I was recently rereading DC Comics Presents #50. You know, the one where Superman teams up with Clark Kent. And I came across the part where Clark is trying to jog Superman’s memory that they used to be the same person. I came upon this sequence where Clark is talking about growing up under the Kents.
The same weekend Comics Alliance was posting a bunch of old “Ask Chris” segments, where writer Chris Sims is asked questions about superheroes, usually Batman. This one, however was about Superman, or rather whether or not Supergirl was a negative addition to Superman’s story. (Answer is no and why would you ask that because pre-Crisis Supergirl was great!). Someday I’m going to write about how the notion that the DC superheroes are gods is stupid but for now this is another Superman being written wrong commentary. But a bit of the former will show up here. Let’s start by re-reading Clark’s statement.
This kitchen is what I remember most about our house–sitting here with Ma and Pa, learning from them…from their love and guidance. If not for them I would (this emphasis is mine) have always remained and alien on Earth! Sure I had great powers but I never would have learned how to use those powers–as a human being, not just a Superboy.
This is the part that bothers me about the New 52 approach or by some writers pre-52 (like in JLA: Act Of God), that he’s an alien first. This also happened in early Silver Age stories, that Superman would be obsessed with Kryptonian culture to the point that he was praising a Kryptonian god, the infamous Rao. Why suddenly accept a god he has no connection to? It would be like me swearing oaths to Primus because of my ties to Transformers. Sure, Cybertron isn’t my native planet but even if it was I don’t necessarily have to pick their god because I was. (Besides, I’m happy with the God I’ve got.)
Kal-El was raised on Earth. While the early Silver Age tried to tell us his super memory was so good that he actually remembered the few weeks or months he existed on Krypton that never made sense to me. I point you the Giant Superman Annual review where Superman remembers an incident between Krypton and Earth and even that didn’t make sense. I know exploring the history of Krypton makes for good science fiction and by nature Superman has always had at least a pinch of science fiction (being an alien with superpowers even when he wasn’t fighting aliens and robots and stuff) but a better way to go about it would be Superman curious about Krypton and maybe included in the ship was some kind of computer that gave the history of Krypton for Superman to check out now and then. Like he did in Superman: The Animated Series. That worked fine.
I forget who I saw write this comment but he stated that Superman is the best we can be as people, as human beings. We may not have his powers but we can live up to his ideals. While Batman brought himself to the peak of what we humans can become through dedication, hard work, and a bit of an unhealthy obsession he (in the last few decades, anyway) isolates himself from everyone, has major trust issues, and in the New 52 specifically can be something of a jerk.
Remember that he swiped it from Hal because Hal was being a jerk…and potentially exposed his identity to the guy they were chasing.
And later he was more than willing to hunt down Superman because he was an alien and the guy he and Green Lantern was an alien so naturally there’s a connection. Right? A properly written Batman, which this isn’t, is something I’ll discuss another time. The point is Superman is the best a human being can be as a person while the powers are wish-fulfillment, and only those whose wishes are “use x-ray vision to see all women everywhere naked and mess with people” fail to see that it isn’t Superman’s powers that make him a hero. He isn’t a “god” as people interpret it. He’s a human being who happens to have, as the narrator used to say, powers and abilities far beyond those of mortal men. And yet someday he will die, of old age if nothing else. He has bled when his powers were negated, either through red sun weapons, Kryptonite, or magic.
Clark Kent isn’t the disguise. He’s who Superman really is. His ideals, his way of viewing the world, all come from his upbringing in a small Kansas farm. There Johnathan and Martha Kent taught him to respect others, respect life, and respect himself, and to use his powers to help others, but never control them. He was raised as a human and it’s those ideals, whether or not the Kents has any spiritual beliefs of their own, that makes him Superman.
THIS IS HOW YOU DO SUPERMAN!
This is Superman. Remember it future comic, TV, and movie writers.
Again, THAT’S Superman!
Pretty much the whole comic, although I’m judging from the direct-to-video adaptation.
And the good writers know that, in any continuity. Sometimes the emphasis should be not on the Super but on the Man. It’s the same problem I have with the hyphenated-American thing. It’s not about where you came from, it’s about where you are. Biologically Superman is from Krypton, but in his heart Clark Kent is the best an Earthling should ever want to be.
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