Was Superman originally created as social justice commentary?

The answer

Superman's creators, Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster, were sons of Jewish immigrants from Lithuania and Ukraine, growing up in Depression-era Cleveland. When Superman debuted in Action Comics #1 in June 1938, he was billed as 'Champion of the Oppressed.' His first adventures had nothing to do with supervillains - he saved a wrongly convicted woman from death row, stopped a wife beater, and exposed a corrupt senator. Siegel and Shuster channeled their immigrant experiences and faith in FDR's New Deal into a character who fought systemic injustice. With Hitler's rise in Europe threatening their families' homelands, they created a hero who defended the powerless, making Superman one of comics' most political creations.