bruce to be older. Compressing all that into five years made the New 52 continuity impossible.

Superman, by contrast, didn't really have to contend with the progression of time much...at least not up until the marriage to Lois. But its Jon's birth, and him being a 10 year old kid, that really forced Superman to age...ironically just after a period of time when DC was obsessed with making Superman younger.

Well technically Supergirl put Superman in the same boat in the Silver/Bronze Age, we just never had the stories focus on it. Kara had been around 15-16 when she arrived and was at least 22 (I think 24 was stated but not sure where) by Crisis. Since she didn't arrive until Clark was already established as Superman (so at least 22 most probably closer to 25)- Superman's stated age seemed at odds with Supergirl's career length.

[bat39]

Well technically Supergirl put Superman in the same boat in the Silver/Bronze Age, we just never had the stories focus on it. Kara had been around 15-16 when she arrived and was at least 22 (I think 24 was stated but not sure where) by Crisis. Since she didn't arrive until Clark was already established as Superman (so at least 22 most probably closer to 25)- Superman's stated age seemed at odds with Supergirl's career length.

Right...totally forgot Supergirl!

Well, Supergirl was around 15 when she first arrived on earth, and I think was a college student in her early twenties by the end of the Pre-COIE era, so I guess that means somewhere between 5-8 years passed in the interim. Which kinda works with the age of 29 that Superman was given during the Bronze Age - if you assume he became Superman around the time he graduated from college at 21-22 and it had been about 7-8 years.

But Supergirl's ageing was something that only really became a factor towards the end of the classic continuity, and as you mentioned, how that changed her equation with regards to Superman was never really delved into much. So in general, Superman had been vaguely around 'for years', while in Batman's case, it was a little easier to put a number to it because of Robin.