New Delhi: The other day, my friend had to attend a fancy dress party and the theme for the evening was superheroes.
Talk of comics and the mind is flooded with those images from the Marvel-DC universe - Superman, Batman, Spiderman, Daredevil, Wonderwoman, Wolverine, Hulk, the list goes on.
"So, what do you think I should be," he asked. Pop came the answer, "Superman, ofcourse." The first and by far the best comic book superhero created by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster, "I would die to be Superman," I said.
Die 'to be' Superman or was it die 'for being' Superman? I thought. Wasn't I just being paranoid?
The answer to that may or may not be a 'Yes'. Afterall, isn't there something known as a Superman curse...a series of misfortunes hit people involved in adaptations of Superman in various mediums.
The curse has particularly plagued actors who have played the role of Superman on film and television. These include the infamous tragedies of Superman actors George Reeves and Christopher Reeve.
Superman actor Christopher Reeve, who was paralysed after a horse riding accident in 1995, died in June 2004. In 1959, George Reeves, who played the man of steel in various TV series and movies, was found dead with single gunshot wound to his head.
Others like Kirk Alyn, who bagged the title role in the 1948 serial Superman, played minor supporting roles in several low-budget films before getting his big break. However, after the serial ended, he failed to sustain a film career and retired to Arizona.
Dean Cain, who played Superman in the TV series in the 90s, became completely invisible after the series ended. Others supposedly hit by the curse include Richard Pryor, who appeared in Superman III. He died of multiple sclerosis.
Brandon Routh, who plays Supermanin the 2006 film Superman Returns recently had a bad accident when he fell off his motorcycle.
In the league of Lois Lanes who claim the Superman association led to misfortunes is Kate Bosworth. She blames the Superman curse for her split with beau Orlando Bloom.
According to contactmusic.com, Bosworth was initially reluctant to star as Lois Lane in the movie.
Margot Kidder, who played Lois Lane in the most recent movies suffered from intense bipolar disorder. She went totally insane and used to shave her head with a Bowie knife.
Marlon Brando, who played Superman's biological father in Supermanin 1978, underwent various personal tragedies later in his life.
Lane Smith, who played Clark Kent and Lois Lane's boss in the television series, was diagnosed with the rare Lou Gehrig's Disease in April 2005 and died of the disease in 2005.
Three years after comedian Richard Pryor starred as a villain in 1983’s Superman III, he was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis. He died of cardiac arrest in 2005.
Superman co-creators Siegel and Shuster suffered in the sense that they had to sell their billion-dollar creation to DC Comics for a mere $130.
Max and Dave Fleischer, founders of Fleischer Studios that produced the original Superman cartoons, began feuding with one another and their studio slumped financially until they were forced to sell to Paramount Pictures.
The widow of Christopher Reeve, Dana Reeve, was diagnosed with lung cancer in 2005. This was despite the fact that she was a non-smoker. She died 2006 at the age of 45.
Those who disagree that such a curse even exits argue that several Superman-related actors, such as Teri Hatcher and Bud Collyer, had their career's soaring after their stint with the series.
However, even as the debate on whether or not the Superman curse exists continues, I thought it was best that my friend switched to being a Spiderman instead. Hope there's ain't a web of misfortune on that...
As for our reigning Superman, Brandon Routh, I guess we'll just have to wait and see if fate will indeed be routh-less to him.
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