Why Superman is so Great · 2:11pm Mar 9th, 2020

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Y’know, it really bugs me when people write off Superman as a “perfect boy scout” or “overpowered” or all of that stuff. Because those people miss the point of Superman entirely.

Superman is very, very powerful, it’s true. But his greatest power isn’t flying or strength or heat vision or anything like that. Superman’s greatest strength is his heart. His motivation is simple; he just wants to help. That's it. He just wants to help people however he can. And yet, that seemingly simple motivation is the key to the character’s greatness.

Superman cares about people. He'll fight to protect this world, even when the odds are stacked against him. Even when people don't appreciate his help, or try to kill him for their own wayward reasons. But he still keeps going. Because it's the right thing to do. And it's what Clark wants to do.

At the end of the day, Superman is a man who looked at what was wrong with the world, looked at himself, and asked, “how can I help?”

And isn’t that the purest definition of a hero?

We're never going to have Superman's power. But we can sure as all get out have his heart.

Anybody can be Superman. Human, alien, even a robot built for war.

Report Jade Dawn · 237 views · #superman

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Scholarly-Cimmerian

Scholarly-Cimmerian #1 · Mar 9th, 2020 · 1 · ·

Y’know, it really bugs me when people write off Superman as a “perfect boy scout” or “overpowered” or all of that stuff.

This was/is an argument I've had many, many times with my sister. To her Superman is an overpowered, boring character that nobody can relate to and has no personality. (I.e. In my cynical interpretation of that opinion, "he's not Batman".) And it took me a while to grasp the fundamental truth and appeal of Superman myself. Wasn't until I nearly graduated high school that I finally got it. And I'm glad that I did.

Because, try as people might in this age, there's still (and always will be, or always should be) a place for decency, and heart, and the simple desire to be a good person and help others. In fiction as much as in reality. Perhaps even more so in some ways, in these days of cynicism, antiheroes, disaffection and all that. I like to come back to the quote below in some capacity, because it speaks to me of the sheer importance of remembering and recalling the good and fun and happy things in the world, and how we all too often can be misled into believing otherwise.

“The trouble is that we have a bad habit, encouraged by pedants and sophisticates, of considering happiness as something rather stupid. Only pain is intellectual, only evil interesting. This is the treason of the artist: a refusal to admit the banality of evil and the terrible boredom of pain. If you can't lick 'em, join 'em. If it hurts, repeat it. But to praise despair is to condemn delight, to embrace violence is to lose hold of everything else. We have almost lost hold; we can no longer describe a happy man, nor make any celebration of joy".
- Ursula K. Le Guin

HolyCross9