I've been wondering recently, what does defines a world's Superman? I mean, beyond the 'S', the powers and the origins, what does make Superman, well, Superman.

I think the next page from Infinite Crisis (by far my favorite crisis crossover ever) can give us an answer:

So, I've come to my own list of things that construct who is the hero that we all look up to.

1.- He's the good one.
It sounds absurdly simple, doesn't it? Superman is the good guy, not only by comparison, but by default. It takes a very grim setting (Dark Knight Returns, Kingdom Come) to just put him in the grey area, not even close to the bad one.

But it's also complicated. We live in a time when a character's 'deepness' has been confused with ambiguity. It's hard to keep a character essentially good without falling in a one-dimensional characterization.

I think that, the best way to do this, is how Joe Kelly did in What's So Funny About Truth, Justice & the American Way?. For those who didn't read it (and didn't watched the movie adaptation Superman and the Elite), it basically confronts Supes against the very concept of the darker and edgier idea. How? By always finding another way, even if it seems impossible, even if it gets more complicated with time and no matter how hard it gets, a true Superman has to find an option that doesn't compromise his beliefs, for those are what defines him.

2.- Never surrender, don't you dare!
Let's face it, over the years, has grown a misconception about Superman powers, calling them unlimited. The easiest way to misjudge him is to say "pff, he's invincible, what's the thrill if he always wins?" But a long time fan knows better than that, don't we?

For starters, he has two consistent vulnerabilities; kryptonite and magic. There is a f*ckload of villains that have an alarming access to both of them. And even besides those two, I can name from the top of my head at least three villains that have given Supes a hard time without the krytonite/magic factor (Mongul, Doomsday and Brainiac for the record). If someone scrolls down any wiki on the matter, every single Supes' Villain has one (or more than one) way to kill him.

So, how does he keeps it up?

By never giving up. It can be an intelligent Doomsday with kryptonite blood (yes, that's a thing) or a god!Luthor (also canon), Superman will do what he always do; Put everyone else's security first, look at the challenge straight in the face and charge faster than a speeding bullet while the Max Fleischer/John William/Shirley Walker/Hans Zimmer theme plays in the background.

3.- Truth, Justice, and the only way he knows.
Okay, first of all, how many of you are plotting my slow and painful death for not saying "The American way"? Okay, you can cancel that sniper in my window, because there's an actual reason for that.

First of all, let's state one thing; America its a continent, NOT a country. Everyone, from Alaska to Cabo de Hornos, is American, not only those who was born in Unites States of America.

Secondly, the idea of Superman is bigger than a nation's, or a continent's, ideals. The ideal that there's is good in all of us, we all have hope. That truth justice will eventually be done, even if we need to make it happen, because they're worth the effort. And that we should never let prejudice and fear to cloud us, we should instead accept and embrace every culture as our own, and help everyone who needs it. *I'm not crying, damn it!*

When you put that on the great scheme of things, sticking it to just one country, or just one continent, it feels wrong. Yeah, maybe the name of the way is "The American Way" but it's become bigger than that long ago.

*okay, now I'm crying... damn it*