what city is metropolis based on

Metropolis is a fictional city appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics, best known as the home of Superman and his closest allies and some of his foes. It is depicted as a prosperous and massive city in the Northeastern United States, in close proximity to Gotham City. While it has been stated to be located in New York in recent years, it is often cited as a real-life equivalent of New York City, and the landmarks in Metropolis are based on real places in Manhattan. In fact, a map of Manhattan is clearly identified as Metropolis in some episodes of Superman: The Animated Series. According to a post on Reddit, Metropolis is mainly Manhattan. However, it has also been suggested that Metropolis is an idealized version of New York at its best, while Gotham shows an exaggerated take on the city at its worst. Therefore, while Metropolis is based on New York City, it is a fictional city that has been idealized and exaggerated in various ways in the comics and other media.