As any red-blooded American kid knows, Clark Kent is really Superman. He lives in Metropolis and works for the "Daily Planet". (He also knows that Lois Lane must be dumb as a stump not to be able to recognize her hero through his mild-mannered, horn-rimmed veneer.) Of course, the places and persons depicted in D.C. Comics, Superman are strictly fictitious...or are they?

     The "Daily Planet" building in Metropolis, for instance, is easy to recognize from the globe mounted on top of the gothic skyscraper--a feature shared with another building somewhat associated with the newspaper business, The New York Times Building, on Broadway's Times Square.

     I understand that the globe was almost removed from the building a few years ago, on the grounds that it was structurally unsafe and a public hazard. New Yorkers were outraged and protested (as only they can...bless their 7 million or so little hearts), and as far as I know, the globe still stands. After all, "You don't tug on Superman's cape..."

Acknowledgments: 47, 48

© Russ Brown, 1998