I’m a life-long Superman fan – drawn to his courage, strength and unwavering integrity. But there’s a problem with Superman inherent with all comic book creations. He can only be as heroic and noble as the writer telling that particular story. And comic characters are, by necessity, interpreted in countless stories by countless writers.
This became extremely clear to me this summer when I made the trek along with 130,000 other fans of story to Comic-Con. During a DC Comics panel, a writer was discussing a new Superman graphic novel and described some of the things a young Superman would wrestle with – including an attractive woman, sexual tension and the possibility of them being together. He went into more detail than I am here. During the Q &A, I told the writer the reason most people read Superman isn’t to see scenes of this nature but to be inspired by his heroism. If he wanted to write these scenes – why do it with Superman? Several in the room applauded this sentiment. The writer seemed perturbed and said the graphic novel was for adults – not kids (though graphic novels about Superman will be sold to at least as many kids as adults). He saw this intimate side of a young Superman as real and unexplored territory. So…that’s what Superman will encounter in this story. Another writer recently had a Superman story arc in which the man of steel renounces his American citizenship because he is now a “world” citizen rather than loyal to one country. So much for truth, justice and the American Way.
The problem isn’t with the original essence of the Superman character – but with writers whose own values transform heroes into version of their own beliefs. The bottom line is a writer can’t give a hero noble values that they don’t have – or value – personally. That’s a shame when it sullies a hero like Superman. And a reason our ultimate hero needs to be Jesus – one who never changes, always rescues, and has conquered death itself.
