Joseph J. Jerome

Revision as of 15:51, 11 July 2005

A man who spent twenty-five years on a desert island with only animals as companions. He would spend his days telling stories of Superman to the animals, but amazingly the man was unaware that Superman was in fact real or that the stories which he told were the actual exploits of the Man of Steel. In May 1975 "Joey" Jerome is telling his animal friends of Superman's effort to disarm a "solar bomb" unware that as his story unfolds the events he describes are actually unfolding nearby. When Superman stumbles upon Jerome on his island, Jerome exclaims, "Superman! But you're a figment of my imagination! You don't really exist." Once Superman learns of Jerome's amazing ability to tell his adventures as they happen he ask Jerome to resume his story and tell the animals how he deals with the bomb. As Jerome continues his tale Superman flies off and carries out his actions just as Jerome describes them as he first prevents a swarm of navy jets from detonating the bomb in a misguided attempt to destroy it and then draws the bombs across the time barrier before it detonates.

Jerome who had originally chosen to live on the island decides it is time to return to civilization. After an interview with Clark Kent, Superman's alter-ego, Kent theorizes to Jerome:

     It may be that your unconscious mind is closely
"tuned in" with the progress of events so that you
have the ability to figure out what will happen next
on earth from what's happened already! Take the fact 
that you knew about Superman--even though you were
lost before he made himself known--there were reports
of a Superbaby 25 years ago--just like reports of
flying saucers today--! You just realized the baby
would one day grow to be a man and go public!

Superman then arranges a new job for Joey telling stories to children at a children's zoo where he is billed as "Uncle Joey Jerome World's Greatest Storyteller." (Act No. 447: "The Man Who Created Superman!")