Faster than a speeding bullet Stronger than a locomotive. Able to leap tall buildings in a single bound…..It’s Superman!
Considered by many as the best superhero, or the first superhero, one thing that cannot be argued is that Superman is historical and iconic. He has actually shaped parts of world culture. Superman has not always been who he is today, though. The character has gone through several changes to bring him to the almost god-like perception people have of him today. Let’s talk Superman. Up, up and away!
Origin:
First of all, his name is not Superman, it’s Kal-El. Kal-El’s father, Jor-El, was a scientist and he discovered that their home planet of Krypton was in the process of being destroyed. The Kryptonians had, even with all of their vast knowledge and technology, ruined their own planet. Jor-El made provisions to keep their race alive by placing his infant son, Kal-El in a small pod and launching it into space on a course for Earth. I know he sounds like a terrible dad, but Jor-El knew that when his son was exposed to the light of a yellow sun, his molecules would react and make him near indestructible.
Kal-El’s pod was discovered by a couple of farmers, who wanted a child. Like any normal loving person would, they raised that cute little alien kid as their own. At least he didn’t look like a Martian right?
His Earth name was Clark Kent from that point on. Clark was raised by well centered, benevolent, hard-working country folk. They instilled an immovable moral compass in Clark and raised him to be a great leader. I guess maybe they had the foresight to understand that a person who is unstoppable needs to have a little self-control.
As Clark got older and discovered more and more of his abilities, he built a fortress of solitude in the Arctic. Such a harsh place that many could never make the trip there. In his fortress, Clark learned of the history, knowledge, and technology of his people. This fully rounded him into the Superman that the world would need.
Clark moved to Metropolis and got a job as a reporter at the Daily Planet. I’m still not sure why he needed a job, but I guess everyone gets bored sometimes.
Superman works out of Metropolis and spans the whole world with acts of benevolent awesomeness and occasional butt kicking.
Abilities:
Superman’s abilities are more diverse than Batman’s utility belt! He has enough strength to lift mountains, heat vision, X-Ray vision, cold breath, super speed, super endurance, super intellect, flight, super senses, healing factor when exposed to sunlight, all powers increased when exposed to sunlight and probably more that I have forgotten. (Feel free to correct me in the comments).
Weaknesses:
Obviously kryptonite (radioactive pieces of Krypton), but did you know there are several kinds of kryptonite? Did you know that Superman has other weaknesses??
He is vulnerable to magic attacks.
Wonder Woman’s sword can cut his skin (according to the Kingdom Come comic series).
Various Kryptonite effects include: weakness and sickness that eventually lead to death; change in character from good to evil; loss of inhibition, literally split into two separate bodies, one good, one evil; one rare kind even increases his powers.
My observations:
As history has progressed, it has created the Superman we now know. In the beginning, Superman was nowhere near as strong, and he couldn’t fly! Remember the term, “He can leap tall buildings in a single bound.”? He used to jump from place to place like the hulk. That is so weird.
Superman has gone through various power increases and decreases through the decades. Honestly, I’m not surprised. Superman has had to change with the times. Did you know that Superman was created just 11 years after the fall of the Ottoman Empire? Yeah, that sounds crazy!
He was first created in 1933 and the Ottoman Empire fell in 1922. He wouldn’t become a published hero until June of 1938.
Ok here goes, Superman isn’t my favorite hero. I have enjoyed stories of Superman from my childhood in the form of cartoons, comics, movies, and toys so I’ll go easy on the criticism. Sometimes I feel like he is too strong. I get tired of the whole, “Earthlings are good on the inside, so I’ll guide them” shtick. Superman is so unbeatable that a villain was created (Doomsday) that was unbeatable just to give him a challenge. Spoiler, Superman beat him. I mean I’ll watch whatever movies he makes, but I’m not really excited about it.
Rating:
Superman is basically the reason we have superheroes so he gets big points for that. His influences on things we say and do are real and measurable so, again big points. Superman loses points in that he is just unbeatable. All he needs to do is lay out in the sun and he is good. He has definitely held his own throughout history and he does have great hair so….
In conclusion, my rating for Superman is a solid B. Maybe he deserves more, and I would give him a better rating if I could see a more down-to-earth struggle or weakness from him.
What did you think of this Hero Spotlight?
Who do you want to see in the spotlight next?
I’ll be posting more Hero Spotlights in the future here. Same bat time, same bat channel.
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i know this post is old but i’m still going to comment because i just got this app but i know more about superman then probably anyone on this sight anyway superman is not undeafeted because he is posinous to green kryptonite didn’t you see in batman vs. superman dawn of justice that batman created a kryptonite sword to use against superman but didn’t use it on him instead they were going to use it on the monsterous creator that came from krypton and the monster and superman both died of the knife. So in conclusion superman is not invinciable because of green kryptonite , well thats my opinion. I have probably misspelled something oh freaking well.
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I agree that he is too powerful, but this has always been something I loved. He’s a god amongst men. But the thing that brings him down several notches is the notion that he doesn’t want the power. He doesn’t want the weight of the world on his shoulders. More than anything in the world, he wants to be human. He wants to live a mundane life as the mild-mannered Clark Kent. But he does have the powers, and his overwhelming love for humanity compels him to keep fighting for them. As was said in Kill Bill vol. 2, Peter Parker wakes up, puts on his costume, and he becomes Spider-Man. Bruce Wayne wakes up, puts on his costume, and he becomes Batman. But when Superman wakes up, and he puts on his costume, it’s to become Clark Kent. I find that mythology so beautiful. He’s cursed with power he doesn’t want, but needs it to be the savior when nobody else can carry the weight of the world on their shoulders.
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I like that point of view. I always feel that a comic hero needs to struggle. That’s what makes their story tangible in the middle of crazy sci-fi. I never really got that, but the point of view you present is interesting. He is suffering, but as an alien who only wants to be human. I can see and appreciate that.
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The best medium that notion has best been portrayed in was the CW show Smallville, for better or worse. If that show does anything, it humanizes and alienates Clark Kent better than any other iteration of the character, making it invariably my favorite and most endearing.
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I agree. Smallville was good. It had it’s teen angst and lots of filler material, but it really was good. Smallville still has the best Lex too. I hoped years ago that a movie would come from it with Tom Welling as Superman.
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Didn’t we all😩
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