For Metropolis’ Man of Steel, 8 Feet of Fiberglass
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METROPOLIS, Ill. — The town that adopted Superman as its favorite son years ago has put a statue of the Man of Steel on the county courthouse lawn.
The eight-foot-tall fiberglass statue depicts Superman in blue tights and a red cape. The Man of Steel stands atop a three-foot brick pedestal and looks down the main street of town.
The statue unveiled Friday joins the community’s other reminders of the comic book hero--Superman portraits on its water towers, the street called Lois Lane and the newspaper named the Planet.
The Massac County town is the only known Metropolis--earthly home of the fictional character from the planet Krypton--in the United States and declared itself Superman’s hometown in 1972, Mayor Richard Corzine said.
“Superman has been very good for Metropolis,” Corzine said. “He tends to be a pretty good image for us. We have a lot of people drive by the mayor’s office and ask where Superman is and where they can get souvenirs.”
But until a group spearheaded by two local businessmen began plans for it a year ago, there was no statue.
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