Cleveland, OH
From Isabela Merced to Jerry Siegel’s home, Superman’s local ties bind him to Ohio
VIDEO: ‘Superman’ flies high in James Gunn re-imagining | Review
James Gunn’s “Superman” proves to be a movie ripped straight from a comic book in tone, humor and action. It’s definitely worth a look.
Courtesy of the James Gunn movie, the iconic pop culture character Superman is having a super-sized moment right now. By extension, so is Ohio and, in particular, the city of Cleveland.
What took so long? Given the long run of the character across television, animation and film, it feels odd that Superman is just now giving the area the spotlight given his connections to the state and city, which are numerous.
Does it ultimately matter? Given that Gunn chose to film in Ohio – Cleveland and Cincinnati, specifically – probably not to rest of America. But to Ohio movie fans? More than likely. After, all the Man of Steel has come home.
It helps that the Ohio Motion Picture Tax Credit is in place, but the efforts of the Greater Cleveland Film Commission were instrumental in luring the production to the area. Call it a homecoming that’s deserved for a number of reasons:
‘Superman’ was born in Cleveland, Ohio – it’s that simple
Metropolis, Ill. makes its faux claim to be home of Superman, but the reality is that two Cleveland teens — Joe Shuster and Jerry Siegel — created the character in Siegel’s home in Cleveland’s Glenville neighborhood. It feels rather strange that fact is just now, seemingly in this moment, being embraced nationally and — to some extent — locally.
It’s a drumbeat that started slowly when then-Plain Dealer reporter Michael Sangiacomo, who wrote a weekly comic book column, started asking the simple question: why weren’t Superman’s creators honored by their hometown. Given the character’s impact since its creation, it was a legitimate one and led to the formation the Siegel & Shuster Society, an organization dedicated to preserving the creators and their character’s legacy.
After agreeing to a deal with National Allied Publishing which was eventually acquired by Detective Comics, Siegel and Shuster signed a 10-year contract to write and illustrate the character for Detective Comics, signing away their copyright in the process just to get the characters, which they developed over the course of six years. Their first published version of Superman appeared in the book Action Comics #1. At a 2024 auction, a highly rated version of the book sold for $6 million.
Superman became an immediate phenomenon.
“He was the first superhero,” Gary Kaplan, president of the Siegel & Shuster Society, and a cousin to Jerry Siegel, said.
Less than two years after publication, the character was appearing in assorted media, with Roy Middleton becoming the first actor to portray the character at the 1939 New York World’s Fair and the legendary Fleischer shorts coming in 1941. Over the course of eight decades, he’s appeared in film, television and animated projects.
Cleveland will be home to Superman Plaza at the Huntington Bank Convention Center
The Siegel & Shuster Society has been working diligently to create a permanent memorial to Superman in the city’s downtown, and on Aug. 2 their vision becomes reality with the unveiling of Superman Plaza of the corner of St. Clair and Ontario in front of the center.
The tribute plaza will feature Superman soaring through the sky on an 18-foot pylon. It will include life-sized statues of Shuster, Siegel and Joanne Siegel, who was the inspiration for reporter Lois Lane, along with a phone booth, which served as an impromptu changing point for Clark Kent to slip into his alter ego. The exhibit is being created by Cleveland artist David Deming.
The event is scheduled from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. with Laura Siegel Larson, Jerry Siegel’s daughter, in attendance.
The group has worked to raise more than $2 million for the project. They are still short funds, but have received permission for the installation to go on and will continue to fundraise.
It’s the type of attraction that can add to the roster of reasons to tour downtown Cleveland. To a degree, Kaplan is surprised about the lag in fundraising and lackluster support from the business community.
“People can come in from Pittsburgh or Columbus or wherever and see the Plaza, and while they’re there, they may stay at a hotel if it’s just a day trip,” Kaplan said. “I mean, they can have lunch. They can spend their money here and that’s good for the economy.”
The only local politician to enthusiastically embrace the effort has been Cuyahoga County Councilman Pernel Jones Jr.
Kaplan recognizes there are more pressing priorities in Cleveland – especially given it often ranks in the Top 10 for poverty in the U.S.
“It’s a totally different category, but you can’t say we’re just going to focus on these certain things and nothing else,” Kaplan said.
Jerry Siegel’s home where Superman was created remains standing
Jerry Siegel’s boyhood home remains standing, if not a bit anonymous, when compared with another Cleveland movie home from “A Christmas Story.” The reason: the film that featured Ralphie and his friends was purchased and restored. Siegel’s home is occupied by owners who didn’t know its legacy when they purchased it, Sangiacomo said.
People would drive up, snap photos and the couple could not understand why until a group of Japanese tourists explained the home’s legacy.
“She finally went down and said, ‘OK, what’s going on? Why are you taking pictures of my house?’ And then they told her that this is where Jerry Siegel created Superman. And she went, ‘Oh my God, I had no idea.’”
People still drive by and take pictures, but the potential to make it a museum in the future is there for whomever wants to take on the task and bolster the Man of Steel’s legacy in Ohio.
Until that moment comes, the society has helped keep the property updated, including an online auction that raised featuring noted author and comic book writer Brad Meltzer that raised more than $100,000 in 2009.
Sangiacomo said the couple who lives there embraces the legacy.
“They’ve been really, really, really good about taking care of the place,” Sangiacomo said.
The importance of the home was recognized by actor David Corenswet recently, he added.
“He took his family and just as the filming ended, his family came to Cleveland to visit and they asked if they could go over,” Sangiacomo said. “They went over and they got the tour, the place where Superman was created, and he signed the guest book.”
Hawkgirl, Isabela Merced, was born in Cleveland
As Hawkgirl, Isabela Merced doesn’t get an abundance of screen time, but she makes the most of it. Not only does she get to kick some heiney, but she manages to fire off a few well-timed and, based on audience reaction at a recent screening, well-received one-liners as she plays off Nathan Fillion’s Green Lantern/Guy Gardner.
For a 24-year-old actress, Merced has a long list of credits going back as far as 2013 and including films such as “Transformers: The Last Knight,” “Sicario: Day of the Soldado” and “Alien: Romulus.”
Cincinnati’s Union Terminal appears in ‘Superman’ as the Hall of Justice
You won’t see Superman visiting the hangout of the corporate superhero crew that includes Green Lantern/Guy Gardner (Nathan Fillion), Hawkgirl (Isabela Merced) and Mr. Terrific (Edi Gathegi). Lois Lane receives the honor of visiting the infamous Hall of Justice made famous in the ABC “Superfriends” cartoon from Hanna Barbera in the 1970s. In the movies, she seeks out the help of the trio in assisting to find Superman who has been taken by Lex Luthor (Nicholas Hoult) and his merry band of Gen Z xenophobes who have a problem with Superman’s alien origins.
Its facade is featured prominently.
George M. Thomas covers a myriad of things including sports and pop culture, but mostly sports, he thinks, for the Beacon Journal.
The 2026 NBA postseason is officially underway as the Cleveland Cavaliers host the Toronto Raptors – and the Raptors have some work to do.
The Cavs started the third quarter on a 21-6 run to open up a 22-point lead after clinging to a seven-point advantage at halftime. Donovan Mitchell scored 11 points in the third, including Cleveland’s final five points of the quarter, and he leads all scorers with 24 points heading into the final 12 minutes.
As the No. 4 seed in the Eastern Conference the Cavs (52-30) have homecourt advantage in the best-of-seven series, but the Raptors (46-36) defeated Cleveland in all three regular-season matchups. However, all three of those games were played before Thanksgiving.
Continue to follow USA TODAY Sports for updates from Cavaliers vs Raptors Game 1. Want to see the full National Basketball Association schedule for April 18 and how to watch all the games? Check out our sortable NBA schedule to filter by team or division.
- Cleveland 120, Toronto 102 with 3:58 left in 4th quarter.
The Cavs opened the third quarter on a 21-6 run, including a 9-0 start out of the gate. And who’s leading the way? That would be Max Strus, who made eight points before the Raptors called a timeout at 5:37 mark. Strus has a game-high 19 points for the game.
- Points (61): James Harden 15, Donovan Mitchell 13, Max Strus 11
- Rebounds (18): Evan Mobley 4, Jarrett Allen 4, Sam Merrill 3
- Assists (12): James Harden 6, Donovan Mitchell 4
- Steals (5): Donovan Mitchell 2
- Points (54): Brandon Ingram 13, Scottie Barnes 11, RJ Barrett 11, Jamal Shead 11
- Rebounds (15): Jakob Poeltl 3, Collin Murray-Boyles 3
- Assists (16): Brandon Ingram 4, Scottie Barnes 4
- Steals (1): RJ Barrett 1
- Cleveland is 20 for 38 from the field (52.6%), 8 for 17 from 3-pointers (47.1%) and 13 for 17 from the free throw line (76.5%).
- Toronto is 21 for 40 from the field (52.5%), 8 for 15 from 3-pointers (53.3%) and 4 for 9 from the free throw line (44.4%).
Tip off between the Cleveland Cavaliers and Toronto Raptors is scheduled for 1 p.m. (ET) on Saturday, April 18.
All times Eastern and accurate as of Saturday, April 18, 2026, at 11:45 a.m.
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Brendan O’Sullivan dives into his pick and prediction for the Baltimore Orioles vs. Cleveland Guardians game on Friday, April 17.
The Orioles and Guardians play the second game of their four-game series on Friday, April 17.
Cleveland is a -143 moneyline favorite, while Baltimore is +119 on DraftKings Sportsbook. The game total is set at over/under eight runs.
Let’s get into a pick and prediction for this Orioles vs. Guardians game.
Orioles vs. Guardians prediction, preview
The Orioles had won six of seven games, seemingly finding their footing in the early portion of the season. Then, they lost two straight to the Diamondbacks, returning back to .500 heading into the weekend series. Baltimore hits the road for a four-game set against the Guardians, who have also struggled with consistency.
Cleveland is not much better, with mediocre batting and pitching. There are standout names on the roster such as Jose Ramirez, Steven Kwan and rookie Chase DeLauter, but they’re not carrying the offense enough.
The pitching is hit spotty, depending on who’s starting that day. Gavin Williams and Joey Cantillo are standouts thus far, but the rest of the rotation is unreliable. Neither of these pitchers are on the mound on Friday, putting the Guardians in danger of an offensive explosion.
Tanner Bibee is starting for the Guardians in game two of the series. He has a 6.38 ERA across four starts, pitching no further than 5.0 innings in an outing. Despite pitching the second fewest innings of the rotation, Bibee has by far the most hits allowed. Opposing teams are batting .316 against the right hander.
Despite this, the Orioles don’t have the pitching advantage. Chris Bassitt will toe the rubber for his fourth start of the season as he holds a 9.00 ERA across 11.0 innings. He hasn’t lasted more than 4.2 innings and has allowed at least six hits in each outing.
Between these two struggling pitchers, offenses may be on fire. That said, both teams have mediocre offense thus far.
Orioles vs. Guardians Pick, Best Bet
Neither of these pitchers gives me much confidence, and with that, it’s hard to bet on either team. A poor start puts a team in a hole sometimes impossible to climb out of. Rather than putting faith into either side, I’m betting against the pitching staffs.
All offense, all the time on Friday. Over. Over. Over.
Best Bet: Over eight runs (-110)
Parker Messick came so close. With three outs remaining in the game, the young southpaw had no-hit the Baltimore Orioles through eight innings. He also had only given up two free passes by walking Taylor Ward in the first and Leody Taveras in the sixth. Taveras eventually broke up the no-hit bid on the first pitch of the ninth.
Messick has dazzled for the Guardians so far this year. Until Thursday night, he had only allowed one run. That came in a solo shot allowed against the Chicago Cubs on April 5. Going into Thursday, he held a ridiculously low 0.51 ERA. He ended the no-no bid by giving up two runs in the ninth, raising his ERA to a 1.05 mark.
That number is still crazy low. Messick has been a co-ace alongside Gavin Williams for this Cleveland squad that continues to defy expectations. But Messick’s near no-no reminds MLB fans of something else.
Where Have All the No-Hitters Gone?
It feels like the no-hitter has ceased to exist, in part because it has. The last no-hitter came on a combined effort from Shota Imanaga, Nate Pearson and Porter Hodge of the Cubs. That game came on September 4 of the 2024 season. The last no-hitter pitched solo was for the San Francisco Giants with Blake Snell’s on August 2 of the same year.
There were four no-hitters in the 2024 season. Since then there have been a grand total of zero. And that’s not for lack of effort.
By far, the closest came in Los Angeles Dodgers‘ ace Yoshinobu Yamamoto’s 8 2/3 no-hitter against Baltimore last year. In what is arguably the greatest comeback ever, Orioles’ second baseman Jackson Holliday hit a ninth-inning, two-out home run to break it up before the O’s, down to their last out, managed to walk it off against the defending World Series champs.
There’s plenty of pitchers who could throw the next one. But no-hitters are fickle. They often come when you least expect it, and not always from who you’d expect. Take Snell. Many questioned his ability to go deeper than six innings because of his seeming inability to limit walks. But he managed to accomplish it on only 114 pitches.
Only time will tell if someone can get it done this season. Until then, the historic no-hitter drought marches on.
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