Superman's various birth dates

[DochaDocha]

Well, Leap Day is one of them. What are all the ones you remember off the top of your head?

Happy one of Superman's birthdays.

[Jim Kelly]

Captain Marvel, by tradition, also celebrates his birthday on February 29th--as per the Super DC Calendar for 1976. It's impossible to know what actual day Kal-El was born according to an Earth calendar--you'd have to be an Einstein to work it out and I'm not sure even he would know--it's all relative.

Pre-Crisis, Clark and his adoptive parents celebrated the day he landed on Earth as his birthday--that being June 18th, according to the calendar. Which just happens to be Paul McCartney's birthday.

Happy Birthday Big Red Cheese and Man of Steel!

[Ascended]

I have no idea where it came from, might just be my own imagination, but I could swear Clark's birthday was said to be December 1st, somewhere.

Or was that Nightwing?

[Kuwagaton]

https://www.cbr.com/superman-leap-da...ic-book-story/

It makes perfect sense for Superman because the whole idea with his growing up is that his real birth is essentially not part of his life. It also makes sense that Shazam goes and borrows the same date lol.

Of course Superman is the guy who's come everywhere from being hatched in front of Martha to being a fully grown man, so birth is really tricky. Typically he's up to toddler but by the time he can figure out his birthday anyway it's pretty moot. I haven't seen another actual birth date, but there is the anniversary of his landing. Action #241 was on sale April and cover dated June just like the first issue twenty years before it, so I find that neat.

Happy birthday Clark!

[superduperman]

I have no idea where it came from, might just be my own imagination, but I could swear Clark's birthday was said to be December 1st, somewhere.

Or was that Nightwing?

Johns SO was the one that established his B-Day was on Dec. 1. Have no idea if that's some significant date in Superman lore or just something Johns came up with on his own.

[Jim Kelly]

In the John Byrne MAN OF STEEL, there was a winter storm that isolated the Kent farm from everyone else, during which time the baby was supposed to have been born. I think that's right--I'm going on my own memory here--so Kal-El had to arrive in the winter months in that post-Crisis version.

[Tzigone]

Neat thread. I like learning all the different dates (I'd heard June 18 and February 29 before, but not Dec. 1). Does anyone have a preference? For me, birthdates for characters aren't really important, but I sometimes prefer one just because I read it first, and am just used to it. Does anyone know which was the very first birthdate we learned for Superman and when we learned it?

[kingaliencracker]

February 29th was the date established in For The Man Who Has Everything, which by consensus is generally recognized as one of the greatest Superman stories of all-time. So I'm going with that date.

[Vordan]

I like it being Leap Day myself, although is that meant to be the day he was born on Krypton or the day the Kents found him?

[Jim Kelly]

The out of story reason for February 29th, I've always understood, is that neither Superman nor Captain Marvel ever really age--so if they celebrate a birthday only every four years, they don't age as fast.

[Jon Clark]

I like it being Leap Day myself, although is that meant to be the day he was born on Krypton or the day the Kents found him?

It was the date that corresponded to when he was born on Krypton, I think. The June 18th was "Clark's" birthday and was the day the Kents found him in the rocket.

My guess is that Superboy determined exactly how long it was between his birth and his arrival on Earth and it worked out in Earth terms to roughly X years, 3 months and 18 days. And counting back that put his birthdate on February 29th (what ever year it was having been a leap year).

I'm pretty sure someone actually gave a Kryptonian date at some point, but it wouldn't have been a date that always would be February 29th since Krypton had longer years. It would be like being born today on Mars where in one Martian year it would not be February on Earth- so depending on which planet's calendar you used your birthday would either occur every 365 days (February 29th) or every 687 days (so January 17, 2022 for your first birthday) by Earth's calendar. And if there was a calendar for Mars you'd either celebrate twice during it's "year" (if measuring every 365 days) or once every Martian year (which would be same Martian day but a different Earth day each time)

[Kuwagaton]

It makes sense if he calculated his birthday landing on an Earth day that was Feb 29, but it's weird if he had a birthday given to him on Earth and then switched lol.

In the John Byrne MAN OF STEEL, there was a winter storm that isolated the Kent farm from everyone else, during which time the baby was supposed to have been born. I think that's right--I'm going on my own memory here--so Kal-El had to arrive in the winter months in that post-Crisis version.

Yeah I think the idea was that it was the beginning of winter since they didn't make it back to town for a while, but it's at least vague enough to stretch since Feb could still have a snowstorm anyway.

[DochaDocha]

Well, someone at DC Entertainment celebrates Feb 29 as Supes' birthday.

Screenshot_20200301-102126_Yahoo Mail.jpg

[Ascended]

Johns SO was the one that established his B-Day was on Dec. 1. Have no idea if that's some significant date in Superman lore or just something Johns came up with on his own.

So the date that's been rattling around in my head came from SO?

Ew.

[superduperman]

Neat thread. I like learning all the different dates (I'd heard June 18 and February 29 before, but not Dec. 1). Does anyone have a preference? For me, birthdates for characters aren't really important, but I sometimes prefer one just because I read it first, and am just used to it. Does anyone know which was the very first birthdate we learned for Superman and when we learned it?

My birthday's in June so I prefer a June birthday. I see it as he was born on our Feb. 29 but arrived on Earth in June so, not having anything else to go on, the Kents gave him a June birthday.