> Thinking of Superman's usual costume, what color is the letter "S" on his chest?And the answer: red. In the Superman series by DC Comics, the famous Superman emblem with the letter"S" is red, with a yellow background. The rest of Superman's costume includes ablue jumpsuit and red cape.Image courtesy: Amazon.comSuperman first debuted in 1938 in the first issue ofDC Comics Action Comics. However, he wasn't always the cape-wearing,injustice-fighting hero that pervades our culture today – in fact, Superman'sinception was at first one of a villain. Creators Jerry Siegel and Joe Shusterfirst imagined Superman with the publication of a 1933 short story titled "TheReign of the Superman." The titular character is a homeless man named Bill Dunn,who gets tricked by an evil scientist into consuming an experimental drug. Thedrug bestows Dunn the powers of mind-reading, mind-control, and clairvoyance.Instead of fighting crime, Dunn uses the powers maliciously, for profit andamusement. After pitching their story ideas to multiple publishers, Shuster and Siegelrealized they needed to create a more, well, heroic character for audiences toenjoy. This prompted Siegel to revisit Superman as a comic strip character.Siegel modified Superman's powers to make him even more sensational: like BillDunn, the second prototype of Superman is given powers against his will by anunscrupulous scientist, but instead of psychic abilities, he acquires superhumanstrength and bullet-proof skin. Additionally, the new Superman is acrime-fighting hero instead of a villain.The Superman franchise has since been adapted into nearly every form of mediasuch as radio, stage, film, television, and video games, to name a few. It wasSuperman who popularized the superhero genre and established its conventions. Infact, he was the best-selling superhero character in American comic books upuntil the 1980s. Learn more about this prolific hero below.