Superman logo

Superman Shield
The Superman "S" shield.
Publication information
Publisher	DC Comics
First appearance	Action Comics #1 (June 1938)
In story information
Type	Emblem
Element of stories featuring	Superman

The Superman shield, also known as the Superman logo, is the iconic emblem for the fictional DC Comics superhero Superman. As a representation of one of the first superheroes, it served as a template for character design decades after Superman's first appearance. The tradition of wearing a representative symbol on the chest was mimicked by many subsequent superheroes, including Batman, Spider-Man, the Fantastic Four, Green Lantern, the Flash, Wonder Woman, Hawkman, and many others.

In its original inception in Action Comics #1, Superman's symbol was a letter S with red and blue on a yellow police badge symbol that resembled a shield. The symbol was first changed a few issues later in Action Comics #7. The shield varied over the first few years of the comics, and many times was nothing more than an inverted triangle with an S inside of it.

The shield first became a diamond in the Fleischer cartoon serial Superman. It was black with a red S outlined with white (or occasionally with yellow). The S has varied in size and shape and the diamond shape containing it has also changed size and shape. Extreme examples of this would be the very large logo on the Dean Cain costume from the television series Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman and the comparatively small version of the shield as depicted in the 2006 film Superman Returns. It has, in most incarnations, retained its original color, while changing shape here and there. The classic logo is the basis for virtually all other interpretations of the logo.