Excelsior

Superman is the personification of everything that is good about America and that's only part of what makes him a great character. It's not what he can do, it's who he is. He is the ultimate power, but his abilities will never corrupt him. What makes him brave is not the fact that he's invincible but that he truly cares for all of humanity. He does not have to act out of guilt (like Peter Parker) or vengence (like Bruce Wayne) but simply because he knows right from wrong. Superman inspires humanity to be the best of it can be by showing them a path to universal righteousness. yes, batman is the darker character and easily relatable. his brand of justice focuses more on punishing criminals where superman focuses more on protecting the innocent. their differences are part of what makes them such a great team: two orphans that are reaching for the same star but get their by their own means. Batman and Superman are like two halves of the same coin, the yin and yang of justice, and the first modern-day superheroes. Superman doesn't represent America at a particular time but the ideal of the American way: to treat everyone equally, to try injustices fairly, to always be honest with yourself and others. Superman gives humanity something to strive for: to be better than they are (morally, not just economically or socially). If you ask him he'd be the first one to tell you that there is nothing particularly brave about having bullets bounce off your chest. Kal-El wouldn't necessarily consider himself brave, but rather, admires humanity for their bravery, ie., a firefighter rushing into a burning building. As for your problem with the disguise: sometimes the best disguises are right in front of us, even though it didn't fool the World Greatest Detective one bit.

Superman is the personification of everything that is good about America and that's only part of what makes him a great character. It's not what he can do, it's who he is. He is the ultimate power, but his abilities will never corrupt him. What makes him brave is not the fact that he's invincible but that he truly cares for all of humanity. He does not have to act out of guilt (like Peter Parker) or vengence (like Bruce Wayne) but simply because he knows right from wrong. Superman inspires humanity to be the best of it can be by showing them a path to universal righteousness. yes, batman is the darker character and easily relatable. his brand of justice focuses more on punishing criminals where superman focuses more on protecting the innocent. their differences are part of what makes them such a great team: two orphans that are reaching for the same star but get their by their own means. Batman and Superman are like two halves of the same coin, the yin and yang of justice, and the first modern-day superheroes. Superman doesn't represent America at a particular time but the ideal of the American way: to treat everyone equally, to try injustices fairly, to always be honest with yourself and others. Superman gives humanity something to strive for: to be better than they are (morally, not just economically or socially). If you ask him he'd be the first one to tell you that there is nothing particularly brave about having bullets bounce off your chest. Kal-El wouldn't necessarily consider himself brave, but rather, admires humanity for their bravery, ie., a firefighter rushing into a burning building. As for your problem with the disguise: sometimes the best disguises are right in front of us, even though it didn't fool the World Greatest Detective one bit.

Superman is a tool. He is an unrealistic ideal of what should be good about America, hell about the entire world, but isn't and can never be. And lets face it he is just plan boring. I've always liked Batman and his alter ego Bruce Wayne is in my opinion every woman's wet dream. I mean he's handsome, filthy rich, smartest hero hands down of any comic book character, has the whole bad boy thing about him which is sexy, and selflessly saves people whenever he can. I've always said Superman/Clark Kent is the guy you bring home to mom. Batman/Bruce Wayne is the guy you mess around with when mom is feeding SM/CK apple pie.

First off, thank for reading and commenting on my article. I'm glad that it struck a cord with you, I live for this kind of stuff.

Ricky, I understand your point about Superman as a personification of the American ideal. I counter that the revamped Superman of the Cold War era got distorted somehow. Instead, Superman became a government tool based on Patriotic fundamentalism. I think this too is mirrored in the politics of the earlier part of this decade - think Bush and all his "with us or against us" nonsense. Superman began to take in such ideals and became a weapon, good or not, he was American. The moral message seems to have been lost, but I think that says more about American politics and culture than it does the Man of Steel. That said, I don't see why the classical interpretation of Superman that you presented can't be seen as heroic.

Leigh, you bring up an interesting point with regard to sex. Batman certainly seems a bit more sexy and a whole lot less white bread. The irony being Batman never really gets to enjoy pursuits of the flesh, not that he doesn't try. Bruce Wayne's only true joy lays in the battery of his enemies. Kind of a sick concept, but it makes for good reading.

Thanks again to both of you for your enthusiasm.