Superman likes Cigars, not Cigarettes

June 14th is quickly approaching, and I for one am really looking forward to the new “Man of Steel” release.  Everything about this movie feels “Right’.

It was while watching the trailer (embedded at the bottom) that I saw, for a fleeting second, the Heat Ray Eyes. 

In all the superman movies, this is never done right…..but once again, I think they pulled it off.

This also reminded me of some old Superman stuff I had seen in the past.  If you know me, you know I am OCD and can remember the craziest trivia BS out there….so it set me on the search…..the search for Superman and Cigars.

You see – I recalled seeing Superman lighting cigars with his heat vision….and it took me forever to find them again.  But here they are:

 In the first one, we have a young Clark Kent (as Superboy) lighting his father’s cigar for him.  This plays well to an interesting Superman rumor I found on the internet, that the Kent farm was actually a Tobacco Farm, and at some point in the past, there was a tie-in to Kent Cigarettes.  I would love it if someone else could find out the truth….because that really does show how times (and social norms such as smoking) have changed. 

The second picture is from Superman #163, “The Goofy Superman.  This is a silly story where Red Kryptonite exposure turns Clark Kent into a mental case, he is institutionalized. The Red K wears off, and he decides to teach a super-lesson to the cruel attendant in the asylum.  Needless to say, if jumps right out of 1963 Comics for kids.

My final piece of evidence for Supes being pro-Cigar….another frame from the Silver Age of Comics, one that Kal-El is just the kind of friend you really want to have around.  If you lay dying, on Oxygen, he’ll light your deathbed cigar for you…..to me (no joking aside) that is a hero. 

As you can see…in all the above, Superman seems to be portraying Cigars in a positive way…..so how does he feel about Cigarettes?

Or how about this screen grab from Superman II?

What I particularly like about that picture, is that I found an interesting bit about how it satisfied a contract between Warner Brothers and Phillip Morris to feature Marlboro.  While that is not unusual, the fact that I found the contract is…..you can read it HERE.

As you can see – when it comes to Cigarettes – The Man of Steel is not a supporter….but as far as he is concerned, Cigars are OK and I like that.

Smoke’m if you Got’m Folks.