Superman's Fortress of Solitude

Updated 08/30/19 - Dork Note: Superman's Fortress of Solitude is not as cool as the Batcave but it is a SUPER close second!
Clipped from Wikipedia: The concept and name "Fortress of Solitude" first appeared in the Doc Savage pulps in the 1930s and 1940s. Doc Savage built his Fortress of Solitude in the Arctic and retreated to it alone in order to make new scientific or medical breakthroughs, and to store dangerous technology and other secrets.

Clipped from Wikipedia: Superman's "Secret Citadel", first appeared in Superman #17, where it was said to be built into a mountain on the outskirts of Metropolis.

Clipped from Wikipedia: By issue #58 (1949) it is referred to as the Fortress of Solitude and said to be located in a "polar waste." However, the Fortress does not actually make an on-stage appearance until the story "The Super-Key to Fort Superman", published in Action Comics #241 (1958)

Clipped from Wikipedia: Built into the side of a steep cliff, the Fortress was accessible through a large gold-colored door with a giant keyhole, which required an enormous key to open it. The arrow-shaped key was so large that only Superman could lift it; when not in use, the key sat on a perch outside of the Fortress, where it appeared to be an aircraft path marker. This was until a helicopter pilot followed the direction of the arrow straight to the entrance of the Fortress, forcing Superman to develop a mirage-ray to camouflage the entrance and key (which now hung on brackets on its side beside the door) and to ensure the Fortress's secrecy.

Dork Note: The door and key being made.

Fun Fact: Superman established an undersea Fortress of Solitude - hollowed out of the side of an undersea cliff - in September 1958. The undersea Fortress, which is reportedly located at the bottom of the Sargasso Sea at 28 degrees North latitude, 50 degrees West longitude, is stocked with numerous exotic ocean relics and is equipped with sophisticated monitoring apparatus to enable Superman to keep abreast of events occurring throughout the seven seas. Superman later abandoned the undersea Fortress and the structure is now used by the mer-people of Atlantis as a showplace and a tourist attraction.
Fun Fact: According to Action Comics #261, Superman first established a secret Fortresses in outer space and at the center of the Earth before settling on an Arctic location. This assertion is unsupported by other texts.

Fortress of Solitude Blueprints over the years:

Fortress of Solitude Area - 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.

Fortress of Solitude Area - 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.

 

Fortress of Solitude Area - 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.

Fortress of Solitude Area - 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.

Fortress of Solitude Area - Zoo: Superman maintained an elaborate game preserve filled with various interplanetary animals. Many of the animals found in the zoo were either representatives of an endangered species, or the last surviving specimens of destroyed worlds. As Superman's own home world was destroyed, he shared a special bond with these creatures. Occasionally, some of the animals would escape from the zoo, but Superman always labored to keep them healthy and secure.

Fortress of Solitude Area - Hangar: A special hangar bay exists containing a vertical shaft, which leads directly through the upper levels of the Fortress to the top of the mountain. Inside the hangar, Superman maintains a mid-sized space ship and the Supermobile.

Fortress of Solitude Area - Hobby-room: When Superman needed to relax, he retired to his hobby room, where he enjoyed creating paintings and sculptures using his heat vision in place of a brush or cutting knife. He also enjoyed playing chess with robot servants on a giant man-sized chessboard. The individual game pieces could only be moved with someone of super-strength.

Fortress of Solitude Area: Diary or Big Book Room

Fortress of Solitude Area: (Super) Man-Cave

Fortress of Solitude Area: Bottle-City of Kandor

Fun Fact: Even though Krypto preferres the seclusion of his own private Doghouse of Solitude, Superman maintained a secondary resting place for the pooch-of-steel inside the Fortress.

 

Fortress of Solitude: Toy Set

Fortress of Solitude: Fan Creations