Most important: first, strongest, or most influential hero?

[Kuwagaton]

So no matter what, Superman is the one true leader of superheroes. Action is the first comic book to #1000 and for better or worse all the common tropes of the genre (if not medium) lead back to slamming that green car. But within the DC universe, which should the stories best reflect?

[Trunks]

All of the above,not this or that

[jimmy]

So no matter what, Superman is the one true leader of superheroes. Action is the first comic book to #1000 and for better or worse all the common tropes of the genre (if not medium) lead back to slamming that green car. But within the DC universe, which should the stories best reflect?

Superman seeems to be combination of all three; First, Strongest, indspirational!

[SiegePerilous02]

I went with strongest, but it's very close between all three, and ideally all three should be present.

Superman is the modern version of the Hercules archetype. The mightiest hero in the pantheon. If we move away from that by de-powering him or making everybody his equal, it's like Maggin said: you don't know which archetype you are dealing with, and are not suited for the character. That doesn't mean he is the only hero the DCU needs; far from it, the place is big enough and bizarre enough that everybody should get stuff to do on various scales of power. And while the ancient Greeks made Heracles their mightiest hero, the Odyssey is still regarded as a classic and Perseus's slaying of Medusa is one of the most iconic myths they have, so it's not like Herc made the stories of other heroes redundant just by existing. If the Greeks had this shit figured out, there is no reason why modern writers can't.

Him being the first public superhero is also important, if for no other reason than he was both in-universe and out of universe (for the concept as we've come to know it today) for a significant stretch of time. It was only undone so the JSA could be shoehorned into the main Earth, and that's not necessarily a setup that works better than what came before, so why keep it around? Him being the first means the rest of the world starts to "wake up" and other superheroes start to emerge, much like how the superhero craze started to take off and other characters like Batman, Wonder Woman, and Captain Marvel owe their initial creations to his success. This in no way means that in-universe, the other heroes have to be inspired by him. Bruce will become Batman regardless, Diana wants to go to Man's World and jumps at the chance at the Contest without knowing anything about Superman, etc. But in a meta sense, he is the herald that ushers in the age of superheroes.

Most inspiring is a little more difficult to agree with, because people are inspired by different things. Maybe the rest of the superhero community should look to him as the most inspiring (though not to the degree that they undermine their own accomplishments or, in the case of the sidekicks, value him too much above their mentors), but the general populace would be inspired by different heroes. I think the female populace of the DCU can be inspired by him, but a lot of them may be more likely to be inspired by Wonder Woman, Supergirl or Vixen, etc.

[Phoenixx9]

All 3 of the choices!

[The World]

Multiple choice answer so probably best to proceed on process of elimination.

Most influential seems like a pretty dead fish to me at this point tbh. I feel once you get beyond the lip service that's sometimes given to Supes due to his status as an oldster the whole direction Superman has drifted in has been that he doesn't really want to influence anyone but rather he wants people to find their own way. He just seems more like a maintainer than an influencer really, and the influence he does have is more meta due to his age and historic place in pop culture but if I look around it seems like time is passing Big Blue by. I saw someone say somewhere that Superman's 80th year rather than being the year of Kal-El it's looking to be the year of Thanos. Batman has a more clear influence over the DCU imo, its not really something I like but it just feels like fact. Bruce is a more flexible and maleable character while Clark is a more rigid and static one and that's not getting into how Marvel extended it's influence over DC. But more than that a lot of comic book readers seem to prefer if Superman keeps his opinions about things to himself. Yeah dead fish. trying to make Superman the most influential hero would be like screaming into a tunnel.

First again seems fairly difficult. How do you fit him in with the rest of the DCU? If Superman is the first of the superheroes then that would land him as contemporary of the Golden Age heroes correct? Does he outlive them and make it to modern times or will the books be set in the past? Is it set int the modern times but time traveling shenanigans lead to him somehow becoming the first? I mean it's feasible but it's also feels like hoop leaping just to get something that's basically just a title ultimately.


Strongest though. Could be fun just seeing how writers come up with differing problems and stuff.

[SiegePerilous02]

First again seems fairly difficult. How do you fit him in with the rest of the DCU? If Superman is the first of the superheroes then that would land him as contemporary of the Golden Age heroes correct? Does he outlive them and make it to modern times or will the books be set in the past? Is it set int the modern times but time traveling shenanigans lead to him somehow becoming the first? I mean it's feasible but it's also feels like hoop leaping just to get something that's basically just a title ultimately.

They can always just put them back on Earth-2. I doubt this is an element that was questioned nearly as much as it has been since Crisis. Adherence to the post-Crisis set up is the only thing preventing both a lot of Superman fans and JSA fans getting what they want (the mainstream Superman being the first superhero, the JSA having their WWII era history intact).

What does the JSA predating Superman actually end up even doing for either property? The JSA remain unchanged really, and Superman seems less impressive when he emerges to a world that already had Dr. Fate and Jay Garrick in it. The JLA and JSA have an easier time having Christmas parties or whatever, but that's all I can think of. And even with that, the two groups didn't let the Multiverse prevent them from hanging out a lot pre-Crisis....

[Robanker]

All three to a point, but on the subject of the JSA... I think of him as the first of his generation. After the JSA went into hiding, superheroes vanished until some new kid in a red cape showed up in Metropolis. He's the start of the second generation of heroes.

[Adekis]

I like Superman being very strong, but I don't want him to be the strongest. I like him to be the first "Super-Hero", but I don't particularly need him to be the first costumed crime-fighter or first Earth-Protecting metahuman. Influential or inspirational? Well, put it this way, Wonder Woman, probably the second most inspirational super-hero, doesn't have an intergalactic team of super-heroes taking direct cues from her a thousand years in the future, you know?

So yeah, I think that's the most important of the three options.

I would clarify though, I like Superman to fight guys stronger than him on a fairly regular basis, I just always want him to win, through ingenuity, clever, fast-thinking, good-heartedness, or even just better combat tactics.

[Sacred Knight]

This is really hard. And thus a really good question because it will probably get a lot of different answers and thought processes. After thinking about it, it went neck and neck between inspiration and strength, but in the end I think I go with strength. My reasoning for it winning out is that his unparalleled strength is what propels the greatness of his inspiration in the first place, in my opinion. Now don't mistake me, I'm not saying that he's inspiring by way of "this guy is so strong that I look up to him." What I mean is that his strength adds a layer of "this guy is so strong, so unequalled, and yet he chooses to be a servant of the people, no strings attached. He could make every one of us bow before him and crown himself king and ruler of this very planet, yet he does the exact opposite; he serves. Because he loves this planet that much that it means so much more to him to protect it". That's how I think his strength aids his inspirational nature and takes it up a notch. And that's why I think in the end, if I had to pick one thing as most important, it'd be that.

Now as for being the first hero. I very much prefer that over ideas of groups like the JSA already existing before him and all that. But, on the other hand, I find it far more negotiable too. I really dig the symbolic nature of him being the first, but at the same time I can work with it more than I can them screwing around with the other two.

[Kuwagaton]

I'm sorry also for saying strongest and not something a little more general like mightiest. Even his greatest level of sheer strength doesn't accomplish as much as everything he brings to the table. But at the same time, DC doesn't have signature "muscle" otherwise.

Multiple choice answer so probably best to proceed on process of elimination.

Pretty much how it ends up. I'm interested in seeing which would squeeze past the others because while Superman has all three under his belt, it's actually not often at all that they're simultaneous.

The problem regarding his history as the first superhero, as noted, is the JSA. I actually don't care for those characters and I certainly don't think a single member should enjoy the reverence given to a predecessor, but I like the old mystery men stepping back and acknowledging this guy as the real deal. Like Doctor Occult... who was actually created by Siegel and Shuster in 1935! He's not similar enough to influence Superman while still good for a baton pass. Without a character like that as a buffer you go from a realistic setting to a crazy fictional world where the foundations to human understanding are shredded. I think movies like MoS have enough space to do that sort of thing, but not comics where there are like a million crazy characters and situations fleshed out every month.

Strength to me can't be taken away from him unless it's basically taken from everything else and other characters, like Siege said they can still shine. And then it changes when we're talking about the situations. He lives up to his name in strength not only if he pushes past a planet on his way to something else, but holds back two islands from crashing into each other. I actually prefer to see him get a good struggle no matter the scale because that's more a matter of strong heart than strong arms.

And so really, in thinking about these options I went back to three things: not the obvious and well known LoSH or Steel, but Supermen of America, Legacy, and The Next. Superman has never been the "master tactician" character but the big thing is other characters seeing that he showed up to give, and that they could do no less. So that's my vote.

[Heavunion]

Influential. I always thought that one of the best things about Superman isn't that he saves people but he inspire them to help each other. To me, that is the number one thing about Superman, it's not his powers and neither is it about being the first. It's about the fact that no one loves life as much as he does but especially, no one is able to share that love like he does. This is a big thing about Metropolis, it is the reflection of Superman because Superman taught them how to be better

[Soubhagya]

It shall be a combination. Now which is most important? Its a really difficult question.

I am going with the strongest. Being the original has been kept and taken away at the same time. The other option is inspiration. Being inspirational is important. But that comes second. The effect. His strength is the cause. Or rather how he uses his sensational strength is the reason he is seen as inspirational. So, in my opinion he shall be the strongest. He is known for his strength. Once you take that away or you reduce it in comparison with others, you affect the 'Super' of Superman. He is known as Superman because he is 'Super'.

And another reason i say so is because inspirational is noble but vague. Captain America in MCU feels inspirational to a lot of people without his symbol meaning anything or without even saying he is inspirational. But a lot of people struggle with DCEU Superman when the inspiration and hope is always being thrown around in conversations. When Superman saves Regan in All Star that's inspirational. But Morrison was not trying to tell an inspirational story. That may have been the target. But the story was of a God like man in his last days. That becomes inspirational in context of the story. So, i think being the strongest is more important then the other attributes.

[JAK]

Most influential seems like a pretty dead fish to me at this point tbh. I feel once you get beyond the lip service that's sometimes given to Supes due to his status as an oldster the whole direction Superman has drifted in has been that he doesn't really want to influence anyone but rather he wants people to find their own way. He just seems more like a maintainer than an influencer really, and the influence he does have is more meta due to his age and historic place in pop culture but if I look around it seems like time is passing Big Blue by. I saw someone say somewhere that Superman's 80th year rather than being the year of Kal-El it's looking to be the year of Thanos. Batman has a more clear influence over the DCU imo, its not really something I like but it just feels like fact. Bruce is a more flexible and maleable character while Clark is a more rigid and static one and that's not getting into how Marvel extended it's influence over DC. But more than that a lot of comic book readers seem to prefer if Superman keeps his opinions about things to himself. Yeah dead fish. trying to make Superman the most influential hero would be like screaming into a tunnel.

Well, part of what makes Superman inspirational (imo) is that what he does has that as a side effect; he's not setting about specifically to do it, or (at best) he only wants to influence people by example - with enough room for them to think for themselves. The acts are the influence, because they inspire.

As for the pop culture problem.. I lay that at the feet of DC and WB. If they'd get off their god-comparison obsession and take more of a stance like the MCU did with Cap (in general, anyway), they'd be in a much better position. The innate popularity of the character is still in there; WB just needs the intelligence to bring that back to the forefront. But it's not going to happen until they stop being lazy about it. Marvel put the work in, they got the reward - simple as that. In the comics, he's been doing decently well - we'll see if that continues under Bendis. But comics aren't what they were (sales-wise) when a lot of the top Marvel stories happened, so while Marvel (and DC, to be fair) can pull from those stories and people will remember them, Superman putting good books out now doesn't have the same impact.

First again seems fairly difficult. How do you fit him in with the rest of the DCU? If Superman is the first of the superheroes then that would land him as contemporary of the Golden Age heroes correct? Does he outlive them and make it to modern times or will the books be set in the past? Is it set int the modern times but time traveling shenanigans lead to him somehow becoming the first? I mean it's feasible but it's also feels like hoop leaping just to get something that's basically just a title ultimately.

Funny enough, I actually came up with something for this.. he starts out with a few early Golden Age stories, and as he learns about his powers, he finds his rocket and learns of his homeworld. His powers now a LOT higher (Silver Age) he goes into space to find it and has some Silver-Age type space adventures. Not finding any traces of his race left, he tries to get back home but gets pulled into a wormhole/whatever and uses up a good amount of his strength to get out of it. He gets back home, but finds it's now the 80's and the government totally covered him up and only a few even remember he existed - most confusing him with one of the other Mystery Men who came forward to fill the void when he left Earth. He's still the rough-and-tumble guy, but now he dives into technology, absolutely fascinated by how far it's come, and that manifests itself in Clark's now slightly more geeky vibe. The original Lois who worked at the Daily Star (now the Daily Planet) has a granddaughter named after her who's living up to the name, and Perry White (who was a copy boy under George Taylor) is now the editor-in-chief - who hires Clark partly out of how much he resembles a guy he remembered only being at the Star for a short time, but who made an impression on him as a copy boy. (to be clear, the original Lois and he were more rivals - it's *this* Lois he falls for)

No clue on how it'd work as more than an outline, but I'm pretty fond of the idea as a concept.

For me, I'd say Superman is all three, primarily the first. All other superheroes, as we know them, exist because of him. In-story, I'm fine with him being the first of his generation, but that's still a first. He's the strongest - but not because his power levels are above all others (they don't have to be), but because Superman is as smart as he is powerful, with a strong sense of self and what he can do. That combo makes him stronger than anyone. And who he is and how he does what he does (Sacred said it perfectly) is what makes him the most inspiring.

So in-story, I'd say "inspiring" with heavy doses of the other two. For me as a fan, I'd say "first" with heavy doses of the other two.

To a certain degree, they're very inter-connected, imo.

[Lightning Rider]

This is really hard. And thus a really good question because it will probably get a lot of different answers and thought processes. After thinking about it, it went neck and neck between inspiration and strength, but in the end I think I go with strength. My reasoning for it winning out is that his unparalleled strength is what propels the greatness of his inspiration in the first place, in my opinion. Now don't mistake me, I'm not saying that he's inspiring by way of "this guy is so strong that I look up to him." What I mean is that his strength adds a layer of "this guy is so strong, so unequalled, and yet he chooses to be a servant of the people, no strings attached. He could make every one of us bow before him and crown himself king and ruler of this very planet, yet he does the exact opposite; he serves. Because he loves this planet that much that it means so much more to him to protect it". That's how I think his strength aids his inspirational nature and takes it up a notch. And that's why I think in the end, if I had to pick one thing as most important, it'd be that.

Now as for being the first hero. I very much prefer that over ideas of groups like the JSA already existing before him and all that. But, on the other hand, I find it far more negotiable too. I really dig the symbolic nature of him being the first, but at the same time I can work with it more than I can them screwing around with the other two.

Interesting answer. That the strength doesn't corrupt him is a large source of the inspiration.