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Man of Steel’s Biggest Fan — Jim Hambrick’s Superman Museum in Metropolis

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Man of Steel's Biggest Fan -- Jim Hambrick's Superman Museum in Metropolis, Illinois Houses the World's Largest Collection of Superman Memorabilia valued at over $7 Million--STORY UPDATE AND EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW

Superman is back – in a big way. June 14th marks the release of “Man of Steel” – which stars Henry Cavill as everyone’s favorite superhero from the Planet Krypton. The movie is destined to give the franchise the much-needed reboot it deserves – after the lackluster 2006 release of “Superman Returns.”

One man who is ecstatic about the Man of Steel is Jim Hambrick, - owner of the worlds largest collection of Superman memorabilia.

Hambrick showcases his Superman treasure trove at the Super Museum in – I kid you not - Metropolis, Illinois. With over a quarter-million pieces and an estimated value of between six and seven million dollars, the former Los Angeles native packed up his entire super collection into a convoy of trucks back in 1993 and moved its entire contents to Superman's home town. (Okay, it’s really just the namesake.)

That's right, Metropolis actually exists, and it's in the southernmost area of Illinois, where Hambrick owns and runs the town's very own Superman Museum.

And now with the new major motion picture MAN OF STEEL hitting theatres on June 14th, a sure thing for a worldwide summer blockbuster, Metropolis and the Super Museum are back on the map again in a very Super Way.

According to Hambrick – the buzz about Man of Steel is crazy. In fact, he heard that DC Comics co-publisher, Jim Lee, cried when he read the movie’s script. (In a good way.)

“I have never seen such positive buzz about Superman – including Death to Superman in the comic books,” Hambrick says. “The general wave of excitement is over the top. “

Insiders who work at Warner Brothers are amazingly happy about the film; ticking glowing marks about the storyline, direction, tone, and top performances by Russell Crowe, Kevin Costner, Amy Adams, and Laurence Fishburne as Perry White. (The Jimmy Olsen character has been replaced by Rebecca Buller as Jenny Olsen.)

“This isn’t a tongue in cheek kind of thing,” Hambrick explains. “This is a serious take on everything. That’s the level of appreciation the fans have – that’s its being respected again. Deservedly so with what they are doing with the story.”

Hambrick feels that the team behind Man of Steel got it right because they implemented all the needed changes. The shift in the Superman movie reflects the changes going on in world politics and technology (“Superman can’t change in a cell phone.”) “All kind of things are going on in the world and within that you got the need for change in the character of Superman,” he says.

The obvious change is the redesign of the costume – Superman no longer wears trunks; and the costume shift is a significant part of the storyline. Hambrick also thinks Henry Cavill is going to give all previous Supermen a run for their money. “The new guy’s Brit – so you’re looking at Truth, Justice and the American Way!” Adding: “Brandon Routh (Superman Returns) was doing a homage to Christopher Reeves playing Superman – this is a totally different deal. They got this right. We’re talking about these guys who did the Batman trilogy. (Producer Christopher Nolan and Dark Knight writer David S. Goyer.) They know the formula – they watched Marvel. I’m happy to say these people know what to do with it. They get it.”

The Super Museum has prepped for the release of Man of Steel: “We got a couple of display cases so when people come to the museum – they can go, ‘Wow, so this is the new guy.’” The Man of Steel addition includes an array of action figures, play sets, games, watches, ray guns, etc. “For a collector it’s kind of a woe is me kind of thing,” Hambrick says about the Man of Steel merchandise. “If you’re trying to get it all you’re going to spend $1500 to $2000. But it’s cool stuff.” Fans are going crazy for Superman; they want the T-shirts the hats, and the action figures “I have not seen this kind of resurgence for Superman – ever.”

Hambrick, who in addition to his collection is also known as the resident expert on anything 'super,' actually worked on the 2006 movie “Superman Returns” as a consultant. “I gave them some of my blueprints of the 'Fortress of Solitude' to use,” he said. 'They had nothing. I also helped them with the design work for the Daily Planet logos. I dug out a lot of my old photographs so they could do research on the Fortress.”

Incredible Features originally did a photo story on Hambrick’s Superman fervor back in 1990. Since then, his collection has grown 50 times larger. “It’s incredible - the collection is still growing,” he says. “We still get stuff in on a daily basis. We still make trades – we ship back and forth on things. I’m still in touch with all the other collectors via the Internet.”

SEE THE ENTIRE STORY AND PHOTOS IN INCREDIBLE FEATURES AGENCY SECTION


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