Alternative versions of Superman establish a new continuity for DC, affecting not only Superman, but all of the DC Comics characters. The versions of Superman from this time period are traditionally divided into three main periods. The first version of Superman began being published by DC Comics in 1938 appearing in "Action Comics" #1. To explain discrepancies in the aging of Superman across several decades, his earliest stories were retroactively portrayed as having taken place on an alternative world called Earth-Two. These stories take place from 1938 until the late 1950s, although the exact dividing line is unclear and some stories happened identically to
Superman in film romance between Superman and Supergirl, even though the two are cousins in the comics. Warner Bros. rejected it and created their own "Superman III" film that co-starred Richard Pryor as computer wizard Gus Gorman, who under the manipulation of a millionaire magnate, creates a form of Kryptonite that turns the Man of Steel into an evil self. The retooled script pared Brainiac down into the film's evil "ultimate computer". Despite the film's success, fans were disappointed with the film, in particular with Pryor's performance diluting the serious tone of the previous films, as well as controversy over the depiction of