The First Superman: Getting To Know Doc Savage
 |
| Doc Savage |
The news that Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson will play the role of superhero Doc Savage in a live-action film has got fans of the movie muscleman excited. Yet many of the younger generation are probably wondering who this legendary character is. Heck, even I wasn't too familiar with Doc Savage, other than the fact that there was once a movie released in 1975 and a Batman crossover written by Brian Azzarello.
Yet, as I dove into this character, I found that Doc Savage was extremely popular back in the day and was considered the original Superman. Doc made his debut in 1933, whereas the Man of Steel was originally released by Action Comics in 1938. Created by the trio of Henry W. Ralston, John L. Nanovic and Lester Dent, and first published by Street & Smith in 1933, Clark Savage, Jr., known all over the world as the Man of Bronze, had absolutely no superpowers whatsoever. Yet the man had a particular set of skills that would classify him as the baddest black ops guy ever!
So Who Is Doc Savage?
Doc Savage was an actual doctor as well as a scientist, inventor and explorer. In his origin story, a team of scientists brought together by Doc's father trained Savage's mind and body to near-superhuman abilities from the moment he was born. Savage had above-average strength and a pro-athlete level of endurance. He developed a photographic memory and had extensive knowledge of all the sciences. And he's also a master at hand-to-hand combat.
