Satirizing Superman - Detail Diatribe

As a Tumblr post once said: “In a world with no consequences, why would you choose to follow the rules?” “Because my no-consequences power fantasy is being able to help people”

There's a quote from Batman I really like. "It's a remarkable dichotomy. In many ways, Clark is the most human of us all. Then... he shoots fire from the sky and it is difficult to not think of him as a god. And how fortunate we all are that the thought never occurs to him."

I saw a great comment on a similar video about Superman that said "The reason why in modern times its so common to satirize Superman and make him evil is because they think it's "more realistic". Because more so than eye lazers and super strength and flying, the thing we find most unbelievable is that someone with power could be a good and honest person, down to his core"

I think that what Invincible does really well is that it splits Superman in two: Omni-Man is Kal-El, all-powerful alien vigilante, and Mark is Clark Kent, with his humble upbringing around other normal humans. And it asks the question - which part makes Superman super? And it delivers its answer: Clark Kent. Without question.

The sentence "Superman is Clark Kent's 'Customer Service' voice." Has me, a customer service person, suddenly feeling a little better about my job 😌

My favorite Superman satire is Metro Man from Megamind. He's another Superman who got overwhelmed by the constant pressure of heroism and he... retired. He didn't kill anyone. He didn't hurt anyone. He just faked his death because he was burnt out and knew that his arch enemy, who was good at heart, would eventually do the right thing. We need more parodies like that.

Rewatching this and I remembered one of the most wholesome panels ever where Batman visits the Kent farm as Bruce and the parents immediately know he's Batman. And Papa Kent tells him on the porch together and says that the reason they knew so easily is because Clark talks about him a lot. Batman is his best friend, of course this random rich guy from Jersey he's never talked about knowing is Batman. And the one line I remember was "Clark may be Superman, but he talks like he believes you can walk on water". I don't know if it's the exact quote but I think it's sweet how much Clark loves his buddy Edit: I dug it up. "Honestly, Clark may be able to leap tall buildings in a single bound but he believes you can walk on water, son. I shouldn't be telling you this, it's worse than showing you his baby photos. But I'm pretty sure you're his hero."

When I was a kid, the hypothetical "what if you could do anything?" always confused me because the answer was *so obvious.* I never even considered people would actually use ultimate power to be cruel. That's what bad guys did. But no, apparently helping people isn't the majority vote in this instance. What a weird thought.

"Alan Moore wrote Watchmen which js on record I have observed the favourite comic of everyone who makes a bad superman adaptation and think they're smart" that sentence is so true it's hillarious.

Homelander isn't "what if Superman but bad", Homelander is "What if Superman was raised by a corporation to be a celebrity mascot?" The "but bad" is a consequence of the deviation from Superman, not the deviation itself. His primary underlying character arc is "How would a narcissist's need for validation brush up against their superiority complex if they had near-limitless power?" Also bafflingly, Homelander is apparently one of those characters we can now add to the list of "people unironically like them and don't realize they're supposed to be the bad guy", which is terrifying.

11:50 Supposedly Max Fleischer didn’t want to do the Superman animations, so instead of saying “no” he quoted what he thought was an absurdly high price — to which the buyer actually agreed, so then he had to do it. Which is why the Max Fleischer Superman episodes are so lush and detailed — no expense was spared!

Superman I feel very much fits with the idea that “power does not corrupt, it reveals.” Power in and of itself is neutral; what the person does with it is either good or evil. Clark is inherently a good person; having all of this power simply reveals just how good a person he really is

The subversion of Invincible is amazing because the twist is essentially "Omniman isn't the Superman archetype you thought he was. He's the Zod archetype."

“I’ve always liked you, Kent. You’re a humble, modest, uncoordinated human. You’re everything he’s not. “ - Lex Luthor, “All-Star Superman”

I love Injustice (and similar stories) for specifically and explicitly rejecting evil Superman. Evil Superman is an god-complex tyrant, but Supes comes in and goes "Yeah, deciding people's fate isn't our job" and dunks on him. It's glorious and cathartic

One of my favorite moments of characterization for Superman was a very small bit unimportant to whatever story it took place in (i don't remember the issue), a short bit of dialogue that runs diametrically opposite to what Lex thinks of him, where he says that he looks up to firemen, he thinks firemen are more heroic than he is. When he flies into a burning building to rescue people, he's in no danger at all. It's easy for him, literally the least he could do. But normal, fragile, flammable men running into a fire to rescue a stranger...THAT is brave.

One thing I hate about “what if Superman turned evil” stories is that all that happens to Superman is that usually Lois or some member of his family is killed. What this implies is that the only reason Superman is as good a person as he is, is because nothing bad ever happens to him and because he is comfortable and naive. But the moment he is tested, he breaks all apart and throws morality to the wind. I feel like if true Superman’s family were killed, the Superman thing to do, would be to buckle down and keep being a good person. Forgive and push onward.

I cannot remember where I read it, but there was an interesting answer to "If Lex Luthor is so smart, why hasn't he figured out Superman's secret identity?". And in Lex's mind the reason was that "He doesn't have one" Lex could not conceive the possibility that this super-powered alien who lives in a crystal fortress at the north pole would ever stoop to pretending to be a mere human. Which is telling and a good bit of insight to both of their characters.

It's so wild to me how simple Superman's voice is but also how specific it is. like the quote "Orbit, he went into orbit." just feels viscerally him. starting with the most simple way to say something, and then clarifying by putting it in the simplest sentence, while being so specific and clear that he never comes off as simple himself.

On the subject of the Alan Mooreian idea of "Clark views being Superman as a sacrifice" there's a great moment in the STAS episode "The Late Mister Kent" where when people think Clark has died due to a car bomb, he's venting about this to his parents and he says something along the lines of "I AM Clark I NEED to be Clark, I can't be Superman all the time, it'd drive me nuts!" it really seems to come from that place. I'd actually highly recommend that episode by the way outside of that moment, it's all about Superman trying to save just some random innocent man from death row by finding proof he is innocent, I almost wonder if it's based on the story mentioned in the beginning.