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Superman
A lot of people dismiss Superman as being "too powerful" or "unrelatable." They’ll say Batman is more relatable because he doesn’t have superpowers. But seriously, how many of us can actually relate to being a billionaire playboy with unlimited resources? In contrast, Superman grew up in small-town, working-class America. He is as much Clark Kent as he is Superman.
People call him a "boy scout," as if that’s a flaw. But that misses the point. The fact that he has the power to rule the world and chooses not to, is what makes him extraordinary. He sets an ideal for people to strive for.
Yes, in the hands of a bad writer he can become a walking deus ex machina. But in the hands of a good writer, Superman becomes the core of some of the most powerful and iconic stories in comics. His greatness doesn’t come from what he can do, it comes from the choices he makes.
Superman probably pays more in taxes than Batman.
Overly Sarcastic Productions has done a number of videos they call detail diatribes that have focused on Superman. The summary of many of them is that Superman is his most interesting when saving people and not when punching villains. Even in larger team fights, he could save everyone or hold off the threat, but he can't do both so he needs the help of others.
I actually love superman being a normal dude who saves people with a smile. He should be a good person in stories, because his strength isnt the point, his willpower to help everyone is.
Okay, but he's a billionaire super-scientist who occasionally uses occult magicks. How does none of this qualify?
Sure, but how many modern day Americans could relate to growing up on a farm? Or getting a job in journalism?
I think superheroes are largely defined by their villains. And Lex Luthor - as an individual who regularly does struggle to dominate the world (and periodically succeeds with mixed results) - makes an excellent foil for this exact reason. Superman is, at his heart, just a guy trying to do the right thing. Luthor is an ego-maniacal fascist who cannot conceive of having less than total control.
The best Superman stories are ones that illustrate the practical limits of a seemingly omnipotent individual. It's Superman's struggles - his poor choices, his desire for human affection, his naive optimism, his inability to be everywhere at once - that make him relatable. The idea of Superman as a maximal human who still can't do everything has a way of taking the load of us, comparably weak and vulnerable people, who strive for just as much as a fictional demigod.
Have you ever read https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Superman%3A_Red_Son ?
I'm not a big fan of Superman stuff, but I found that one to be pretty interesting.
It's a good one. That one and All-Star Superman are the two I always recommend to people.
I was gonna ask, thank you!
I've not read All-Star yet, but I keep getting it recommended to me. Thanks!