In Defense of Superman

A friend sent me this. I read it and responded...and thought that it was a discussion worth having out loud. Here are my thoughts:

I could go into a lot of reasons that writer’s an idiot…apart from his inability to write well, his approach to reading is also about as refined as the 13 year olds that toss out Superman comics, thinking they have found the truly profound “real” comics because they started reading some Frank Miller (and I like Frank Miller…but his stuff doesn’t compare to Kingdom Come)…

But the real problem with this writer is that he doesn’t understand the nature of a hero or the power of the image that Superman represents. Superman cannot be harmed…he is a god among men…but serves instead he serves us. Batman is a man who decides to circumvent the institutes of men to establish justice as he sees fit. He’s also a hero…but I think it is grossly naïve to suggest that Batman is a greater hero because he struggles against other men, outside the law, all the while ignoring the fact that Superman struggles to empower other men within the law.

The writer also ignores the real psychological battles Superman deals with—something epics like Kingdom Come wrestle with. How does a god-man live in a world of fallen men…and not hate them? How does he not only not hate them; he serves them? Superman is hope personified; not because he cannot be harmed, but because he strives for beings so much less than himself…because he takes on man’s burdens as his own, and loves them better than they love themselves. In short, the writer lacks any sense of the subtlety which makes Superman perhaps the greatest Superhero of all time. It’s why Superman is such a Christ-like hero.

If the compulsion to contemplate suicide is what qualifies you for being a “real” hero for this writer, I hope it is obvious that his opinion of what a hero is needs some realigning. While heroes experiencing real struggles help us relate to them, why should we expect our heroes to be more messed up than most of us? Do you normally contemplate suicide? I certainly don’t…and I am hardly convinced that the better hero is an individual that hates his life enough to wish for death, rather than an individual who values life enough to place ours as a premium.

These are my thoughts.