The Fortress of Solitude is the secret headquarters of Superman. A place of solace and occasional headquarters for Superman, the fortress is typically depicted as being in frozen tundra, away from civilization. Its predecessor, Superman's "Secret Citadel", first appeared in Superman #17, where it was said to be built into a mountain on the outskirts of Metropolis. By issue #58 (May–June 1949) it is referred to as the Fortress of Solitude, seems at a glance to be a freestanding castle, and is said to be located in a "polar waste". When the Fortress reappears in 1958 and for the first time takes center stage in a story ("The Super-Key to Fort Superman", Action Comics #241), it is again an underground complex in a mountainous cliffside.
Traditionally, the Fortress of Solitude is located in the Arctic, though more recent versions of the Superman comics have placed the Fortress in other locations, including the Antarctic, the Andes, and the Amazon rainforest. The general public in Superman's world is either unaware or at best only vaguely aware of the existence of the Fortress, and its location is kept secret from all but Superman's closest friends and allies (such as Lois Lane and Batman). A trademark of the Fortress is that it contains a memorial statue of Jor-El and Lara, Superman's Kryptonian parents, holding a large globe of Krypton. Although Superman has living quarters at the Fortress, his main residence is still Clark Kent's apartment in Metropolis. The arctic Fortress of Solitude concept was first created for pulp hero Doc Savage during the 1930s.
On Earth-One, the Fortress of Solitude was an immense compound housed within the interior of a mountain range in an isolated region of the Arctic, 130 miles south of the North Pole. This was the private sanctuary of Superman. When constructing the Fortress, Superman took special precautions to ensure that only he could ever enter the sprawling edifice. Access to the Fortress was granted by way of a giant, metal arrow-shaped key which was designed to look like a luminous marker from above to guide passing aircraft over the Arctic.
The key itself was located on the peak of a hillock several miles away. Only a person possessing superhuman strength would be strong enough to lift the key. They would then require a means of transporting it across the windy tundra, and hefting it up into the giant-sized keyhole at the front door of the Fortress.
Layout
- Vestibule: The foyer chamber of the Fortress contained a giant statue memorializing Superman's birth parents, Jor-El and Lara. The two renowned Kryptonians were poised holding onto an effigy of Superman's destroyed home world of Krypton.
- Armory: Superman maintains a hidden armory vault inside of the Fortress. In the vault are various weapons and firearms confiscated from alien cultures on past missions.
- Batman's Room: This was a privately locked chamber containing various souvenirs acquired during his many adventures with his good friend, the Batman. Many of the souvenirs contained within the Batman room were similar to that found in Batman's own sanctuary, the Batcave. The room also contained a life-size statue of Batman.
- Crime Lab: Superman maintained his own highly advanced forensics laboratory equipped with various computerized devices including a lightning fingerprint classifier, an electronic clue analysis machine, and a crime probability detector. A monitoring station was likewise in place, enabling Superman to keep abreast of events taking place across the globe. The crime-lab also featured several lead-lined vaults, where Superman would experiment on samples of Kryptonite in the hopes of finding a way to reverse the minerals lethal effects.
- Trophy Room: One of the larger sections of the Fortress, this room contained various trophies and souvenirs from Superman's terrestrial and off world adventures. Each item in the trophy room boasted a placard indicating the name or case file germane to the adventure in question. A private hall within the trophy room contains lead lined-statues of members of Superman's Kryptonian family.