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Posted by:

Gerimi

Date:

July 22nd, 2007 8:03 PM

Header:

Thoughts on Superman

Bulletin:

As a kid I never liked Superman comics. I loved the movies and various cartoon incarnations. Hell, I even dressed up as Superman for Halloween when I was in kindergarten... those who know me personally will get a laugh out of that.

But I didn't really start reading comics until around 5th or 6th grade, by which time my pre-teen cynicism was will established and growing at a monstrous rate. By that time, Superman held little interest for me. He was too perfect, too powerful. There was little room for dramatic conflict and emotional growth, in my mind. Obviously, any long time readers could have pointed out several stories to prove me wrong, but at the time, I was more enamored w/ flawed characters like Wolverine or the Punisher. I wasn't even much of a DC fan until later in high school when I started reading Vertigo Books like Hellblazer, or some darker DC Elseworlds like Kingdom Come or Arkham Asylum.

In recent years, I've come to enjoy a good Superman story here and there... Birthright by Mark Waid, Superman/Batman by Jeph Loeb, a couple of JLA stories. But I still didn't have love for the character the way I did some of my favorites from back in the day, like Ghost Rider.

I had a dream the other night, which has changed my perspective on the character. The details of the dream aren't really relevant. I watched the first part of a simple Superman story play out. I was merely an observer, as if watching a TV show. The point of the dream is that Superman was placed in a situation where his brute strength wouldn't resolve the issue he was facing. In all likelihood, it would make things far worse. What was truly important was what he chose to say and do, how he interacted with people and convinced them to change their behaviors.

The original criticism I had of the character is that he was too god-like, but upon waking from this dream, I realized, for all his power, he can not take away our (humanity-at-large's) free will. He can stop bullets, Knock nuclear weapons out of the sky, wipe out a dictator's army, move planets...

... but he can't reach into our hearts and souls force us to be kind to each other, to have mercy for each other, to have a genuine desire to ease the suffering of others. to sacrifice personal comfort, greed, and ambition, for the greater good, to embrace those different from us and get them to embrace us. All of the complex social ills that prevent the human race from moving forward as one.

That is the never ending battle he fights.

It made me think of our current diplomatic/military problems in the Middle East. It feels to me that a parallel exists. The United States has the most powerful, technically advanced, well-trained military on earth. Our destructive potential is almost unquatifiable... and yet, with all of our "Superpowers" we still struggle with this conflict. Sure, a few well placed nukes could level Iraq, Iran, Afghanistan, and North Korea... but to what end?

To create more enemies elsewhere in the world? To have other nations unite against us, in fear that we would respond with deadly force, toward any nation that disagrees with our ways of thinking? To create an internal police state where people fear to disagree w/ their own government, lest they be subjected to the same silencing?

To go back to Superman, imagine not an entire administration, congress, and judicial system dealing with all these issues, but one man. If anything, it's his restraint and judicious use of power that makes him all the more interesting and complex as a character. Furthermore, it's the way others (heroes and villains) respond to his actions. The fact that he can motivate others to try to be better or in less fortunate situations, restrain negative behavior from fear of reprisal.

I think I like him more now.

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