DC Comics has struggled with the character of Superman lately. Before the New 52 DC prolonged New Krypton (which I loved) and people didn't seem to like it. They had Superman's citizenship revoked and Grounded the character. It's tough to write Superman, it's tough to make him relatable or *gasp* realistic (something seen as a necessity for the character).
My question is this: why does Superman need to be realistic? I don't watch Doctor Who to see David Tennant or Matt Smith struggle living and interacting with humans in a realistic way. Even if Superman was raised as a human among humans he still took the mantle of Superman. He still has an ice castle. He has a gun that leads into an incorporeal alien space prison. Superman has a ring that takes him into the future, a future where he has a museum dedicated to him.
But at the same time this character is expected to act like a human with everyday problems and dilemmas. I often see how Clark Kent is written like Peter Parker light. I get that the New 52 is building up to the "real" Superman but it just isn't for me. To me Superman just isn't written like a badass. And by badass I mean in his own category. Make the reader feel like Superman is needed instead of stories where the writer is clearly advocating against it in favor of some oh so mighty moral dilemma. If you're not Alan Moore, don't try to write Watchmen. Write something new. Instead of blood and guts maybe try something with actual heart in it.
The solution is simple: write Superman like Grant Morrison did in All Star Superman.
Sound simple enough? Well to be honest it's not, not in this day and age when stories are expected to be grim and gritty. Yet All Star Superman has been pretty much the most profound reading experience that a superhero comic book has given me. And it delivered a Superman who does what he knows best: a sincere beacon of hope and optimism but with enough (pseudo)science and logic to backing it up.
So let Superman cure cancer, let Superman create life, let Superman have a pet sun-eater and the wreck of the Titanic in his Fortress of Solitude. Make the reader go "woah!"
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