I love Superman. And whilst I have loved the movies and shows, not all of them have really captured the essence of Superman, they ask theoretical questions of superheroes in modern society, they explore different possibilities and alternative realities, they change the character and tweak the mythology to suit their vision, they have a unique twist on how they think that such a figure should be portrayed. They want to make the character “cool” to revel in the glorious spectacle that such a powerful character creates by sheer existence, but in doing so lose sight of the true spirit of Who and What Superman is. But let’s start this rant somewhere and go off course into somewhere hopefully related.
When I was a kid I watched the Superman movie from 1978. I liked the movie, and watched the second one immediately after and enjoyed it well enough. Even as a child I still realised that it was “an old film” and that the effects were…dated, but those effects weren’t what made the movie special. As a child I couldn’t tell you what that was, it wasn’t something I could quite put my finger on, it was like that wholesome charm of eating into a fresh baked cookie from my grandmother, that wholesome charm that America has unfortunately seemed to have lost in recent years. I was too young to properly appreciate the sheer goodness that film was imbued with. I would revisit it much later as an adult, each time gaining a new appreciation for the sheer warmth and brightness that the film exhibits. This film fundamentally understands the character of Superman and created the archetype of a Superman film and is in my mind the absolute Pinnacle of Superhero Films. Superman is powerful, but even in the face of defeat, he does the impossible (spins the earth back on its axis to reverse time) to save the day and get the happy ending. There is no overt violence, his power is so far beyond that of his enemies that whilst he can do whatever he wants physically, he instead chooses the option that causes the least amount of damage to both his enemies and the surrounding infrastructure. He is wholesome, he is humble, he is modest, he sends parts of his paycheque to his mother back in Smallville. The movie doesn’t end with a sunset it ends with us the audience following him as he/us fly into the sunrise. It doesn’t gloriously revel in the sun of this godlike entity showcasing his abilities trying to cast its shadow on every other hero, it makes time to have him get a cat out of the tree, to add little quotes about statistics on travel safety, even when he is in his Superman persona, he is confident without falling into the trap of being smug, he is humble, he isn’t aggressive or glorified destruction. Superman loves humanity, you get the impression he doesn’t want to fight, he wants to talk them into a peaceful solution, it wants wholesome and healthy entertainment, it is a family movie that welcomes you to enjoy it, not demands your attention.
Smallville. Oh boy oh boy. When I watched that tv series I was going through a bad break up. I won’t go into detail about the break up, or the relationship in question, but I started watching it on a whim and it became my comfort show. Smallville is a tv show about a teenage Clark Kent BEFORE he becomes Superman. It explores his pivotal years and sets him upon the path to becoming the worlds greatest hero. It also features him getting torn apart in the trials of being a super powered alien and having to keep a secret from his high school crush and friends, leading to intensely frustrating moments of Clark selflessly saving the day whilst not being able to reveal how much he cares about his friends and loved ones as he wrestles with this secret and they inadvertently punish him for his mysterious and seemingly closed off nature. The symbolism of him romantically desiring Lana Lang whilst she wears a green kryptonite necklace (green kryptonite acts as a “silver bullet” to Clark and gives him intense pain when he is near it) resonated with my own internal misery of wanting someone I couldn’t have, of trying so hard to be with someone and having it fail constantly. I won’t pretend it was “peak cinema”. But it became a comfort show and I watched it many, many times. The character of Clark Kent is played by Tom Welling, he has his moments, both good and bad, as he grows into the roll. This series is a fitting tribute to the character. He is learning, he is growing, he isn’t yet that glorious beacon of hope, he is stumbling, walking, striding and then finally flying into tomorrow. He makes mistakes, he isn’t refined, confident and fully accepts himself. He wrestles with insecurities and fears, he fails (sometimes quite hilariously) in his growth. He even has an edgy phase (or two) that we can ALL relate to. In the pursuit of perfection it falls short, but greatness is still achieved. It styles itself after the movies, it follows along with their design, the crumbs of that wholesome cookie still on the counter as they make this cake for you, the taste is familiar, but not entirely the same and not in a bad way.
Man of steel is something I liked. But not as a Superman film. It’s a good Superhero movie (in my opinion) but not a good Superman movie (in my opinion), I’d go so far as to say it’s an amazing Superhero movie and probably part of the reason that it’s so good is because it features Superman, purely because you can’t do the same things with other heroes to get the same effects, they don’t have the right weight to them. In “Man of Steel” Superman is forced into somewhat moralistic quandaries, he is forced to untangle ethical dilemmas that a real superhero would be forced to untangle. Unfortunately Man of steel asks questions we don’t need to be answered by Superman. To go deeper in depth about this, I’m going to have to talk about the 1978 Superman movie again and the soft reboot/ Homage sequel Superman Returns.
Superman Returns understood the assignment. Superman returns is a movie that understands what the character of Superman is fundamentally about and reverently portrays that character along the same lines as the two earlier movies (we are going to conveniently ignore Superman 3 and Superman 4). Superman isn’t about huge glorious cataclysmic fights that turn cities into devastated wastelands, it’s not about exploring him in moral and ethical puzzles or making him make tough choices. Superman is about “the dream of tomorrow” the wholesome hand offering to lift you and your dreams up into the future. The one who’s greatest strength is being able to lift your thoughts dreams up, your aspirations. Superman is built not just to withstand bullets and bombs, but to withstand the harsh world we live in and keep fighting against the impossible weight. He doesn’t live in reality, he lives in a dream of a better tomorrow, showcasing that he is powerful enough to ignore the tough questions and instead find a better way, or make a better way. His power is expressed with a subtle tenderness, he doesn’t just catch the car careening out of control, jerking it to a sudden stop, he gently lifts it into the air. Just as he gently lowers the plane to the ground and then adds in his “statically flying is the safest way to travel” line. Although the movie is a somewhat melancholy return, it doesn’t feel too deep to escape, it feels like we feel some of that melancholy that Superman feels, being the last of his kind, yearning to be a part of humanity, to take care and lift it up, his gentleness when using his strength only serves to highlight his power, not diminish it. He is not seen as an avenging destroyer, a righteous angel of justice or any of the usual monikers used to describe heroes, instead Superman embodies the name, the character and the essence of what being a Superhero should be. Superman doesn’t create explosions when he uses his powers, he doesn’t glorify or revel in destruction and he isn’t callous with his powers. Superman Returns is remembering how nice your grandmother’s cookies tasted and deciding to make your own, you follow the recipe, you make the first batch, you do it a few more times until you get it down, it’s not exactly the same, but it’s still got that special something. It doesn’t taste like a happy glimpse of yesteryear, it tastes like a happy glimpse of today. (it tastes like a happy glimpse of 2006 instead of a happy glimpse of 1978 but I can only stretch the anology so far)
Man of steel forces Superman to make hard choices, to succumb to our dilemmas. That isn’t what Superman is about, his power is that he can’t be forced into these situations, he doesn’t have to make the sadistic choice, he makes HIS choice, the better than best choice. When a disaster strikes, Superman is the opposite. He isn’t a messiah, he isn’t a god, he is a dream that can’t be shot, a beautiful tomorrow that is always going to rise. Superman doesn’t kill because he is weak or his moral code prevents him. he is simply so powerful so unrelentingly good, that he makes a way to resolve the situation without getting his hands covered in blood. Even against other Kryptonians who have the same physical powers, he is smarter, more cunning and has the sheer indomitable spirit to win. He isn’t just a physical unrelenting force for a better tomorrow, his thoughts and smarts are beyond us as well. It doesn’t matter if he needs to use brains or brawn because sometimes he is going to get help, the hidden joy of Superman is that he can rely on others to help him rise when he stumbles. Superman is going to find a way to save the day, because that is what Superheroes in essence are, expressions of our dreams, or desires and our wants, the yearning for the ability to fly, to endure, to be able to not just have to settle for making a hard choice but to be able to make a better choice unavailable. To be able to handle things with gentle kindness, with quite confidence, to be strong enough not for yourself, but for others. To not just save someone, but to help them save themselves.
Man of steel is an awesome Superhero movie, it however paints a picture of Superman that didn’t need to be painted. Superman doesn’t need to answer these questions, the same reason why Superman doesn’t live in New York or go stop Russia from its brutal invasion of Ukraine. Superman is an example, a guiding light we can’t physically touch, but can follow. To get really meta about this. Superman himself is the Hope we should follow, the fictional character itself the symbol of a better tomorrow that it aspires to uplift in the comics, as it hopes to uplift us the viewers. Superman flies to the sunrise to leads us to a better tomorrow, both in fiction and in reality from the movie.
This is why, when people ask me who my favourite Superhero is, I say Superman, because he is the example, the archetype, the one we should strive to emulate, not because of his alien powers, but because of his human goodness. He isn’t trying to just save us today, he is trying to save tomorrow, one cat at a time if needs be.
