Does Superman feature in every single episode of ‘Seinfeld’?
For a self-confessed ‘show about nothing’, the nine-year run of Seinfeld managed to pack in a colossal amount. In addition to the often surreal storylines and diverse cast of characters that came and went over the span of its 180 episodes. For eagle-eyed viewers, the show was also packed with a great deal of easter eggs and pop culture references that may go unnoticed by the uninitiated. Among the most infamous of these references is that of Superman.
The obsessions of Jerry Seinfeld, the show’s co-creator and protagonist, can be summarised with the four Cs: comedy, cars, coffee, and comic books. While the first three have been further explored in his more recent show, the aptly named Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee, all C’s feature heavily in Seinfeld. George Costanza put it best, saying, “His whole life revolves around Superman and cereal.”
A popular urban myth surrounding Seinfeld’s love for comic books is that Superman features or is referenced, in some capacity, during all 180 episodes of the hit TV show. It isn’t clear whether the show’s writers intentionally thought up 180 different Superman references or whether they occurred organically. Certainly, some Clark Kent appearances are more overt than others. For example, a Superman magnet can often be seen on the fridge in Jerry’s apartment, a subtle nod to the comic hero, whereas some episodes explicitly revolve around Seinfeld’s love for the character.
The most prominent example of these overt Superman storylines comes with the 1996 episode ‘The Bizarro Jerry’, which directly references Bizarro, the supervillain that directly mirrors Superman. If this is on the obvious end of the reference spectrum, the most obscure comes with subtle hints at the comic book character. For instance, all the way back in the pilot episode, Jerry can be seen wearing bright red and blue jogging bottoms, which has been later theorised as a tribute to the iconic blue and red suit of Superman.
For years, Seinfeld fans and comic book obsessives have delved through VHS copies, DVDs, and, more recently, streaming services attempting to pick out every single Superman reference in the show. Barry Freiman, a writer for the established fan page Superman Homepage, trawled through nine years’ worth of television and only came across 46 episodes with undeniable mention of Superman.
While this is much less than half of the total episode run, Freiman did not include the aforementioned fridge magnet or the Superman statue that appears in Jerry’s apartment – though these were not present from the very beginning of the show anyway.
So, does Superman really feature in every single episode of Seinfeld? Well, no – or, at least, probably not. Writer and producer for Seinfeld, Peter Mehlman, asserted that no effort was made to regularly include the comic book hero, saying, “He just magically appeared early in the series and evolved into a go-to guy for humour”. With 46 references in the current tally, it would take a true obsessive to try and find all 180 supposed references…not that there’s anything wrong with that.
