The Problem with Superman ("Americans don't want to be told what to aspire to anymore")

Time Magazine ^ | May. 17, 2004 | LEV GROSSMAN

[Hawkeye's Girl]

For America's multimillion-dollar Superman industry, it's a serious problem. This is a guy who's from outer space — he was born on the planet Krypton, let's not forget — but he's also from another time. He debuted in the 1930s, when Americans liked their heroes like they liked their steaks: tough, thick and all-American. Nowadays we prefer our heroes dark and flawed and tragic. Look at the Punisher (wife and kids dead), or Hellboy (born a demon), or Spider-Man (secretly a nerd). Look at Batman: his parents were killed in front of him, and he dresses like a Cure fan. Now look at the big blue Boy Scout, with his cleft chin and his spit curl. He's just not cool.

[weegee]

"As someone who loved the dark side for a long time, I had little or no interest in Superman for years," Austen says.

CULTURE WAR PING. Outlaw culture should not be the dominant culture in America and I would question those who see fit to put those who "love the dark side" in charge of setting the course for childrens' entertainment.

[TexasCajun]

I'm sure Mr. Grossman prefers not to be told that sex with other men is immoral, filthy and disgusting!

Afterall, he does write for TIME!

[TheBigB]

He has no weakness, except for some obscure element (Kriptonnite).

Superman is also vulnerable to magic, FYI.

[weegee]

Smallville, featuring a teenage Clark Kent, is the No. 1 show on the WB, but the best onscreen version may be the deadpan, dead-on American Express ads on TV and the Internet featuring and in part written by Jerry Seinfeld. Does the comedian think Superman needs refurbishing? "I do," Seinfeld says. "I thought that they kind of botched it up. The last series of films really lost the whole essence of the appeal of the character." Seinfeld's Superman, who gets too much mayonnaise on his sandwich and can't figure out a DVD player, may be the most credibly human version yet.

Talk about taking a quote out of context. I somehow seriously doubt that Jerry Seinfeld's dislike of the Golan Globus Superman films (3, 4, and 5) means that he wants to see a "dark side" running through Superman comics and adaptations.

[Salgak]

Re: The Green Hornet

You did know that it's in pre-production for the big screen, with Kevin Smith directing ? It ought to be good. . .

[weegee]

A limited-run comic called Secret Identity tells the story of a Superman who lives in the real world, our world, and who plays a lifelong chess game with the government and the media to keep his true nature hidden. What could be more modern than a hero with an obsessive need for privacy?

[Hodar]

So aside from the lack of super powers, myoptic eyesight, poor hearing, looks, physique and an allergy to cat dander ..... you and Superman are alot alike.

Gosh, I wanna be you.

[momfirst]

Why should anyone want to aspire to anything anymore? You know it may make other less ambitious people feel bad.

LMAO! I want that on a bumper sticker for my car!!!

BTW, my 3 yr old son is a total Superman-buff. He likes Batman, Spiderman, and all that, but Justice League rules in his little world.

[theDentist]

"Americans don't want to be told what to aspire to anymore"

Close. Americans don't want to be told what to aspire to anymore by the likes of pseudo-journalistic magazines like Time, Newsweek, or by news organizations like NYTimes or LATimes, who print news according to their little red books.

[NCPAC]

This reminds me of what I thought to be an interesting phenomenom when I was a kid in the late 60's/early 70's. In my neighborhood, without fail, all the kids who were "Superman" fans preferred RC Cola, The Munsters, 'Mary Anne' and the Beatles - while all the "Batman" fans preferred Coke, The Addams Family, 'Ginger' and the Rolling Stones. It was really pretty strange.

Comparing the two, I also remember my 9th grade Social Studies teacher (it was 1973) joke that(paraphrased) 'Superman reads the Bible. Batman reads Neitzche' (sp). Not for THAT reason (though I've read both) but I am a HUGE Batman fan.

[GodBlessRonaldReagan]

Superman not cool? The comic that gave us Supergirl, the Legion of Super-Heroes, Krypto the Super-dog, Beppo the Super-monkey, the Superman Revenge Squad, umpteen types of Kryptonite, Jimmy Olsen and the Carrot-Top Cut Ups, the bottle city of Kandor, etc., etc. not cool? The Mort Weisinger-edited Superman comics of the '50's & '60's are some of the best fun to be had in four colors!

And don't forget Mort's finest moment....BIZARRO!

[Lady Jag]

My Superman is Dubya

[You Dirty Rats]

Without Bruce Le, who cares?

[TheBigB]

Goodbye! Me am sad to meet you!

[weegee]

Superman has always been prissily apolitical — as a resident alien, does he even vote?--but that may be the missing piece.

B.S.

A Hate-America Superhero? In the July issue, Superman declares the Iraq war immoral.

Our Superman will want to wallow in who he is and find out why he hurts.

"Why do they hate us so?"

"What could we do to make them not want to strike us with nother 911?"

"Why does that #*!$ on the Bachelor have to be so mean?"

[RightWhale]

Batman also dates from the 1930's

Yes, but the dark gothic character of Batman is more recent. Superman has also acquired a brooding character recently. Crow and Sandman had such character traits from the beginning but that coincided with the time of the transformation of Superman and Batman. We might find the best evidence of the end of postmodernism in the comic strips, but the Baghdad prison scandal shows it is happening in reality also.

[ivanhoe116]

He debuted in the 1930s, when Americans liked their heroes like they liked their steaks: tough, thick and all-American.

He was rejected in the thirties as too "Arian" i.e. neo-nazi, perhaps you are all too young to remember.

[weegee]

BRING BACK MORT! (so to speak)

[TheBigB]

I certainly wasn't aware of that. I do know that Supes wasn't the most popular comic during WWII...that was Captain Marvel and Joe Palooka.

[GodBlessRonaldReagan]

The Bizarro Code:

Us hate beauty!
Us love ugliness!
Is big crime to make anything perfect on Bizarro World!