So, Iâve been reading The Nail.
Loving it so far!
Itâs so funny to note that, throughout the entire time I am reading, I canât help but think, âWhere is Superman??â
I mean, considering the nature of the problem they are dealing with, itâs not as if there is anything in particular that Superman could do that no one else can, but still.
Itâs like when something drastic in your life happens, and you look for your mom.
⌠Iâm starting to really see those Mom parallels you were drawing, Kitty! Lol
Also, what do you mean by, âsubstitute eventâ?
They chose to kill Superman, rather than have him marry and live happily ever after?
And the âflawâ that you mentioned⌠Was that Superman choosing to follow the path of love and marriage, rather than simply having LL as side aspect in his life?
Supermanâs death was a place holder until the wedding could fit into the schedule and align with the L&C TV show (as it ultimately did, if memory serves correct)
âLetâs just kill him!â was what the Superman team said in editorial/story retreats as a joke when thinking up new ideas for the Superman line. That joke came up again, only this time they (obviously) took the idea seriously.
The Superman editors and writers were ordered NOT to have Clark and Lois marry YET. Management wanted them to wait for the TV show, Lois and Clark, to marry as well.
Thus they had to pick another event. They decided to kill off Superman.
Watch the video.
All heroes have flaws, thought the Greeks.
I am not sure what flaw Superman has.
He may be overconfident.
Villains know that Superman will go to extremes to prevent harm to innocents, which causes him big problems, but that is not a flaw.
Secret Origins: The Story of DC Comics, discusses Death of Superman at the one hour fourteen minutes mark, for a few minutes.
The whole video is only one and a half hour.
It is filled with actual interviews by creators and gives a well done, structured view of the entire DC history, impossible to do, in a shorter period of time.
I would recommend it to all new readers, after they had read a few comics and were interested in a whole world view point.
A little bit off-topic, but relevant; one of my favorite breakdowns of Supermanâs influence over us is Billâs monologue from Kill Bill Vol. 2, in which he discusses how unique Superman is to the superhero mythos. This is because Superman wakes up Superman; he doesnât have to put on a mask to BECOME Superman. In fact, it is Clark Kent that is his alter ego. And how Superman chooses to imitate humanity is by making him uncertain and bumbling. Our greatest champion also seems to pity us, and possibly see us as incapable of saving ourselves (and can you blame himâŚ).
I absolutely agree with what has been said before that we NEED Supermanâs morality as a pillar of reference, almost so that we can do bad. To @KittyKrawlerâs point, Supermanâs values act as a mainstay that can be relied upon, to the degree that we take them for granted (see: Moms). Knowing that we always have Superman to âcome home toâ gives all us little simpletons the freedom to do as much wrong as we want, knowing heâll always clean up our mess; or at least, keep the balance in the way we truly want it to b e.
Another superhero often fills the âalmighty hopeâ role, and that hero is Captain America. But unlike Superman, Captain America is/was beholden to his country. As the world and society changed, Captain America was forced to âbetrayâ his values in order to uphold âAmericanâ values. Superman, in being an alien, is able to maintain a bigger picture, never siding with a country or a set of idealistic political standards, but rather standing for what is UNIVERSALLY right.
@Applejack
How oh so very relevant!
Drawing the contrast between Captain America and Superman definitely shed a bunch of light and something that I think many of us were hitting on from various angles.
Because Superman is alien, you canât mistake his motivations for being country-driven (like with Capt. America) or even planet-driven, as he is not of Earth.
He rose up as a protector for a people who could not defend themselves against an evil that was attacking ideals that make up the foundation on which Superman stands.
Itâs so relevant that you point out Supermanâs attempt at blending in with humans as being just that. An attempt at blending in.
Itâs not that I forget he is an alien, as much as it may be that I forget he is an alien âfirstâ.
You are aware of this with the Martian Manhunter, because âblending inâ is a huge part of his character as a âMartianâ. But Superman being alien isnât exactly highlighted in his every word and action, like with the MM .
So, it definitely stands to reason that the way he decides to portray Clark Kent is a direct representation of how he views human beings.
Ooo⌠This is so very interesting to think about!
âFor every action, there is an equal and opposite reactionâ.
Letâs say Superman was never created. Because of the worldâs need for superheroes in general, I think we can all agree that superheroes would have eventually been created. But letâs say someone less idyllic was created as the first superhero. Perhaps the succession of heroes and villains to be created in response, wouldâve been subpar to the first wave that we are familiar with.
But there are still certain superhero âarchetypesâ that would demand fulfillment eventually - including Supermanâs archetype: The Paragon.
I mean⌠maybe in a Superman-less reality his name would be something like SuperAwesomeAtEverythingMan⌠or maybe Amazo! Haha
But I do agree with you stating, âIf they had they might be unrecognizable both in name and how they are portrayed without Superman starting everything.â
And I think the length of time it took to create the Superman-esque hero would define how everything else panned out.
What would be super interesting would be if a villain became extremely popular before any of the superhero charactersâŚ
I think I agree. Barry is about the only character in the DC Universe that I can think of who has a strong enough character and heart to even come close to stepping in for Superman. He may not be nearly as capable, powers/strength-wise, but it is Supermanâs character that makes him what he is.
I vote Barry Allen ⌠ya know, if the worst case scenario ever happened⌠and Barry was available to fill in. lol
I think itâs definitely relevant to note that the world as a whole may not be familiar with the fact that characters die and come back all of the time. But I do think itâs also relevant to note that even for fans who are used to that happening, did it ever happen with Superman? Nope. Even for fans, Superman always won, always wins, and will continue to win.
As far as we were concerned, Superman would probably even defeat Death and old age! Haha
So, maybe I speak for a few others, but I know for myself, I was surprised when he died. Even though part of me knew that writers were probably planning on eventually doing a âSuperman diesâ issue (I mean, itâs too juicy to not do!), but because he wins every other fight, his actual death surely came out of left field⌠aside from being warned by the title⌠haha
Just for kicks and conversation, letâs say Superman died before Barry eventually did in Crisis on Infinite Earths. With both of them gone, who do you think could step in at that point?
Iâd vote for Diana. She knows how to inspire people and get things done.
