Your Turn: Superman

The above link to a BBC article references a poll of moviegoers asking who was their favorite superhero. Superman, unfortunately, came out on top.

Why Superman? What is he other than a bully? What else would you call someone who defeats his foes by mere force alone?

Batman, by comparison, is the world's greatest detective and has the ingenuity to design and build all his many tools and vehicles.

Superman always bored me. He has neither the grandiosity of an Achilles nor the epic sweep of a Sigurd. He is an overgrown boy scout with godlike powers who chooses to use his powers for maintain the status quo.

If there ever was a patsy, it is Superman.

Sent by John Brown | 3:20 AM | 1-18-2008

The character that I look up to most would be super man. He shows people how to do the right thing and he saves peoples lives like a hero should do. Super Man is a deep guy he came from another planet that got annulated and is now living on earth helping people when disaster strikes.

Super Man lives among the people as an ordinary guy that works for a new paper firm. He has a lovely girl friend and saves the world at the same time this guy can do any thing. The only weakness he has is kryptonite but every one has a weakness. He also doesn't let being a super hero interfere with his normal life he has some one he loves and cares for in his regular life and then when he goes super hero he takes on all the bad guy.

Sent by Mike Siracusa | 9:35 AM | 1-25-2008

As a person who had a long relationship with fiction since I learned how to read, my favorite fictional character has been superman. What's universally appealing about him is that he has super human powers. Sometimes we, as natural human being wish to do things beyond our strengths. The sort of things that is unusual, like flying, rescuing people who are in trouble, being exceedingly strong. In reality we know that no one can do those things and no one can be perfect. The film industry created such a character in fiction that ordinary people learned how to be strong and positive in real life.The combination of his virtue, indestructibility, and ability to fly is what makes Superman so appealing universally his desire to do the right thing, to be able to take on any problem that comes, to be able to soar up into the sky. In times of rapid change, whether cultural, industrial or technological, Superman has steadfastly stood for truth, justice, and all that is good.

Sent by Shahla Mirzai | 9:36 AM | 1-25-2008

Appearing first in the era of the "Great Depression" Superman has inspired generations of young (and old) readers that "One man can make a difference".

He has proved to be an enduring character over the years as he has been portrayed as the ultimate "do-gooder" even been nicknamed the "Big Boy Scout" by his own colleagues.

Even as the Superman stories, whether they be in comic books,cartoons, movies, or TV have enetertained and enthralled millions, there have been numerous comparisons between him and all kinds of mythological entities even spawning a Ph.D thesis titled "God in a cape?"

With his remarable array of super powers surpassed only by a seemingly unending quest to do good and improve the lot of his adopted planet, Superman has stood and will always stand as the ultimate of what a human can aspire to be.

For me he is and will always remain the greatest super hero.

Sent by Maninder Khalsa | 9:37 AM | 1-25-2008

Although the cultural importance of other comic book heroes is debatable, theres really no argument against Superman's widely considered title as King of this genre. "Its a bird! Its a plane! Its Superman!" is a phrase synonymous with the ideas of good prevailing over evil, strong morals and the constancy of hope--all concepts America glorifies. Hes the nations ideal Savior exemplifying not only God-like tendencies but also attributes applicable to the perfect American Dream life. His transformation since his introduction has reflected the nation's own changes showing how deeply connected we are to him. Hes lasted through generations, tackling the problems that come and go with them. The fluidity of this superhero to adapt to the present state of our situation proves his status as a timeless cultural icon well always need a happy ending and "The Man of Steel" has been the most prominent established means for that comfort.

Sent by Katie Murray | 9:37 AM | 1-25-2008

Bud Collyer adamantly refused the role of Clark/Superman and was tricked into it. He had the ability to severely raise and lower his voice, which other actors could not match, to represent the two characters. As in:
CLARK
Uh-oh Lois is in trouble again.
Clark Kent cant handle this.
This is a job...
SUPERMAN
for Superman. Now off with these clothes.
(grunt)
Up with this window.
(grunt. window slides up)
And out, up, and AWAAAAAY.

We all need, throughout life, to shed our Clark Kent side and become indomitable "far beyond those of mortal men."

I can still imitate Collyer in that role. Ask awaaaaay.

Sent by Larry Miller | 9:38 AM | 1-25-2008

I am saddened by the oblivious comments, save my own, which blithely not only accept Superman as some sort of paragon, but extol him with supposed virtues as well.

Let me be clear. Superman is a morally repugnant character who chooses neither to yoke humanity to his superior will, thereby saving humanity from itself, nor to remain completely aloof from its corrupting influence, thereby forcing humanity to fully accept responsibility for its own missteps.

Instead, Superman flies around maintaining and obeying the current power structures without ever questioning the ulterior motives of those who wield the power. He is no more heroic than the simple-minded Brownshirt muscle who unquestioningly obeys the orders of his SS masters. If Superman had arrived to the U.S. 150 years ago, you can be sure he would have maintained the slave state then considered the law.

Those who admire Superman now would have admired Hitler when he rose to power in Germany, and had they been German, just as willingly submitted themselves to the "protection" and paternalism of the National Socialists.

The day we finally reject such morally vacuous and infantilizing characters as Superman is the day we all come one step closer to becoming morally adult beings who reject both the might makes right justification of all bullies and the morally crippling paternalism of god-like heroes who act as nothing more than heavies for those who happen to hold the seats of power but not the moral right for doing so.

Sent by John Brown | 4:08 AM | 1-26-2008

John Brown seems to have missed the point of Superman, just as he missed the point with Jack Bauer. While no fictional character exists in a moral vacuum, iconic characters exist outside normal moral considerations. They exist to hold a mirror up to us.

Superman is not what we worship or depend on but what we aspire to. Having first encountered the Man of Steel in the legendary George Reeves series when I was a pre-schooler, fifty plus years later I watch the DVDs and realize what an effect the subtle moral messages had on me.

I am a teacher and writer but have been a union rep, a mentor, and a volunteer. I have no religion but I have internalized, from the likes of Superman, that one does good things for others simply because it is the right thing to do.

Sent by Gary Earl Ross | 8:12 PM | 1-29-2008

Rather than missing the point of Superman, I understand him and what he represents all too well.

As the original essay noted (it was mistakenly ascribed to Chris and Paul Boldt rather than to me), Superman may be an ideal, but it is the simple ideal of physical might yoked to a rigid moral sense, and we have seen all too often throughout history and our own time what happens when might is used to make what we believe is right.

We have unprovoked wars, endless jihads, repression of peoples and the needless suffering and bloodshed of anyone and everyone who are the unfortunate means to whatever righteous ends we desire.

Anyone who aspires to the idea of Superman craves escapism at best and a bullying superiority at worst. The indestructable, unopposable Superman can do as he wills, but his will only goes as far as stopping petty, individual crimes--no more heroic for him than picking up litter would be for us--rather than addressing the far larger rot which masquerades as government and institutional authority.

Superman is no hero. His powers raise him above the struggles of mere mortals and he never gains any wisdom since his black-and-white world view never changes.

Superman should be relegated to the dustbin of history as an unfortunate expression of a less-civilized, less-mature era of human development.

Sent by John Brown | 3:24 PM | 1-30-2008

Superman has always been a touchstone for me. His origin and ideals have held true over 70 years, despite being rewritten by a host of writers.

In today's cynical society, Superman is a secular paragon of virtue. The question "What Would Superman Do?" continues to be a driving force for many who see him as an archetype of humanity's better nature.

Sent by Norman McCay, Preacher | 10:01 AM | 2-4-2008

Actually, Mr. Brown, John, if you will, you absolutely do not understand Superman. "What is he other than a bully?" You dismiss him as someone who stoops to defending the status quo rather than taking on the larger problems like government corruption that, in your opinion, he should be using his power to deal with.

Well...the Superman Siegel and Shuster created back in Action Comics #1 would have happily done just that. He was as happy taking down lobbyists trying to push America into foreign wars as he was beating up abusive husbands. Problem is, that Superman is the very essence of "when all you have is a hammer, every problem looks like a nail." That Superman in today's world would quickly wind up an outlaw, and rebel against the world...and, frankly, even the reduced power that Superman had to go with his super-conscience would quickly make him into Orwell's "Big Brother" not by desire, but by simple necessity.

The fact is, Superman *does* maintain the status quo, but he's not *about* maintaining the status quo. Frankly, as has been demonstrated in works like Superman: Peace on Earth, a marvelous graphic novel painted by Alex Ross, Superman's compassion is high enough that if his powers actually could solve larger problems, they could. But honestly, there are problems Superman can't solve. To turn a problem Ross's work did address, world hunger. Superman could, in fact, deliver food to the starving at superspeed. But unless something's changed recently, part of that starvation is the governments of those nations exploting the situation to their own benefit.

"But he's Superman, he could just take that government down," you might cry. Yes, he could, but if he doesn't have something better to replace it immediately, you just get a new set of tyrants. If he does, you get a government that's only in place because of a Superman, and essentially, even with a democratic government as its replacement, you now have, behind the throne, a super-tyrant whose "subjects" are now afraid of him. He never has to do a thing more...they'll know that if they don't run things as Superman would want them, he *could* be back to clear them out as he did the last government...and having failed him, he might not be half so merciful this time. If Kryptonite's available, it will be stockpiled against that day. If it isn't, for all intents and purposes, Superman stops being their defender and protector and starts being their vengeful, wrathful god. That's equally true if his target is Iran or the United States.

But Superman's smart and can think, so let's say he does and not only devises a better form of government that's completely without corruption and not only presents it to the world, but gets it implemented. (Not likely, but this is a "What If.") Well, initially, he's now shown that he knows best how to run the world...so shouldn't he run the world? That will be the solution, and, if he accepts, we're back to Superman-as-God, but instead, a benevolent God. Even if he dies, for Superman is not immortal, he becomes the center of a worldwide religion. If he refuses, the religion still happens, for he did hand to them, like Jehovah on Sinai, the best way to govern mankind...but it's still people in charge, so, eventually, this government, too, will fall and fail because people are people, and not even the best of us are perfect. No, ultimately, the solution to problems like government corruption has to be created at a human level, not given to us by a superman, even one as benevolent as *the* Superman. After all, if we don't earn those solutions, what incentive do we have to maintain them?

And by the way, to get back to one of your questions: "what is he but a bully?" Well, let's see...he is "Superman, who came to Earth with powers and abilities far beyond those of mortal men." That was from the intro to The Adventures of Superman in the 50s. Now, let's be fair and add to that other defining characteristics of Superman: He was raised by simple, hardworking, salt-of-the-earth people. He values truth, justice, and peace. He sacrificed his life to save the lives of others and stop an evil being from his home planet. He was then resurrected. You see a brownshirt, a power fantasy who maintains the status quo. Given who Superman is now, I see a very, very stong parallel to Jesus Christ. Superman's message isn't "might makes right," not a bit. Arthur Pendragon's "might for right," maybe, but there's an even more important primary message there. "The greatest way to save the world is one person at a time." After all, even if it's Superman, if one person tries to change the world by themselves, they can't help but fail. Help even one person, and that person might be inclined to pass it on. And if they pass it on, etc., big things can be accomplished bit by bit. That's why Superman should be honored as part of this series, because, frankly, the kind of person he is can inspire people to be better to each other, and right now, especially, we need that.

Sent by Seth Richards | 4:09 AM | 2-17-2008

Superman seems so Super to us, because in contrast we are very very not-super.

Ask your self, honestly; and don't settle with what you think you might do, or what you think the right thing to do, might be... really ask yourself, and consider all the outside effects, causes, and circumstances...

What would you do if you were Superman?
Superman is not God. He did not create us. He is not Jesus. He was not sent here by god, with direct goals to save us.
Superman only does what he can, because he can, because he believes he should.

He is a man. No more, no less. Super, yes, but still just a man. He thinks, feels, bleeds...
The fact that he can fly, and that he can do the things we find impossible to do, means nothing. Birds can fly. Fire burns. Ice freezes. Apes can lift heavy objects...
But do any of those things take time out of their lives, to go out and help another living thing? To go against basic nature itself and act Altruist?

What would you do if you were Superman?

Sent by Conner | 4:35 AM | 2-26-2008