A Cleveland commission has approved plans to build a giant monument to Superman on the city’s lakefront, complete with a stainless steel statue and “Kryptonite” crystals.
The initial plan was presented by artist David Deming, who proposed a 13ft-tall stainless steel statue of the comic book character mounted on a 36-ft-high pylon. He also planned to have a collection of large-scale crystals purportedly from Kryptonite – the rocks from the Man of Steel’s home planet – on the plaza surrounding the statue.
“This is going to be an awesome addition,” said commission member Lawrence Lumpkin, who chaired Friday’s meeting, according to the local Plain Dealer.
Some commission members raised concerns about the risks surrounding the statue, which would have sharp geometric edges and a high base. Others said they thought the support pylon too large, and that it would overshadow the statue.
Deming agreed to address the concerns and alter his plan. He already made changes to his design earlier this year, tiling the comic-book hero’s cape “to visually identify this as Superman, but also not to load up with ice and snow falling off it”.
“I twisted the torso more so the ‘S’ [on Superman’s chest] would be more prominent,” he said, according to the Plain Dealer.
The city has laid claim to the fictional character and decided to honor him because he was conceived by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster, who met as students at the city’s Glenville high school in 1933. The plaza will also host sculptures of the creators and Shuster’s wife, Joanne, who was the original model for Lois Lane, Superman’s love interest, according to the Plain Dealer.
The monument, which will cost approximately $3m, will be funded by a private, nonprofit group. Construction of the statue will begin after the completion of a $33m pedestrian bridge, scheduled to be finished in 2017, connecting the northern end of the downtown mall to attractions at the North Coast Harbor.
This tribute, while unique, is not the first of its kind. Many cities have erected statues in honor of fictional characters. A two-ton, 10-foot statue of Rocky Balboa, the hero boxer of the eponymous film series, has stood by the Philadelphia Art Museum for more than two decades; Lewis Carroll’s White Rabbit, Mad Hatter and Alice have met atop a Wonderland toadstool in New York’s Central Park for more than 50 years; and London and Moscow have respectively honored Sherlock Holmes and the devil’s assistants at locations from famous literary works.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
