History ComicBook / ActionComicsNumber1

* BreakoutCharacter: Superman's story, which Siegel and Shuster had spent years trying to sell to no avail, wound up being used out of desperation for this magazine as a potential filler, with the publisher figuring the cover art alone could catch people's eyes. The entire 200,000-issue run completely sold out shortly after publication. And for the next 13 issues, the cover didn't feature Superman at all--but the comic was ''still'' selling like hotcakes because it just so happened that people were buying the new issues just to see if more Superman stories were included! The sheer ''idea'' of reading a new Superman story was enough to drive sales of the comics, all on the strong first impression of his debut comic! From #15 and on, they wised up and gave Superman [[SpotlightStealingSquad permanent top billing on the covers from then on out, and eventually just dropped the anthology format to make it a standalone Superman book]], even though he ended up having his own self-named comic book published and running alongside it! The rest is history.

** For example, Supes, while still undeniably a force for good, is [[GoodIsNotSoft noticeably more ruthless in his conduct here]], being perfectly willing to fling a normal human criminal into a wall like a ragdoll. The idea of using his powers to deliver crippling damage to non-superpowered foes, regardless of whether they deserved it or not, is a notion later incarnations of Superman wouldn't even ''entertain''.
*** On that note, Superman rarely sticks around after he quickly comes in and takes care of the crime and is generally regarded as a VigilanteMan with a [[ShroudedInMyth scary urban legend surrounding him]]. If anything, he functions similarly to the TerrorHero and TheCowl archetypes that most [[ProtoSuperhero Proto-Superheroes]] are usually known for during the early-to-mid 1900s. This is in contrast to how Superman would develop into a world-famous HopeBringer who always makes sure to clean up any messes he or his opponents make as best as he can.
** Also, Supes can't fly yet, instead [[InASingleBound literally leaping hundreds of feet through the air to get to places faster instead]]. {{Flight}} came about because the animators of the ''WesternAnimation/SupermanTheatricalCartoons'' found it easier to animate than the jumping, and it was later [[RetCanon incorporated into the comics]]. In fact, aside from his super strength, speed, and [[SuperToughness durability]], none of his other iconic powers (such as Heat/X-Ray vision) are shown or implied in his comic.
** None of Supes' iconic RoguesGallery shows up here. Instead, Supes spends his time [[MunDanger dealing with ordinary down-to-earth criminals instead.]] And because this was made at an extremely early point in the history of superhero comics, there isn't even an indication of [[SharedUniverse other superheroes besides Supes existing in this world]], much less a vast and sprawling continuity-heavy [[TheMultiverse multiverse]] of them that became the norm for comics over the following decades.

** On top of all that, while Superman is obviously the headlining story of the comic, it's not the ''only'' story--in fact, Superman's debut story only takes up the first 13 pages. Action Comics was planned as an anthology magazine after all, and thus several other unrelated comic stories come right after his--11 of them total!

*** On that note, Superman rarely sticks around after he quickly comes in and takes care of the crime and is generally regarded as a VigilanteMan with a [[ShroudedInMyth scary urban legend surrounding him]]. If anything, he functions similarly to the TerrorHero and TheCowl archetypes that most [[ProtoSuperhero Proto-Superheroes]] are usually known for during the early-to-mid 1900s. This is in contrast to how Superman would develop into a world-famous HopeBringer.

** For example, Supes, while still undeniably a force for good, is [[GoodIsNotSoft noticeably more ruthless in his conduct here]], being perfectly willing to fling a normal human criminal into a wall like a ragdoll. The idea of using his powers to deliver crippling damage to non-superpowered foes, regardless of whether they deserved it or not, is a notion later incarnations of Superman wouldn't even ''entertain'' the idea.
*** On that note, Superman rarely sticks around after he quickly comes in and takes care of the crime and is generally regarded as a VigilanteMan with a [[ShroudedInMyth scary urban legend surrounding him]]. If anything, he functions similarly to the TerrorHero and TheCowl archetypes that most [[ProtoSuperhero Proto-Superheroes]] are usually known for during the early-to-mid 1900s.

* OrphanageOfLove: The orphanage that Superman grew up in has got to be this in order for him to become the "Champion of the Oppressed". This is later {{retcon}} in Superman #1 as he was actually raised by the Kents instead, as the orphanage actually didn't know what to do with a child with SuperStrength and gladly gave him up for adoption by his eventual foster parents.

In addition, the magazine contains several other stories, including the western tale "Chuck Dawson", "Zatara: Master Magician", the two-page text story "South Sea Strategy", a cartoony gag story "Sticky-Mitt Stimson", a comic based on ''The Adventures of Marco Polo'', the boxing story "'Pep' Morgan", "Scoop Scanlon: Five Star Reporter", "Tex Thompson" (another western tale), with two more pages dedicated to caricatures and gag drawings.

Ever since serious comic-book collecting became a thing (around 1970), ''Action Comics #1'' has held the honor of being the Holy Grail of any collector: as of 2022 an original edition issue in good, unrestored shape with an nominal 1938 cover price tag of 10 cents may nowadays set you back well over three million dollars.

* AntiVillain: The governor's butler is a jerk who tries to kill Superman, but he's understandably spooked by Superman's powers and ruthless conduct (namely breaking and entering into his house in the dead of night) in trying to speak to the governor, believing him to be a madman trying to menace his boss. Though he quickly comes around after he realizes Superman is a force for good.

* BlackAndWhiteMorality: Even accounting for Supes' more rough conduct here, he's still unambiguously a clear cut good guy while the crooks he deals with are unquestionably evil.

* BreakoutCharacter: Superman's story, which Siegel and Shuster had spent years trying to sell to no avail, wound up being used out of desperation for this magazine as potential filler, with the publisher figuring the cover art alone could catch people's eyes. The entire 200,000-issue run completely sold out shortly after publication. And for the next 13 issues, the cover didn't feature Superman at all—but the comic was ''still'' selling like hotcakes because it just so happened that people were buying the new issues just to see if more Superman stories were included! The sheer ''idea'' of reading a new Superman story was enough to drive sales of the comics, all on the strong first impression of his debut comic! From #15 and on, they wised up and gave Superman [[SpotlightStealingSquad permanent top billing on the covers from then on out, and eventually just dropped the anthology format to make it a standalone Superman book]], even though he ended up having his own self-named comic book published and running alongside it! The rest is history.

* BullyHunter: When the story calls Superman "Champion of the Oppressed", it isn't kidding. For example, the moment Supes gets word of a wife being assaulted by her husband, he ''immediately'' [[BigDamnHeroes springs into action to come to the ladies rescue]], and promptly [[PayEvilUntoEvil mops the floor with her husband]].

** [[InvertedTrope Inverted]] soon afterward, as Superman is the one smashing up the crooks car with his super strength.
* {{Cliffhanger}}: The story concludes with Clark being given the assignment to go to the war-torn San Monte, but first, he goes to Washington, D.C., where he spies a slick lobbyist, Alex Greer, trying to convince Senator Barrows to involve the U.S. in a war with Europe. As Superman, he goes and grabs Greer, and then demands to know who he's working for. Greer refuses to talk, so Superman jumps up to the top of the Capitol building, and teases Greer by making a seemingly dangerous leap (that the reader knows they'll survive), with the story cutting off right there. [[ComicBook/RevolutionInSanMonte The next issue of Action Comics would follow right up on this story thread]].

* EarlyInstallmentCharacterDesignDifference: While Superman certainly isn't unrecognizable in this tale, his costume has a more muted color to it, and his iconic chest symbol hadn't been set in stone yet.

*** On that note, Superman rarely sticks around after he quickly comes in and took care of the crime and is generally regarded as a VigilanteMan with a [[ShroudedInMyth scary urban legend surrounding him]]. If anything, he functions similarly to the TerrorHero and TheCowl archetypes that most [[ProtoSuperhero Proto-Superheroes]] are usually known for during the early-to-mid 1900s.

** Likewise for Lois Lane during her date with Clark. When a gangster named Butch decides to cut in during their dance and starts getting pushy, Lois slaps the jerk across the face and, not long after, chastises Clark for his supposed cowardice. That firmly establishes her ActionGirl tendencies, her "take no crap" attitude and her [[TwoPersonLoveTriangle dynamic with Clark Kent and his Superman identity]]. Even earlier on, she implies she wishes to advance in her career as a reporter and stop writing "sob stories", establishing her as an IntrepidReporter.

* ExperiencedProtagonist: Its implied that Superman has already had some experience with superhero antics before the story of this comic, though not to the extent of him being a household name yet.

* ShootingSuperman: In the URExample for the series, the butler Superman encounters early on tries to do this out of fear, but to his shock, the bullet doesn't even make him flinch, much less harm him. The abusive husband also tries to stab Superman with a knife, but the blade simply shatters upon contact with his skin, prompting the guy to [[FaintInShock faint out of fear]]. To be fair, this is before Superman became a household name in-universe, so it's understandable that they wouldn't know he couldn't be hurt by their weapons.

Ever since serious comic-book collecting became a thing (around 1970), ''Action Comics #1'' has held the honor of being the Holy Grail of any collector: as of 2022 an original edition issue in good, unrestored shape with an original 1938 cover price tag of 10 cents may nowadays set you back well over three million dollars.

Ever since serious comicbook collecting became a thing (around 1970), ''Action Comics'' has held the honor of being the Holy Grail of any collector: as of 2022 an original edition of a [[ComicBook/ActionComicsNumber1 number 1 issue]] in good, unrestored shape may set you back well over three million dollars.

Ever since serious comicbook collecting became a thing (around 1970), ''Action Comics'' has held the honor of being the Holy Grail of any collector: an original edition of a [[ComicBook/ActionComicsNumber1 number 1 issue]] in good, unrestored shape will set you back well over three million dollars.