The 'S' on his chest (What do you think it is?)

[Doug Barr]

What do you think it is?(The 'S') Would Superman be concieted enough to put a big S on his chest, signifying that he should be called "Superman"? Or did someone see that symbol, assume it was an S, & assume also that it stood for Superman?
   In the 1st movie, all the kryptonians in the council had a similar symbol on their chests. It appears that people on Krypyon wear a family crest on their clothes, much like Scottish Clans have their own patterns, or colors. I like to think the 'S' looking symbol is Kryptonian for 'EL'. which, I believe is Kryptonian for "stars". I have heard that Kal-EL means 'star-child' in Kryptonese, & Jor EL "Star-man". Since it would have been sort of wierd to call a grown man called  star-child, I like to think Kal-EL would have become a 'JOR-EL' at age 18 maybe, & that his father had once been a Kal-EL himself.
   Before 'Superman 2' came out, I was thinking that Zod & his crew would somehow reach earth, See a man with the family crest of their old enemy on his Kryptonian outfit, & know from that that this was the heir to Jor-EL.  It didnt happen quite that way, Luthor had to tell them about Kal-El (& just how he knew all he did was, well,murky, to say the least)
   I have heard a rumor that Richard Donner, director of the 1st film (in my mind, the better film by far) was working on the 2nd when he was replaced by Richard Lester ('A Hard Days Night'). The Donner version, I hear, will be re-constructed & come out soon. Maybe the Villians DO recognize him by the crest in that version. I hope so.It would go along with a plot-line I am working on.

 I didnt mean to imply Superman was being concieted. I was saying, rather,  that it wasnt an 'S' at all- thats all I meant to say. People saw an 'S' on his shirt, believed it stood for 'Superman', & Kal-EL just went along with it, cause it made us happy.  And it strikes me as a very good idea that the Kryptonians might have family crests on their clothes, & that Jor-EL was so well known on Krypton  that if a Kryptonian somehow made it to this planet, as Kara, Zod, & the Kandorians have, they would know who it was they were talking to when they met Kal-EL

[MatterEaterLad]

It didn't kill me that the Kryptonian symbol was introduced in the movies, but frankly, I don't mind that Superman or Martha Kent decided on an "S" for Superman, it doesn't seem that more conceited than calling yourself "The Flash" or "Dr. Fate", and seems similar to sports uniforms or circus performers being called "The Great" or "The Magnificent"...

[Doug Barr]

I didnt make myself clear. I wasnt saying he was being concieted. I was saying that we were mis-interoerting the S symbol, that it didnt stand for superman at all

[MatterEaterLad]

Sure, no problem...

I prefer the "S" standing for Superman, but if the symbol being Kryptonian works for others, that's fine, I can see how it can be useful for a plot line...it seemed like a clever idea in the movie.

Its just that it looks like an "S" to me, and that's what Siegel and Schuster and their editors meant.

[JulianPerez]

I think I know exactly what the S-shield is.

It's a cellophane throwing net! Remember how he threw it at the villains, wrapping them in his s-shield? Though everybody gets a good laugh out of the "cellophane S-shield" (wasn't that a joke on the SIMPSONS or something?) I thought that was pretty neat, because it took something decorative and gave it a purpose; it's there for a reason other than just to look pretty.

Plus, it's neat that Superman makes the occasional use of gimmicks and surprises instead of just traditional use of his powers.

How many functions has Batman's utility belt buckle been stated as having? Over the years it's been a remote to control the Batmobile, a wheel to loop his batrope through, a radio communicator, a pull out light beam...I'm sure others can think of more. Perhaps the explanation for this is, that Batman's belt buckle is sort of like the big hangar bay on the space shuttle: it is a "variable mission payload," and Batman slips behind the buckle whatever he needs at any given time.

[KavMan]

Do you remember when Superman dropped Lois Lane off at her apartment in the first movie, Lois said to herself

"What a super-man (pause - think) Superman, hummmmmmm"

That was how he got the name in the movies.

In Lois and Clark's pilot, Martha Kent sewed the crest (which was in his spaceship - as a baby), but again it was Lois who came up with the name. Jimmy Olsen said to her, when Superman dropped her off at the daily planet, "what does the 'S' stand for?"

And Lois, without noticing that she said it said "Super"

[cK]

[King Krypton]

I side with the Kryptonian glyph idea. It has more meaning and depth if it's a remnant of his heritage than just something he whipped up out of thin air. Plus, it also has the added element of showing this was his destiny, which you wouldn't have otherwise.

[Super Monkey]

The actual answer:

https://www.supermanthroughtheages.com/Costumes/designed.php