Superman Statue

Metropolis was founded in the 1830s on the banks of the Ohio River, long before Superman existed, its name chosen to suggest the great city its founders hoped it might become. When the Superman comics introduced the fictional city of Metropolis as the hero's home in the late 1930s, the real Illinois town found itself sharing a name with one of the most famous places in American popular culture.

For decades the coincidence went largely unremarked, but in the 1970s the town formally embraced it, and the state of Illinois recognized Metropolis as the official hometown of Superman. Since then the town has built its identity around the hero, filling its downtown with Superman touches and welcoming fans who make the pilgrimage to the one place on the map that truly is Metropolis.

The main Superman statue that stands downtown today is a large bronze figure erected in the early 1990s, replacing an earlier, smaller fiberglass version. Painted in the hero's classic colors and standing in his familiar confident pose, it towers over visitors and makes an irresistible photo, drawing a steady stream of travelers to pose at the feet of the Man of Steel.

The statue anchors a downtown that plays up the Superman theme at every turn, from a nearby statue of Lois Lane to murals, signs, and shops. It is the sort of place where the whole town is in on the fun, and the good-humored commitment to the theme is a large part of the charm. Standing beside the towering hero is a quintessential road-trip moment.

Just off the square, the Super Museum houses a remarkable private collection devoted to Superman, one of the largest anywhere. Its rooms overflow with comic books, toys, costumes, props, movie memorabilia, and rare artifacts tracing the hero's long history across comics, radio, television, and film. For fans it is a treasure trove, and even casual visitors find the sheer depth of the collection impressive.

The museum captures how thoroughly Superman has woven himself into American culture since his debut in 1938, when he became the first great comic-book superhero and helped launch an entire genre. Seeing the character's evolution laid out in one place, from the earliest comics to modern films, gives visitors a deeper appreciation of the hero the town has adopted as its own.

Metropolis rewards a visit beyond the Superman sights. It is a small, friendly river town on the Ohio at the very bottom of Illinois, and each June it hosts a large Superman celebration that fills the streets with costumed fans, comic guests, and festivities. The event has become a highlight of the fan calendar and a boon to the town.

The surrounding region adds natural beauty to the pop-culture fun. The Shawnee National Forest and the Shawnee Hills, with their bluffs, forests, and rock formations, lie a short drive north, and the Ohio and Mississippi rivers frame this corner of the state. A trip to see Superman can easily grow into a broader exploration of southern Illinois, one of the state's most scenic and least expected regions.

The closest Boutel™ stays, so you can turn this stop into an overnight. Each is an independently owned, editorially selected place to stay.