Yesterday I spent the day at Six Flags Magic Mountain with our student ministry. It was a great day of hanging out with students, talking while waiting and riding roller coasters. One ride I didn’t make it on was Superman: Escape from Krypton. Even though I didn’t make it on the ride, I saw Superman paraphernalia and souvenirs all over the park.
Constantly seeing the Superman logo reminded me that Superman is totally lame.
Superman isn’t one of my favored nerdclinations. My interaction with Superman is limited to the movies, the first season of Smallville and a couple comics here and there. I would say that I have the same knowledge of Superman as the average person. And, armed with that knowledge, I have come to the conclusion that Superman is lame. Here are some reasons why.
Too Powerful
I feel like Superman’s creator Jerry Siegel wanted to create the world’s only super hero. In order to achieve that goal, Siegel gave Superman every possible super power.
He can fly. He’s super fast. He has super strength. He can shoot lasers out of his eyes. He has frost breath. He is indestructible.
Superman is basically the X-men in one character. He is almost all-powerful and has persisted, even through his death. In order for a character to be interesting or humanized, he needs to have some amount of vulnerability. Otherwise the character becomes a paragon, an ideal too far removed from real life to truly care about. Superman has become that to me.
Kryptonite
“But wait,” you might say to me. Superman isn’t invincible; he is vulnerable. If he’s exposed to Kryptonite, radiated rocks from his homeworld, he will lose his strength and eventually die. I can understand how irradiated rocks from Krypton might be dangerous to Superman, but I don’t understand how they are available in such large quantities. There seems to be a limitless supply of debris from the destroyed planet of Krypton. I thought that most meteorites were rather rare, but apparently Kryptonite can be found by anybody with a garden spade and a little time.
Boring
As stated above, it’s difficult to connect with a character who is completely invulnerable. Without any cracks in the armor or skeletons in the closet, it’s really difficult for an audience to connect with a character. Superman is all of that and more, which ultimately makes him boring and completely uninteresting. The greatest super heroes are those with tortured souls like Batman and Wolverine. There is some substance to their characters because they aren’t perfect, because they have some baggage and because they’re not bland boy scouts. Superman doesn’t have a tortured soul; he has no internal conflict. He always does the right thing, which makes for a great friend but a horrible comic book character.
I understand that our culture is fascinated with Superman because he always does the right thing. In spite of how the world is falling around him, Superman stands as an incorruptible pillar for truth, justice and the American way. Superman has the potential to be a moral paragon for a society desperately in need of one.
But I’ve already got a moral paragon in Jesus, which means Superman is nothing more than an overpowered boy scout with his underwear outside his pants.
How do you feel about Superman?
As always, a fun read!
I actually watched Smallville Season 1-8, but none of the movies. I especially agree with your second point. Initially, Kryptonite is treasured by those that have it and its available in little amounts only. Then towards the last few seasons everyone has Kryptonite… I thought I was the only one who noticed!
You should watch the first Superman movie with Christopher Reeve. It’s not great but it is a classic.
I think what makes Superman interesting is his relationship to humans. He is the most powerful being on the planet, yet he still loves and tries to save others, even those who don’t deserve it. His inner turmoil is that he can’t be everywhere at once. He can’t save everyone. He wants to see the good in the villains he battles, but they disappoint him every time. He wants to see the good in the common man, but they often disappoint him too. The villains who do the best at wounding the man of steel rarely resort to kryptonite; they target others.
In response to your comment about Jesus, I agree. Superman doesn’t compare to Christ. It’s in his failures that this is most evident. Christ doesn’t see the good in anyone. He knows exactly what we are when He enters our life, and He changes for the better.
Just my thoughts.
Manifest Blog
1) Superman’s vulnerability is the people he cares about. This is why Lex Luthor is always trying to get to him through Lois or Jimmy. This is why Lana and Lois were in peril on “Smallville.” This is why Lex plots to launch missiles at innocent people in SUPERMAN: THE MOVIE. I could go on. Gee, a superhero who cares about people – yeah, pretty lame. ;-P Seems to be the Bible has something to say about the relative relationship of powers and love: “Though I could remove mountains and have not love…”
2) You don’t get to have it both ways. You want a (physically) vulnerable Superman, but then you complain that kryptonite is too easy to find. Well, currently it isn’t that easy to find in the comics, anyway. (I know you are limiting yourself to the screen adaptations, but you should know that the comics have taken steps to address your objections.) Also, Superman is vulnerable to magic in most incarnations (including SMALLVILLE, I believe). Also, kryptonite serves a vaulable metaphorical function in the Superman mythos: he is literally weakened by the memory of his lost home, the greatest tragedy in his life. Lots of material here to mine about the impossibility of going home again, the psychological wound that leaving home/leaving the Garden can deal us…
3) “Without any cracks in the armor or skeletons in the closet, it’s really difficult for an audience to connect with a character. Superman is all of that and more.” See my responses to points 1 & 2. Kryptonite. Magic. The people he loves. The temptation to use his power to enforce his will (comes up from time to time). Doomsday (who, y’know, killed him).
Jesus is the ultimate moral paragon, no argument there; but if I’m going to choose favorite fictional superheroes, I’d much rather choose a generally psychologically healthy one who always does the right thing with an unwavering commitment to high ideals than some others I could mention…
Great rebuttals to my points. You didn’t change my mind but you definitely present a more compelling argument than most Superman fans I know. I still prefer Batman or the X-Men. 🙂