8 Times Marvel And DC Screwed Over Comic Book Creators

5. Jerry Siegel And Joe Shuster Sold Superman To DC For... $130

One of the longest running legal disputes in comics history revolves around Superman, and specifically the deal that saw creators Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster sell the character to DC for the grand sum of... $130. The estates of both families have filed repeated suits against the publisher, meaning the Man of Steel has one of the most complicated legal histories in the business.

Adjusted for inflation, the sum DC gave Shuster and Siegel for Superman was just over $2,000, but that's still a paltry amount compared to the hundreds of millions the character has generated in revenue since. They were both still well paid by DC during this time, but the sale of Superman typifies the unfairness of the industry's work for hire policies.

Siegel and Shuster created the greatest comic book character of all time, and though they were paid handsomely during their years at DC, the publisher still resorted to underhand tactics. Both creators sued their employer for denying them revenue from merchandise and other adaptations, and for also using Siegel's Superboy pitch in a different comic without his permission.

Both Siegel and Shuster encountered financial hardship in their later years, and repeatedly tried to claim the rights to Superman back, only for their names to be dropped from all Superman comics until the release of the Richard Donner movie in 1978. Warner Bros. eventually relented and gave both creators an annual pension, but neither should've had to face the kind of troubles they did.