III. Serpents, Swords, and Metafiction
Do you remember the bat symbol from Tim Burton’s first Batman film? If you look closely, it resembles a set of teeth. Similarly, if you observe Superman’s emblem, it looks like a serpent. The difference is that no one has ever written a story in which Batman’s symbol is inspired by a denture, at least as far as I know.
The first example comes from The Kents #4, written by John Ostrander, in which one of Jonathan Kent’s ancestors is wounded, and his future wife presents him with a blanket bearing the symbol embroidered on it:
An ironic decision on Ostrander’s part, considering that one of the possible origins of the name “Iroquois” is the French transliteration of irinakhoiw, meaning “serpent,” a term their enemies used as an insult.
The second example is drawn from The Last Days of Krypton, a novel written by Kevin J. Anderson and published in 2008:
As you can see, it refers to the Kryptonian symbol of the House of El. Why an alien culture would employ a concept so deeply rooted in terrestrial Abrahamic religious tradition—such as the Serpent of Deceit—remains a mystery we may never be able to unravel.
During the tortuous development of what eventually became Superman Returns by Bryan Singer, J.J. Abrams wrote a script for a film called Superman Flyby, and while screenplays for unproduced movies may be outside the scope of this writing, Abrams deciding to give each yellow part of the emblem a distinct meaning was too interesting and peculiar to not include:
Another instance appears in the Smallville episode “Rogue,” where we are shown a chest plate supposedly worn by Alexander of Macedonia during his conquests:
The Sword of Superman, a story by Elliot S! Maggin in Superman Annual #10, offers a more… esoteric origin for the “S.” In this version, the symbol represents the aforementioned Sword of Superman, which has existed since the beginning of time and is a fundamental part of the universe and its Creator:
Which subconsciously influenced Pa Kent when he designed the emblem:
One final version of the symbol: a visualization of Superman’s meaning as envisioned by Grant Morrison. It first appeared in the DC One Million crossover and later made a special appearance in All-Star Superman:
Its symbolism, as explained in the Absolute All-Star Superman edition:
To conclude, I leave you with this infographic showcasing the symbol in all its highly trademarkable splendor throughout the years. Originally created by Maurice Mitchell, with a small update added by me:
(Special thanks to Jason Powell for his help.)
