Superman "The Mark of Zorro" and "Robin Hood". The name of Superman's home city, Metropolis, was taken from the 1927 film of the same name. Popeye cartoons were also an influence. Clark Kent's harmless facade and dual identity was inspired by the protagonists of such movies as Don Diego de la Vega in "The Mark of Zorro" and Sir Percy Blakeney in "The Scarlet Pimpernel". Siegel thought this would make for interesting dramatic contrast and good humor. Another inspiration was slapstick comedian Harold Lloyd. The archetypal Lloyd character was a gentle man who finds himself abused by bullies but later in
Percy Frobisher Pilbeam Percy Frobisher Pilbeam Percy Frobisher Pilbeam is a fictional character in the works of P. G. Wodehouse. A journalist turned detective, he is a rather weak and unpleasant man, generally disliked by all. He appears in several novels, but is perhaps best known for his involvement with the denizens of Blandings Castle, in "Summer Lightning" (1929) and "Heavy Weather" (1933). Pilbeam is a rather slimy-looking man, with shiny black hair in a marcelled wave, eyes a little too close together, pimples and a shabby-looking moustache (which is occasionally described as "fungoid"). He has a tendency to dress in rather loud