Uploaded November 2022 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
In 1973, plans were in place to build the theme park called Amazing World of Superman in Metropolis, Illinois. Despite a lot of excitement around the building of the park, it never happened. The reason? A war in the middle east and gasoline prices.
Dive into the story of the Amazing World of Superman and discover Metropolis, IL, its ups and downs, and how this small American town became the official hometown of Superman.
#superman #history #comics
---------------------------------------
Chapters:
00:00 - Intro
08:08 - Chapter 1: A Natural Spot...
17:22 - A Note on Context
18:34 - Chapter 1 Continued
22:21 - Chapter 2 : Who is Bob Westerfield?
39:54 - Chapter 3: A Political Weapon
54:55 - Chapter 3: What happened to Superman's Amazing World?
01:03:01 - Chapter 4: Legacy
-----------------------------------------
Visit the Super Museum in Metropolis, IL:
supermuseum.com
-----------------------------------------
Books researched for this video:
Amazing World of Superman - tinyurl.com/ydzrzx6c
Metropolis - tinyurl.com/yavhvcxy
The Global Cold War - tinyurl.com/r59n4wy
History of Massac County Illinois - tinyurl.com/5n8y64zz
Academic Paper used for this video:
Oil and Geopolitics: The Oil Crises of the 1970s and the Cold War - jstor.org/stable/24145533
Yom Kippur War videos:
youtube.com/watch?v=82-lmGuTl_I
youtube.com/watch?v=dmDaB81MEQ0
Sources used for this video:
theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/1979/05/metropolis-supertown/664951
comiccoverage.typepad.com/comic_coverage/2008/06/a-superman-theme-parkwith-plenty-of-parking.html
comiccoverage.typepad.com/comic_coverage/2008/06/superman70-a-tour-of-supermanland.html
roadsideamerica.com/story/2090
http://superman.nu/fos/superworld/
thecaucusblog.com/2019/12/truth-justice-and-american-way.html
cbr.com/we-lost-out-on-the-amazing-world-of-superman
gizmodo.com/metropolis-the-real-life-town-that-superman-couldnt-s-1172537331
allthatsinteresting.com/colossus-of-rhodes
designingdisney.com/parks/disneyland-resort/grand-opening-disneyland
variety.com/2015/biz/news/disneyland-60th-anniversary-1955-opening-1201539907
skift.com/2015/07/17/what-happened-when-disneyland-opened-in-california-60-years-ago
babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=uc1.c3323767&view=1up&seq=6
anaheim.net/156/The-1950s---1980s
fiftiesweb.com/pop/prices-1955
illinoispolicy.org/story/metropolis-caught-between-history-fantasy-and-reality
southernillinoisrailroads.com/icdepots/metropolis-illinois-central-railroad-station.html
metropolisplanet.com/news/before-it-was-honeywell/article_ecb2639c-9085-5bce-a0c7-653d7bc5ccbe.html
upi.com/Archives/1983/05/22/Supermans-hometown-victim-of-kryptonite/9572422424000
nytimes.com/1972/08/08/archives/superman-rescues-metropolis-again-once-again-superman-comes-to.html
ilga.gov/house/transcripts/htrans77/HT042572.pdf
aljazeera.com/features/2018/10/8/the-october-arab-israeli-war-of-1973-what-happened
history.state.gov/milestones/1945-1952/truman-doctrine
https://americancentury.omeka.wlu.edu/files/original/60e94905a0e02050a5b78f10b1b02b07.jpg
opec.org/opec_web/en/about_us/24.htm
history.state.gov/milestones/1969-1976/salt
history.com/topics/middle-east/yom-kippur-war
history.state.gov/milestones/1969-1976/oil-embargo
federalreservehistory.org/essays/oil-shock-of-1973-74
automobile-catalog.com/car/1973/204515/chevrolet_monte_carlo_s_350-4_v-8_turbo-fire_hydra-matic.html#gsc.tab=0
www2.census.gov/prod2/popscan/p60-093.pdf
census.gov/quickfacts/metropoliscityillinois
metropolisplanet.com/news/metropolis-marks-50-years-of-superman/article_1392f1d5-7c5f-5c81-b287-21f07d17868f.html
dqydj.com/historical-home-prices
census.gov/data/tables/time-series/dec/coh-values.html
------------------------------------
Follow US 101 on social media:
Twitter: twitter.com/usahistory101
Instagram: instagram.com/usahistory101
------------------------------------
Cinematic (Sting) by Twin Musicom is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 license. creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
Artist: twinmusicom.org
In 1973, plans were in place to build the theme park called Amazing World of Superman in Metropolis, Illinois. Despite a lot of excitement around the building of the park, it never happened. The reason? A war in the middle east and gasoline prices.
Dive into the story of the Amazing World of Superman and discover Metropolis, IL, its ups and downs, and how this small American town became the official hometown of Superman.
#superman #history #comics
---------------------------------------
Chapters:
00:00 - Intro
08:08 - Chapter 1: A Natural Spot...
17:22 - A Note on Context
18:34 - Chapter 1 Continued
22:21 - Chapter 2 : Who is Bob Westerfield?
39:54 - Chapter 3: A Political Weapon
54:55 - Chapter 3: What happened to Superman's Amazing World?
01:03:01 - Chapter 4: Legacy
-----------------------------------------
Visit the Super Museum in Metropolis, IL:
supermuseum.com
-----------------------------------------
Books researched for this video:
Amazing World of Superman - tinyurl.com/ydzrzx6c
Metropolis - tinyurl.com/yavhvcxy
The Global Cold War - tinyurl.com/r59n4wy
History of Massac County Illinois - tinyurl.com/5n8y64zz
Academic Paper used for this video:
Oil and Geopolitics: The Oil Crises of the 1970s and the Cold War - jstor.org/stable/24145533
Yom Kippur War videos:
youtube.com/watch?v=82-lmGuTl_I
youtube.com/watch?v=dmDaB81MEQ0
Sources used for this video:
theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/1979/05/metropolis-supertown/664951
comiccoverage.typepad.com/comic_coverage/2008/06/a-superman-theme-parkwith-plenty-of-parking.html
comiccoverage.typepad.com/comic_coverage/2008/06/superman70-a-tour-of-supermanland.html
roadsideamerica.com/story/2090
http://superman.nu/fos/superworld/
thecaucusblog.com/2019/12/truth-justice-and-american-way.html
cbr.com/we-lost-out-on-the-amazing-world-of-superman
gizmodo.com/metropolis-the-real-life-town-that-superman-couldnt-s-1172537331
allthatsinteresting.com/colossus-of-rhodes
designingdisney.com/parks/disneyland-resort/grand-opening-disneyland
variety.com/2015/biz/news/disneyland-60th-anniversary-1955-opening-1201539907
skift.com/2015/07/17/what-happened-when-disneyland-opened-in-california-60-years-ago
babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=uc1.c3323767&view=1up&seq=6
anaheim.net/156/The-1950s---1980s
fiftiesweb.com/pop/prices-1955
illinoispolicy.org/story/metropolis-caught-between-history-fantasy-and-reality
southernillinoisrailroads.com/icdepots/metropolis-illinois-central-railroad-station.html
metropolisplanet.com/news/before-it-was-honeywell/article_ecb2639c-9085-5bce-a0c7-653d7bc5ccbe.html
upi.com/Archives/1983/05/22/Supermans-hometown-victim-of-kryptonite/9572422424000
nytimes.com/1972/08/08/archives/superman-rescues-metropolis-again-once-again-superman-comes-to.html
ilga.gov/house/transcripts/htrans77/HT042572.pdf
aljazeera.com/features/2018/10/8/the-october-arab-israeli-war-of-1973-what-happened
history.state.gov/milestones/1945-1952/truman-doctrine
https://americancentury.omeka.wlu.edu/files/original/60e94905a0e02050a5b78f10b1b02b07.jpg
opec.org/opec_web/en/about_us/24.htm
history.state.gov/milestones/1969-1976/salt
history.com/topics/middle-east/yom-kippur-war
history.state.gov/milestones/1969-1976/oil-embargo
federalreservehistory.org/essays/oil-shock-of-1973-74
automobile-catalog.com/car/1973/204515/chevrolet_monte_carlo_s_350-4_v-8_turbo-fire_hydra-matic.html#gsc.tab=0
www2.census.gov/prod2/popscan/p60-093.pdf
census.gov/quickfacts/metropoliscityillinois
metropolisplanet.com/news/metropolis-marks-50-years-of-superman/article_1392f1d5-7c5f-5c81-b287-21f07d17868f.html
dqydj.com/historical-home-prices
census.gov/data/tables/time-series/dec/coh-values.html
------------------------------------
Follow US 101 on social media:
Twitter: twitter.com/usahistory101
Instagram: instagram.com/usahistory101
------------------------------------
Cinematic (Sting) by Twin Musicom is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 license. creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
Artist: twinmusicom.org
