(writer's note: I wrote this as a passive aggressive way of telling everyone how much that one guy hurt me. Because he like Superman so much, Superman represents him in this creative non-fiction piece. Since not everyone knew that about him, nobody really knows it was about him. The title is taken from an article written by Lois Lane in one of the Superman movies. So without further ado...)
I’ve always believed that Superman is inferior to many other superheroes. At first glance, Superman appears to be pretty great. He has a plethora of superpowers, he saves lives, and he has a flashy costume, but these things disguise the fact, that not only is he just an ordinary guy in a cape, but also that having the appearance of flawlessness is simply not as desirable as people believe it to be.
The mere fact that he is more or less indestructible is enough to turn me off. Face it, anytime you have a protagonist who’s only weakness is some rare rock from outer space, the plot gets real boring, real fast. Who wants to see/read about a hero who is completely unafraid of going into battle against their enemy, and is not only hopeful for a win, but is utterly and completely confident beyond all doubt that they will? And then does? Superman would be more relatable if he ran into some hard times once in a while. In addition, Superman is equipped with many, many superpowers. If he couldn’t solve a problem with his current skill set, the writers simply gave him a power that would help him do that.
Superman fights crime, but he doesn’t solve it. He is a mindless, law-upholding shell of someone who should be able to think for themself but can’t. Or won’t. What I mean is this: where another superhero would convince a criminal to drop their gun and walk away from a life of crime, Superman would rather melt that gun with his heat-vision, put the criminal behind bars, and turn them into a thug in just a few months after they are released.
Superman is not a hero. Perhaps Lois Lane said it best in Superman Returns after Superman leaves Metropolis:
"From the first day he mysteriously appeared we were enamoured. He seemed too good to be true. A man who could fly, see through walls, bend steel with his bare hands. A man who never lied. A man who could do anything he wanted to yet he chose to be a hero. He chose to fight for truth, justice and the American way, And we chose to believe. Does a hero walk out on his family? Walk away from his children? After letting us place our hopes on him, his disappearance must be seen nothing short of abandonment. We must ask our selves if Superman returned would we welcome him back? Could he heal the scars he left behind? We have learned from our bad judgement, and we are not prepared to make the same mistake again. He has lost our trust, he betrayed us. He turned his us back on us and walked away. We would have to question his motives for his return.
She then goes on to explain a real hero. The ones around us. The ones without superpowers or capes. The ones that don’t attempt to hide who they really are behind a thin disguise of a pair of glasses. Teachers, policemen, firefighters, and parents.
“Does one have to have superpowers, special abilities or incredible talent to be a considerable one? Well that's what we’ve been led to believe. We put our trust, not in God, but in Superman – In Superman We Trust. We trusted you, we all trusted you…I trusted you. Does he feel remorse, guilt or shame? Does he simply not care? Perhaps he really is a Man of Steel – cold, emotionless and hardened by his own immortality. Would he say sorry?”
She concludes by saying that it would have been better if Superman had never come at all, and I would agree with her. He was never the super man that everyone was fooled into thinking he was, and there are heroes, super and other wise, that are far superior to him. Like Batman.
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