Has anyone read phillip wylie's gladiator?

[RonFez.net]

I read the book just because people say the main character its what Siegel and Shuster based some of superman on.  Has anyone else read it?  If so what did you think about?

I found it an interesting read for the story as well as to see its influence on superman.  It probably convinced superman's creator's give him a civilian identity.  One especially influential part occurs towards the end when Hugo Danner lifts a taxi above his head just like Superman would in action comics #1.  I think the second half also really influenced golden age superman's crusading.

[Permanus]

No, I've never read it, but I've always been curious about it. I started reading Howard Chaykin's adaptation a few years ago, but somehow missed the end - it was a bit angst-ridden.

[Great Rao]

I've read it a few times a while ago and remember liking it very much, which is why the book is in the Gift Shop.  I felt like Superman had been taken to the next level of realism, with the main character having much more internal debates and exploring different options about the purpose of his powers.

I disagreed with the apparent philosophical message of the ending, however, and planned to write a sequel to correct it.

[MichaelBailey]

No, I've never read it, but I've always been curious about it. I started reading Howard Chaykin's adaptation a few years ago, but somehow missed the end - it was a bit angst-ridden.

I found this back in 1997.  Great book.    And the original is seriously angst ridden, but an interesting if not a bit heavy on the "women will just ruin ya" stuff.

There is a bit of controversy about how much Gladiator influenced Siegel.  At the time (in the forties) Siegel claimed to never have read the book but I believe someone was able to dig a review or some mention Siegel made of it in a fanzine.  There was a really nice article about this in an issue of ALTER EGO a few years back. 

Fun fact: Iron Munro from Roy Thomas' Young All-Stars was the son of Hugo Danner.  I actually found those issues quite by coincidence in the same used book store I found Gladiator.