IÂ donât care if Iâm the only person in the world, I love Clark Joseph Kent for being âboringlyâ nice. So what, heâs âunproblematicâ and âuncomplicated.â He lives in a world on fire and chooses to be the rain, tirelessly trying to cool the heat. Heâs a drop of sunshine in a storm that refuses to be swallowed or snuffed out.Â
He comes from a sheltered rural upbringing where he could spend all day tending to the fields and enjoying the warm sun on his back. Clark Kent has all these amazing powers. He has shoulders that can carry any weight, a breath that can turn fire to ice. His skin is like steel, but heâs not invulnerable.Â
He has a soft, kind heart. People who donât get him would think itâs absurd his doting mother worries about him getting hurt. Him⊠Superman. Like anyone or anything could be a threat to him. She caresses his cheeks with her thumb and looks up into his eyes and reminds him, âyou donât have to be their hero.â Pointless. She knows he will. He cannot turn away from the fire, even when he risks getting burned. Not if he knows there is anyone out there that needs him.Â
Because of all Clark Kentâs many super powers, his true strength doesnât lie in those gifts he got from the stars. It comes from the gift he was given on a midwestern ranch, raised by one Martha and Jonathan Kent. His super power isnât in his skin, but beneath it. Itâs in his heart, that cares and loves so much.
Too much to turn his back when thereâs something, anything he can do to help others. Because thatâs how he was raised. Thatâs why he fights until blood soaks his shirt. Itâs not about justice. Itâs not about revenge. Itâs about love.
Clark Kent has gone to sleep every night with the ability to hear miles away.Â
He can hear every prayer, every cry for help, every personâs suffering. He cares so much, and he has so much to give. But Clark doesnât want to hurt anybody. In order to save some people, it will require him to get his hands dirty. To stand between those that would hurt and oppress, he might have to do harm to do good. This cost has always stopped him from intervening before. He canât pay it. A people-pleasing mild-mannered man from the midwest doesnât have the guts.
Until he does. âThe only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing,â a theme that is constantly revisited and explored in his character.
Clark does find the nerve to fight and get his hands bloody. While he feared he wouldnât be able to sleep with red fingers, not so. Itâs easier to sleep with those than pristine ones knowing there are people hurting somewhere he could do something for. If you step in the fire, you might get burned. âOnly wanting to helpâ and fighting for the love his parents taught him, people wonât get it. Theyâll misconstrue him time and time again. Theyâll fear him for his power. Theyâll call him a âmonster.â Theyâll be unable to trust he could have pure intent.
Clark will shoulder that all. Heâll deal with being whatever the media decrees he is that week, whether a messiah or menace. Heâll deal with the enemies heâll involuntarily collect just by existing with these powers and exercising them. Heâll face every consequence, because thatâs who he is. Selfless. It would be easier for him to do nothing. That way, heâd be spared hardship and could know a carefree life. To live in Smallville forever, never raise a hand. Turn a blind eye.Â
Yet he canât, because that would be choosing his own comfort over others. He canât live with himself if he lets other suffer while he gets to sleep cozily. Thatâs what makes him Superman. Not his powers, not his strength. His choices and commitment to love and do good. To get dirt on his hands, if thatâs what it takes.
Ah, but he is too âperfect,â right? Which makes him a bad character. Hmm. How easy it is to write Clark off as âtoo perfectâ and not accredit all the strength that it takes to deal with being thought of as âperfection.â With the mistrust people feel because he is just âtoo niceâ and there has to be more. Villains tell Clark that with all his power, deep down, he must have moments he wants to hurt people. That the boy scout that wants to âdo goodâ must just be an act, and they hurt him and others to try to push Clark to his limits and break him. Clark refuses to be broken, though, or let anything take away what makes him who he is in the ânever ending battle.â He doesnât let his love get tainted or demented.
He isnât âperfect.â Heâs good. Through sacrifice and choices, through hard work.
He never lets Clark Kent, mild-mannered farm boy, get lost in the battle field. He never forgets when he is fighting, what he fights for. In a world with such oppression, it would be easy to turn cold. It would be easy to hate. Yet if he were to do so, it would betray everything he stands for. Because he wouldnât be fighting for anyone but himself. His hands are for protecting, shielding, saving. He doesnât want to hurt anybody, never has. The only reason he will ever hurt anyone is to save someone else. Clark will always be this way, because he is strong. This âperfectionâ is a product of commitment. Of dedication. Of love.
Iâd like to share the comic that brought me into DC and made me fall in love with Superman. Superman: Man of Tomorrow issue #12, which I highly recommend.
Everything about this message is so precious. Clark Kent can carry Atlasâ curseâs weight, because he possesses the strength and resolve to achieve it. That strength doesnât come from his arms, though. It comes from his heart.
Yes. Clark is boringly ânice,â âunselfish,â and âunproblematic.â He is some kid from the midwest whose mother still bakes him pies and, if he had it his way, wouldnât hurt a fly. Yet he wonât choose having it his way over saving someone elseâs skin, because he is a boring nice guy. There are so many fans that hate on Clark and call him âlameâ and harass DC to make him more twisted. Because a sweet little dude that takes kittens out of trees, who cares about that? Because male characters should be âtough, aggressive, dark,â and some pure and sweet male character is just a total snooze. Iâm just going to come out and say it.
Sorry, but there are plenty of DC characters like that. Have you considered that maybe you just donât like Supermanâs character, and his content isnât meant for you? For some of us, a character who chooses kindness and stays true to himself and is a meek mild-mannered guy just trying to do good in the face of evil hits home. Supermanâs story is more than about some guy throwing his fists and beating bad guys. Itâs a story about not letting the world break your heart.
About not letting oppressors make you cold, and fighting for love. Not letting those that would abuse or do harm break your commitment to be good.Â
Some of us need that, and if you donât, then move on. Stop whining that Superman is âplainâ and find a character that you like and hits home with you. I actually love dark, grungy male characters that are fundamentally flawed too, and rather than being raised in a nice home that allowed them goodness, they have to fight to be better. This isnât my taking issue with those characters. I love them so much. But by gosh, Superman is not garbage because heâs not them. You just donât like his character, heâs not âpoorly writtenâ because of that.
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