So They Made Superman More Powerful Again

Image: Adam Hughes/DC Comics

Superman doesn't need fixing because he's more than relevant than always

DC'south hero still flies higher up critiques of being overpowered and deadening

By Oct 29, 2020, 2:09pm EDT

Superman first appeared in Activeness Comics #one in 1938, beginning the Golden Age of superhero comics. The concluding child of a dying planet was sent to Globe, adult incredible powers and vowed to use them as a "champion of the oppressed." In just a few pages, he saved an innocent woman from being executed, protected a victim of domestic violence, confronted a decadent pol, and rescued Lois Lane from a gangster.

His adventures would get far grander over time, leading generations of writers beyond comics, radio, TV, film, and games to put their own spin on the Man of Steel and his many enemies and allies. Yet while the genre that Jerry Siegel and Joe Schuster pioneered has never been more pop, there's been endless hand wringing well-nigh where their cosmos fits in.

This isn't a new dilemma. Superman's luster arguably began to really fade in the late '80s thanks to the double whammy of Frank Miller portraying the character as a Reaganite patsy in The Dark Knight Returns and the disastrous terminal Christopher Reeve Superman film Superman IV: The Quest for Peace in 1987. When Tim Burton brought Batman to the big screen but two years later, it was almost guaranteed to illustrate the idea that Batman was absurd and edgy and Superman was boring and lame.

DC Comics was then desperate to bring some life back to the character in the '90s that writers killed him off, fabricated a bunch of different versions of him, brought the original back to life, and took away his normal powerset to give him energy powers instead. While Superman: The Animated Series was solid, it was nowhere near equally stylish or influential as Batman: The Animated Series. Superman Returns fizzled while Batman Begins set up a new standard for DC Comics films, for better and worse. Meanwhile, Disney's success with the Curiosity Cinematic Universe fabricated Warner Bros. less willing to take risks that might further reduce the value of its big name heroes.

There are arguments to be made that Superman'south time has passed. More than 80 years after his debut, the world of superheroes is more diverse than ever and newer characters too deserve the spotlight. But Superman shouldn't be written off. There are solutions to all the problems that fans and creators have, and addressing them shows that Superman and the ethics he stands for are but as relevant today as they were in 1938.

Superman isn't "too powerful"

Superman has a lot of powers. He can fly, he's super strong, he's nigh invulnerable, he tin shoot lasers out of his optics, run into through walls, sees and hears across peachy distances with surprising precision, and exhales and so hard he can put out fires. There are times that he's also been super smart, or so tough that he can fly effectually in space without whatsoever protection, or so fast he can travel through fourth dimension.

Even so no affair what powers you accept every bit canon, the strength of any given superhero has ever been flexible based on who is writing them and the context they're in. Robert Downey Jr.'due south Iron Man was arguably just as powerful equally Superman, with his numerous sets of power armor equipped with all manner of weapons and protections, a super genius intellect, and infinite reserves of money. Tony Stark just used a different paradigm. Wonder Woman or Shazam have often been able to go toe to toe against Superman, and Helm Marvel or Thor would probably have about the aforementioned chances.

Prototype: Gerry Conway, Ross Andru/DC Comics/Marvel Comics

You lot can quibble with this assessment by pointing out restrictions on these other characters — like that Atomic number 26 Man needs to be in his accommodate — just the MCU suffers from classic superhero ability creep. Armoring upwards became progressively easier for Tony Stark to practice over the years, to the point that information technology was fifty-fifty more trivial than Clark Kent needing to observe a phone booth to swap clothes in. The best writers see Superman's strength as an opportunity rather than a problem, using him like Thor to tell ballsy stories involving aliens and mythological figures that tin can provide a suitable challenge.

Superman also has numerous other restrictions on his power beyond the basic — and admittedly kind of lame — vulnerabilities of Kryptonite and pb shielding. Superman has no more than resistance to magic or mental attacks than whatever other superhero, he's fairly weak to anything free energy related, and his powers disappear completely if he's not in the vicinity of a yellow sun. These limits accept been creatively exploited for enough of stories that don't boil downward to two super stiff, super tough characters wailing on each other until one of them eventually wins.

When Superman is weak, he often relies on his friends, allies, and normal people he's inspired for forcefulness. He's typically the founder of the Justice League expressly considering he knows that he tin can't deal with all threats alone. And he also understands his power to inspire others to be their best selves, which leads u.s. to some other huge restriction on Superman's power: His moral compass.

Superman isn't "too skilful"

Superman has dismissively been chosen the Big Blueish Boy Sentry because he'south such a do gooder. He's folksy and kind, balancing dealing with natural disasters and supervillains with helping ordinary people with mundane issues. He cares for lost and forgotten alien animals in his Fortress of Confinement. He e'er wants to see the best in people. He famously fights for "truth, justice, and the American way." (The "American fashion" bit, by the manner, was a post-state of war addition to the intro of his radio show, not a transplant from the comics.)

That last role has especially been field of study to criticism, leading many people to imagine Superman'south wholesomeness is just as hollow every bit American exceptionalism. There have been a huge number of works portraying Superman every bit outright evil, while Zach Snyder's version of the grapheme was an aloof effigy who was told by his mother than he doesn't "owe this world a thing" and didn't seem to feel remorse for leveling well-nigh of a metropolis or snapping some other Kryptonian'southward neck.

These stories aim to make the graphic symbol more realistic or subversive, just they fail to recognize that Superman'due south morality is meant to be merely as idealized as his physique. He'southward an aspirational figure, representing the best of what America and humanity itself can be. He puts restrictions on how he exercises his power much like then many people have shown they are willing to limit their own freedoms in order to limit the spread of COVID-nineteen, or to spend their time and money in ways that benefit others rather than just themselves.

Image: Brian Michael Bendis, Patrick Gleason/DC Comics

The real world is filled with examples of powerful people acting selfishly and cruelly, using all of America's flawed systems to their reward. Superman is subversive precisely considering he stands in opposition to the thought that absolute power corrupts admittedly. He believes that justice should apply to everyone equally, which is why one of his greatest enemies is Lex Luthor, whose powers are just beingness smart, wealthy, well-connected, and usually careful enough that it'south difficult for Superman to pin whatever crimes on him. Finding the evidence is ofttimes the job of Superman'south alter ego, though he has his ain fix of problems.

Clark Kent is not a problem

Superman's secret identity as the mild-mannered newspaper reporter Clark Kent was established in the showtime issue of the comic, post-obit the influences of stories of Zorro and The Scarlet Pimpernel. The concept of a secret identity is an inherently sometime fashioned one, which is why the MCU has pretty much abased them and some versions of Superman take unmasked him. The Superman and Clark Kent split up is peculiarly silly given how trivial of a disguise is there.

Yet again the realism isn't really the point. What Clark Kent represents is a concerted effort by a powerful alien to fully integrate himself into his adopted abode. Some might argue that Superman is wrong to spend any time as Clark Kent because he'd exist of greater use to humanity if he was saving lives, but past that argument doctors also shouldn't be allowed any recreational fourth dimension. Being Clark lets Superman understand and appreciate the people he's trying to help.

Superman was written by the children of Jewish immigrants who fled rising anti-Semitism in Eastern Europe in the pb-upwards to World War 2. Similar Superman, they had a homeland they could never truly know and couldn't return to, but came to beloved and embrace their new country despite those who perceived them as outsiders. Living in Ohio, they placed Superman in nearby Kansas and instilled him with all the values they wanted to see in the earth.

Having Clark exist a newspaper reporter made a lot more than sense in 1938, when it was one of the few jobs you could walk abroad from for a significant amount of fourth dimension without being fired. It also puts him at the eye of plenty of activity, which is one of the reasons why journalists remain and so common in superhero origins, similar the Flash, the Punisher, and Spider-Human. Yet as the wrinkle of the paper market has eliminated then many staff positions, the thought of a fresh inflow from Smallville, Kansas, managing to land a job at the paper of record has become increasingly unrealistic.

On the other manus, Superman represents the best aspirations of journalism at a fourth dimension when so many people are eager to write off the unabridged manufacture. While the tabloid smear of Spider-Man's Daily Bugle may be more recognizable today, the Daily Planet is staffed by reporters, editors, and photographers truly committed to uncovering corruption and wrongdoing.

Image: Greg Rucka, Mike Perkins/DC Comics

While other costumed vigilantes might sneak into people's homes and affright them or even assault them to try to get answers, Superman uses his Clark Kent alter ego to proceeds access and gather evidence. He respects the law, but also understands it'southward imperfect and does everything he tin to hold those who would suspension information technology accountable.

There's already plenty in Superman's archetype incarnation that is withal compelling today. But simply similar every other superhero, Superman doesn't need to be static.

Superman isn't "deadening"

Everyone knows Superman's origin story, though the same could exist said for Spider-Man and Batman and they continue getting new movies. That said, there are plenty of fresh means to tell a Superman story.

Clark Kent wasn't written as Jewish because of the amount of anti-Semitism present in America at the time. As time went on, the immigrant metaphor fell abroad and Superman became just another white man in a sea of superpowered white men. Zach Snyder even moved so far away from his Jewish origins that he used him as a Christ figure in Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice. Anti-Semitism is on the rise over again today thanks in part to a president who accuses Jews who don't vote for him of "great disloyalty," so at present could be a time to make that connexion more overt.

At that place are other means to update Superman's origin story for the times. HBO's Watchmen did information technology beautifully through the origins of Hooded Justice, the setting's showtime superhero. Like Kal-El, Will Reeves is spirited away by his parents from a doomed home in hopes that he might survive. But in this case that abode is not a dying planet only a metropolis assaulted by white supremacists. The metaphor is made even more overt when he sees the parallels to his story in the start effect of Superman and decides to put on his ain cape soon later on.

Mark Hill/HBO

Similarly, the Superman of Justice League: Gods and Monsters was raised by Mexican migrant workers, growing upward among the suffering experienced by the undocumented. Because the popularity of fresh, more diverse spins on popular characters similar Miles Morales/Spider-Man and Kamala Khan/Ms. Curiosity, this could exist a perfect incarnation for expressing the themes of finding home and fighting for the oppressed that Siegel and Schuster originally envisioned.

But radical change isn't even necessary. Superman has a rogue's gallery every bit large or bigger than Batman's that is absolutely filled with threats that are relevant today. He's fought the KKK, Nazis, and Kryptonian supremacists who believe he should dominion Globe rather than protecting it. He'southward faced the malevolent AI Brainiac and the propagandist Glorious Godfrey. He's had his own power turned against him by Parasite and been locked in his worst nightmares by Dr. Destiny.

Superhero stories are a form of escapism, assuasive us to imagine what nosotros might do with the power to wing and the courage that comes from existence bulletproof. Yet the all-time of them too explore what it is to be human and our human relationship with ability. Every bit the first, Superman represents the genre in its purest, most idealized course. While his popularity and influence may have faded in favor of darker heroes, he just needs to stride back into the light of our xanthous sun to regain his strength and save the day again.

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Source: https://www.polygon.com/comics/2020/10/29/21540112/superman-powers-overpowered-clark-kent-problem-comics

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