It's for that reason, amongst others, that the Man of Steel was the first true super-hero. And he understandably created the comics industry as a profitable one instead of the paste-up reprint crap it was before him.
There's another notch in Superman's list of firsts: namely, that he was the first true phenomenon and breakout character in comic
books, which up until that point consisted of 1) reprints of strips from newspapers, or 2) strips that were indistinguishable from the strips of newspapers. In comic books, until Superman leapt over his first building, it was the same evil oriental genius, the same salty sea-dog, and the same two-fisted detective over and
over.
It wasn't just that Superman was different in formula, but he was so well received by America
for that reason. It's no exaggeration to say comic books owe their existence at least in the form they have actually taken, to him. As I recall, in one memoir read from that particular period, THE COMIC BOOK HEROES, one contemporary person wrote of Superman like this:
"Until that point, heroes were always outmatched and overshadowed by the mad scientists and oriental geniuses that dwelled in their world. Thus, when Superman appeared, the response was not, 'how original,' but rather 'of course!' "