A Tribute To Superman

I was not old enough to remember watching Superman when it first came out in 1978, but I remember watching Superman II in the cinema. As a kid, I was thrilled. It did not bother me that there were some key points in the movie that did not make sense. What was important was that it made you believe that a man could fly. The rest of the world must have been equally thrilled, for both movies turned out to be box-office hits.

Superman's popularity as a comic character has declined over the years, and the most common grouse is that he's too super and as such unrealistic; at least, Batman is a normal human being with normal human abilities. (And if someone thinks that the concept of a person who dresses up as a Bat at night, takes on gangs of thugs (kicks their collective asses) and reverts to his role as billionaire playboy during the day is realistic, well then, who am I to say different?)

There have been other complaints that he's too perfect – he can fly, has super strength, vision and hearing, shoots lasers with his eyes and freezes oceans with his breath. He's the perfect goody two-shoes, the guy who would never cut corners, who always knows what's the right thing to do (and does it). He's just not that relevant anymore in this complicated age. Compare this with your other superheroes, who have limited powers, and are really much more angsty: Batman is driven by a desire to avenge his parents' death (when what he really needs is some therapy), Spider-Man's loved ones are always under threat (plus his on and off relationship with his super-model wife), the X-Men are supposedly feared and hated by the world (but they have cool powers and live in a mansion), etc. And Superman? Er, he's just motivated by the desire to do good. How exciting.

Which is why writers have pitted Superman against the most ridiculous foes, and the stories just get more outrageous and silly. Fighting against bland monsters like Doomsday, dying and coming back to life as two energy-beings (one red and one blue)... What were the writers thinking of? And more relevantly, what in the world were they smoking?

For me, the most interesting stories about the Man of Steel have been those where he uses his powers to try and help people, change the world, make it a better place for us to live in. He was sent to our world with all these powers, and he felt that he had a responsibility to use these powers for good. And while he may not be as angsty as your Batman or Wolverine, the obstacles he faces are even more overwhelming. He is not trying to defeat some super-villain; he is trying to liberate people, overcome oppression, change mindsets, and these are tasks so mammoth you know he’s doomed to fail. Yet he carries on alone, because he believes in what he’s doing, and because he genuinely cares.

We have become a very cynical generation. The actions of the government have caused us to distrust people in authority. We are wary of our neighbours and suspicious when people show kindness. The advancement of technology has also lessened our need and desire for human interaction, and we have become a bit more selfish, more cold and distant. The line between right and wrong (or less dramatically, what is acceptable and what is not) just gets more blurred everyday. Which is why I think Superman is even more relevant in today's context. He is this person whom you can trust, depend on, and whom you know will always do the right thing. He is the character we should be looking up to, whose example we should follow.

Despite the many flaws of Bryan Singer's Superman Returns – he has got one thing right, and that’s Superman himself. Consider the scene where Superman flies over the ocean to Lois’ rescue. Something happens which makes him realizes that Metropolis is in imminent danger. You see him in conflict. Should he go to Lois, or should he save the city (and risk losing the woman he loves)? The answer is a no-brainer, really - he heads towards Metropolis. Why? Simply because he is Superman, and the lives of other people will always come before his own interests.

Alex Ross's graphic novel on Superman, Peace on Earth, is perhaps the only comic which captures who Superman is. In this book, "Superman makes a holiday decision to feed the entire world for one day... Food riots, dictatorships and xenophobia hamper a mission that ends incomplete and in failure... He learns the enormity of the task of fixing the world, and remembers that the smallest gestures are important places to begin." And in Alex Ross' own words: "Superman can remind us of certain ethics and moral choices... We could only benefit from the example of his never-ending battle."(From Metroactive)

Superman was such an iconic character that the Superman radio series was even used to discredit the Ku Klax Klan in the 1940s. Wikipedia: "Concerned that the (Ku Klax Klan) had too strong connections to the government and police forces, (Stetson) Kennedy decided to strike at the Klan in a different way. He contacted the producers of the Superman series and proposed a story where the superhero battles the Klan. The producers... eagerly agreed to the idea. To that end, he provided information, including secret codewords and details of Klan rituals, to the writers. Kennedy intended to strip away the Klan's mystique, and the trivialization of the Klan's rituals and codewords likely had a negative impact on Klan recruiting and membership." (This was also extensively covered in Levitt and Dubner's Freakonomics.)

Superman was created more than 70 years ago, but he has not changed much. He is still wearing his underwear outside. He is still donning the bold, and iconic colours of blue, red and yellow. He is still fighting for truth and justice. He is still a symbol of peace and hope. No matter how our world changes, you know he will always remain the same. And this is why he is the greatest Superhero of all time.

Alex Ross' Superman