In Des Moines, Iowa, an eight-year old Superman fan, James Henderson, put on a Superman suit, jumped off the second-story landing and crashed. Said he, with a sprained ankle, “The darned thing wouldn’t work.”
-TIME Magazine, August 10, 1942
Lying in bed restless, Jerry Siegel conceives a character like Samson, Hercules, and all the strong men rolled into one. Only more—godlike(Fingeroth). The Übermensch, the Superman! Clad in red, white and blue, Superman soars through the skies accomplishing the impractical and the impossible, like changing Earth’s axis in order to avoid an asteroid, defending the Earth from belligerent aliens and still having room in his schedule to take Lois Lane on a date. Superman also takes it upon himself to be a savior, protector and judge of truth, justice and the American way. However his actions and moral yoke are constant reminders that we will never be equal to him. Therefore, it has become increasing impossible to be like him because he has his own solutions for everything, he never doubts himself or his actions, and applying “Truth, Justice and the American way,” in everyday life for human beings is just hard. However, because of these apparent barriers that keep us from being like him, human beings aspire to be like him and strive in many forms, like doctors, firemen, politicians and etc to be as close as they can in likeness of him.
Superman’s successful introduction and integration into 1940s society, was promoted with the line, “Champion of the oppressed, the physical marvel who had sworn to devote his existence to helping those in need,”(Siegel, What if Superman Ended the War?) quickly characterizing him as an individual who brings it upon himself to overcome and support man in the adversities and challenges he faces everyday and therefore portraying Superman as a provider for and supporter of the common man. To maintain the idea of “champion of the oppressed,” Superman was given an assortment of superpowers to play with but his dominant quality was his super strength. For example, in Action Comics #1, which establishes the idea that a Superman exists, chronicles his super ability to, “raise tremendous weights…run faster than a streamline train…and nothing less than a bursting shell could penetrate his skin,”(Siegel, The Origin of Superman & his Powers). We see him picking up a car effortlessly, racing a streamline train as if he were jogging and a doctor attempting and failing to penetrate his skin with a needle(Siegel, The Origin of Superman & his Powers). These examples sent the message to the American public that Superman was capable of doing the job but more importantly, he was on their side. And so by witnessing Superman complete all these feats, readers could both envy and aim to accomplish things, hoping to receive the same effects. And along with the introduction of Superman, a moral foundation was set for people to both go out of their way and devote themselves to others in many different forms.
It is very clear that contemporary activities influence the content in Superman stories and emphasizes the point that beyond comic books, Superman has a solution for everything. For example in, “What if Superman Ended the War?” an unconcealed reference to World War II, it appears Superman takes on Nazi Germany all by himself at the Siegfried Line. He jumps page to page, twisting cannons out of shape, smashing and fighting—going completely berserk but he definitely appears heroic (Siegel, What if Superman Ended the War?). It’s also interesting to note boxes in the panels which read, “the Man of Steel and the Man of Tomorrow,” reinforcing each time to the reader that he is beyond us—not the man of Today but of Tomorrow. Furthermore, a man indestructible but be not afraid, he is on our side and “savior of the helpless and oppressed”(Siegel, What if Superman Ended the War?) Superman’s feats pushed the war effort and inspired the average man that they could act the way Superman did in his adventures.
Although Superman has never been chronicled as a violent man, his methods of intimidating villains especially in the early years of his introduction were hostile. For example, as he lifts Hitler off the ground in Action Comics #1, Hitler screams “Put me down! You’re hurting me!” and Superman responds, “I’d like to land a strictly non-Aryan sock on your jaw” reflecting the hostilities that Americans felt towards Nazi Germany. At the same time outside the comic book realm, with the actual World War raging, artists Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster were taking up the same sentiments shared by many Americans of supporting the United States in the war effort and stamping out the Japanazis. For example, an image with Superman next to it, Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster write, “Your purchase of war stamps and bonds will help STAMP OUT the JAPANAZIS!”(Daniels) hung outside small stores, without Superman wouldn’t have gotten the same rejoinder as with Superman next to it—The image was targeted to appeal to a large audience and encouraged direct civilian participation in supporting the nation but also because the image had Superman in it, it depicted Superman’s influence and participation in a war beyond his realm, quickly ingraining him into a part of everyday, modern society.
In the late 1950s and early 1960s, a science fiction tidal wave hit the comic book industry that was most likely inspired by the space race and exploration of space by the United States and Soviet Union. Superman was reintegrated further into society and writers explored his background thoroughly, compared to the blurbs created 10 years previous in order to show that he had a past and bring out his empathic qualities.
Writers also explored the idea of “What if” he hadn’t come to Earth and implemented solutions in his attempt to save the humane race. In the three-part graphic novel “Superman’s Life on Krypton,” writer Otto Binder and artists Stan Kaye and Wayne Boring, illustrate Superman’s childhood if Krypton had not exploded. For instance on Krypton, young Kal-El is not invulnerable as illustrated in a scene where he gets a black eye. Writers, however, do not hesitate to reestablish the direct correlation between Superman and Kal-El. In the comic, young Kal El is a Kryptonian Youth Scout and this links to shared values both he and Superman live by such as the Boy Scout codes of honor and service Superman implements through his actions. However in this particular comic, Binder constantly illustrates the black and white “good, never bad” design of Superman, never exploring the possible shady areas he could have ended up if he hadn’t come to Earth. For example on Krypton, he’s a boy scout, if he had to choose a planet to save it would be Earth and he ultimately does become Superman on Krypton (with the same suit)—never establishing real distance from what the reader already knows about Superman. By keeping the design and association that even on Krypton Superman would still be a “savior of the helpless and oppressed”(Siegel, What if Superman Ended the War?) writers set the foundation that even as situations and circumstance change outside the comic book realm, Superman’s actions will go unchallenged because of his natural ability to create solutions that benefit others; therefore making him both appealing and recognizable to readers and also again emphasizing, living by his morals in order to reach solutions that benefit others.
However in Mark Millar’s Superman Red Son, the great American icon is reimagined as a soviet hero, who creates constant moral parallels between the Superman we all know but given a communist value system. Living by the same ideology as the Superman we are familiar with, Communist Superman says, “I could take care of everyone’s problems if I ran this place, to tell you the truth, there’s no good reason why I shouldn’t”(Millar, Red Son). Millar further explores human willingness to let another individual control every aspect of society and the consequences of such submission. Because of Superman, “every adult had a job, every child had a hobby, crime didn’t exist and accidents never happened,” and although Superman succeeds in creating a utopian society that bends to his will, his existence and participation in their affairs, counteracts his idea that men should be equal to one another. Pyotr, one of Millar’s characters, says, “You’re the opposite of Marxist doctrine, Superman. Living proof that all men aren’t created equal(Millar, Red Son). And in order to keep his utopia thriving, Superman brings it upon himself to watch over them. In Millar’s graphic novel an illustration reads “He’s watching you,” showing how Superman abuses his powers such as super hearing to pry into the personal thoughts of people, dissidents or not. By the end of the graphic novel, Superman comes to the realization, “I’m just another alien bullying a less developed species and it’s morally unjustifiable,”(Millar, Red Son) bringing to conscious that all along he hadn’t developed Earth in other to better it, he was subconsciously feeding his ego and craving for a perfect society. Therefore, Millar effectively explores the negative aspect of having a supreme overlord with inflexible moral standards such as the “American way” or in this scenario, the “Communist way”.
But human beings are flawed individuals, living the ideal of “truth, justice and the American way,” is just hard. For example Lex Luthor, Superman’s antagonist in all Superman comics is an individual who challenges him constantly. And by challenging Superman, Luthor embodies the potential and capability that all humans possess to find another slogan to live by that may not correlate at all with the Superman standard, using Luthor as an example, the new slogan could be, “Lies, Greed and the Lutheran way” but nonetheless serves as a model live by. Instead of accepting the idea that he will never be an equal to Superman, Luthor challenges Superman constantly even amidst Superman’s attempt to create a utopia. In Millar’s Superman Red Son, the conflict between Luthor and Superman is juxtaposed with a chess board. As time goes by, Superman hoards power and Luthor, Superman’s opponent, is there to expose Superman for the power hungry tyrant he is. By juxtaposing the two characters with a game of chess, Millar alludes to the idea that, like a game of chess, people start off equally, with the same amount of pieces and chance of winning. Even though Superman is not considered equal because he’s an alien, in a chess match anything can happen and the fact that he’s an alien is discarded and equality is achieved. When Luthor and Superman reach the end game, Superman says, “Well played, old friend”(Millar, Red Son). Because of Luthor’s challenges, Superman is able to experience the human condition such as having lust, fear and failure.
Further attempts at bringing Superman down to the human level can be seen in 1970s comics where writers shifted away from science fiction and brought Superman back in full force. However, writers slowly took away from him, his fundamental powers in order to make him more human. In “Superman Breaks Loose,” Kryptonite the element from Superman mythos is destroyed and presumably all of Superman’s troubles are gone but he loses his Heat vision, a fundamental power that Superman possesses. The weakening and removing of some of Superman’s traits were in effort, to have new readers fully empathize with Superman because he was now almost human, establishing a new connection on the total human level.
In the 1972 comic “Must there be a Superman?” Superman’s principle values are put into question—is his influence interfering with human progress?(Maggin, Must there be a Superman?) As the savior of human beings from crimes and natural disaster, Superman decides “what is right or wrong—and then enforces [his] decision by brute strength,”(Must there be a Superman?) The writer’s approach into this gray area develops Superman into a more complex character because, after years of service, “how can [he] tell them now that they must be self-sufficient?”(Maggin). Superman’s argument with himself, illustrates how much beyond he had gone above the human race and unaware that he turned out to be Big Brother, watching people’s every move and judging their actions, giving them consequences as he saw fit. Because individuals cannot attain his moral standards, he put it upon himself to take care of everyone, which resulted in the negative consequence of dependency.
In John Bryne’s 1986 arc “The Man of Steel,” Bryne chronicles Superman’s youth as Clark Kent and the difficulty Clark deals with in Smallville. As the star football player of his high school, envy and hate are manifested because his “special abilities make [him] better than other people—to make other people feel useless”(Bryne). As Jor-El, Superman’s Kryptonian father says to Lara, Superman’s Kryptonian mother, “in time he will become the Supreme Being on that planet almost a God!” and she responds, “then will he rule them? He will shape them to proper Krytonian ways?” Lara’s response supports the idea that Superman was sent to as a savior to correct humans from their corruptible manners of living to a proper standard.
There are arguments that question who Superman really is and whether or not he could be considered a Christ figure. For example, Stephen Skelton’s The Gospel according to the World’s Greatest Super Hero, who says in a memorable line, “Is it a bird? Is it a plane? No, it’s Jesus!”(Skelton) considering Superman’s close connection with Christ as for one example, a teacher. It’s also interesting to note where Superman landed as a baby and how he was brought up. He landed in rural Kansas, the Mid-West, in a small town and was raised by a wholesome family with standard American values of honesty and hard work, as Christ had been born in a simple manger. The connection here is that because Superman did not land in a big city, he couldn’t be corrupted by the idea of corporate greed and making money fast. Other examples of landing Superman in a simple setting are Millar’s Superman Red Son, where he lands rural in Ukraine, Russia, away from the depredations of the city. By connecting Christ to Superman, we make an effort to understand him and relate Christ’s message of loving one another to Superman’s actions of loving a species foreign to his own.
The introduction and integration of Superman into modern society has created criticism and different points of views. Reimagining him as someone or something else is an attempt to answer whether or not superheroes help or hurt the human psyche. On one end of the spectrum superheroes provide fixtures of escapism and on the other end raise the argument whether or not it would be better to worry about ourselves than to idolize another. However I believe that there is a healthy median in which individuals can coexist and learn from superheroes. As Candide in Voltaire’s novel Candide says, “we must take care of our garden…let us cultivate our garden,” although it may be hard to live by the same values and standards of superheroes, at least we are given a model to emulate and should attempt to better ourselves by adapting the core values of “truth, justice and any way” to work for us in order to reach the goal of bettering ourselves.
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