what does the "S" mean?

Penny; a Marathon? Wow, how many Superman movies are there?

Sheldon; you're kidding, right?

(she wasn't)



It just so happens that I own all four Superman movies, and I've been having my own Superman Marathon.

For years I've assumed that the "S" logo on the front of Superman's nifty little flying suit stands for "Superman".
Probably the rest of the world thinks so too.
Or maybe it's just me.


Aaaanyway.....near the beginning of the first movie, we see Marlon Brando as Superman's father, Jor-el, in that whiter than blindingly white suit, with a very similar "S" logo on the front, while the rest of the Kryptonians*, also wearing blindingly white suits, have different logos.



So now I'm wondering just what exactly this "S" stands for?
Profession?
Senator?  Shopkeeper?  Shoemaker?  Scientist?

Family initial?
Smith?  Scott?  Stanfield?  Sheldon?

A Kryptonian version of "$"?  thereby proclaiming Jor-el the richest man on Krypton, certainly the only one rich enough to create a crystal star bubble capable of transporting Kal-el through space all the way to Earth.

(Wonder why he didn't save himself and his wife too?)

If anyone out there has any other ideas as to what the "S" means, I'm happy to listen.
No matter how fanciful those ideas may be...



Put some thought into it and let's hear those ideas, please.
*aka Planet Napisan.



Comments

  1. Hi,
    You may find this interesting:

    In the movie, Jor-El is shown wearing the iconic "S"-shield symbol as the family crest of the House of El, resembling an Earth "S" by coincidence.

    Source

    ReplyDelete
  2. People under 60 just could not imagine how wonderful Superman seemed in the far less sophisticated/jaded world children lived in pre TV.
    I just love Big Bang Theory and subscribe to the farcebook page with all their news, and just love nutty Nic Cage for naming his son after Superman.

    ReplyDelete
  3. House of El family crest = a serpent coiled inside a shield, which also happens to look like a S on earth.

    The crests of the other 2 influential families of Krypton are Pol-Us' eye of vigilance and Kol-Ar's open hand of truth and justice.

    ReplyDelete
  4. I love all the Superman movies so much. Even 3!! I wish my family had a crest.

    The old TV show was a favourite, as well as Superboy in the 80's and I've seen every episode of Smallville!

    It's no wonder I married a nerd like Sheldon:)

    ReplyDelete
  5. So we all learned something today..theres good and bad there because that means we all have to forget something to make room for the new thing...

    ReplyDelete
  6. I've always enjoyed the juxtaposition of kryptonite and superman, the way they clash. Reminds me of Pop-eye's need for spinach in reverse. No spinach and he withers. Strength and weakness symbolised.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Magsx2; I see by drb's comment further down, the "S" is actually a serpent coiled inside the shield. And sice the shield is from the House of El, I can now assume that El is the family name.

    Ann O'Dyne; I'm under 60 (not by much) and I remember buying the newest Superman comics as they came out, usually every Saturday. I remember the early TV series too.


    drb; thanks for that info. You all know so much more than me!

    Sarah; your husband is a "Sheldon"? That's cool.

    Tempo; I learn something everyday.

    Elisabeth; Popeye used to annoy me, with his cans of spinach. I always wondered why he didn't just grow a forest of it in his yard instead of tosssing empty cans all over the place. I think that cartoon was invented in an effort to get kids eating spinach, but it didn't really work.

    ReplyDelete
  8. I hadn't planned on learning anything today.

    Permission to go back to bed?

    :-)

    Pearl

    ReplyDelete
  9. My husband is nowhere near Sheldon territory which probably explains why the Superman love has escaped us.

    Not so for the Big Bang Theory, Lord of the Rings or Star Wars though.

    ReplyDelete
  10. Pearl; permission granted.

    Kath; I bought the Superman set to see if I could remember why the heck I'd liked it so much. They're okay for background noise while I'm on the computer, but I probably won't watch them again for a few years. I haven't seen all of the Star Wars movies yet. The Big Bang Theory is something I watch almost every day though.

    ReplyDelete
  11. Wow, haven't seen Superman in ages. I found Lois Lane so annoying!

    ReplyDelete
  12. Maybe they all have different Superpowers?? Not sure what the 'S' stands for if that's the case, but that would at least explain the different letters on the others!!

    ReplyDelete

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