Perry White is the longstanding (and longsuffering) editor in chief of the Daily Planet, the number one source for breaking news in Metropolis. He is a demanding, albeit fair leader, a man who doesn’t compromise his morals, has high expectations for the paper, and unflappable journalistic integrity.

Though he’s best known in comics, Perry was originally created by George Putnam Ludlam for The Adventures of Superman radio show. Voiced by Julian Noa, Perry White was introduced in the second episode, which aired in February 1940. A few months later Jerry Siegel and Wayne Boring brought Perry into comics in Superman #7 (November 1940).

In Superman’s earliest comics, Clark Kent and Lois Lane worked with editor George Taylor at the Daily Star newspaper. Once Perry White joined the Man of Steel’s comics, the ace reporters were on the staff of the Daily Planet under the well known editor.

In later issues, it was revealed that before he became the Planet’s editor in chief, Perry was a freelance journalist who wrote for Gotham City’s Gotham Gazette and other newspapers. When Perry went to work for the Daily Planet, he interviewed Superboy and won his first Pulitzer Prize for the piece. Through his investigative skills, Perry was the one to break the story that Superboy had moved from Smallville to Metropolis. Soon his hard work earned Perry the position of editor in chief when George Taylor retired.

Like many DC characters, Perry White’s continuity changed following Crisis on Infinite Earths. Perry was born in the Suicide Slum area of Metropolis and grew up without a father because his went missing during a war. He went to school with Lex Luthor and his career started as a copy boy for the Daily Planet. Years later, Lex wanted to diversify his business portfolio, so he bought the Daily Planet and he asked Perry to become a part of his new TV station. Perry refused the offer and found an investor to save the Daily Planet from becoming Lex’s tool. He was named managing editor, and it created tension between Perry and Lex.

The Daily Planet became a quintessential newspaper that reported stories about Superman’s heroics, covered attacks from supervillains, alien invasions, and the shocking stories when Superman died and when he returned. As the paper’s managing editor and then editor in chief, Perry led a talented group of reporters that included Lois and Clark, plus Jimmy Olsen, Cat Grant, Steve Lombard, Ron Troupe, and others.

Perry married Alice Spencer and had a son, Jerry White, but in a truly soap opera level story, Perry learned that he wasn’t Jerry’s father – Lex Luthor was. Despite being angry at the betrayal, he stayed with Alice and raised Jerry as his own. Years later when his Jerry was killed by a gunshot wound, Perry took a leave of absence from the paper. After a while, Perry and Alice adopted an orphan named Keith, who eventually changed his last name to White. Around that time, Perry temporarily left the paper again to be treated for cancer, and he made Clark the interim editor.

Despite their stellar news coverage, the paper went through a period of financial struggle and owner Franklin Stern sold it to Lex. Being petty and vindictive, Lex shut down the paper and fired everyone but Lois and Jimmy, transferring them to his new internet-based news company, Lexcom. It didn’t take long for Lex to sell the paper to Bruce Wayne who rehired Perry and gave him complete control over the paper so that he could fix the Planet’s financial issues and fix its tarnished reputation.

When Lois revealed Superman’s identity because a secret group was blackmailing Clark, Perry was furious and felt betrayed. He fired Clark and accused him of working at the Planet so that he could promote himself as Superman while enhancing his career as Clark. Then when Superman died, he was replaced by the Man of Steel from the pre-Flashpoint universe, and Mister Mxyzptlk impersonated Clark while Superman was around. Together, they convinced everyone that the revelation about his identity was a big hoax. In another story, Superman told Perry who he really was, but Manchester Black removed the knowledge from him and the rest of the public.