Should Superman be an agent of change or a maintainer of the status quo?

[bat39]

No worries, call me out anytime if you think I'm in the wrong. Sometimes I just might very well be. Especially when I've been sick, over-tired, and am not fully cognizant of what I'm writing. lol



I'm not sure what any of that has to do with Clark saving lives, honestly.

Clark's gonna save someone from a bullet. That person doesn't have to meet his political or ethical standards, Clark's gonna save the life because he thinks all life has value and is worth saving.



No, I'm comparing a fictional story where Clark saved some immigrants (and morons threw a fit over it) to a hypothetical fictional story where Clark saves some good ol' boy who thought Obama was Iraqi.

I mean, come on, Clark has saved the lives of super villains. Actual, costumed, super-powered villains who were responsible for murders, theft, mass destruction, and worse. If he saves those guys, he's going to save everyone, regardless of whether the person in question is a piece of sh*t or not.

This.

I think sometimes, we forget what the content of the vast majority of Superman stories is.

Most stories involve Superman swooping in to fight some supervillain or alien threat. Or to stop crimes in progress. Or to save someone from accidents, disasters and villainous attacks. Or to investigate mysteries. And all of these can happen without Superman or anyone having to worry about politics, his own or anyone else's.

There are relatively few stories that really have Superman reflecting on some sort of political, ethical or moral question - and usually, they are in a personal context, rather than in terms of partisan politics.

For instance, Superman may believe that all life is precious, and so he finds it hard to forgive himself when he takes a life himself. That doesn't mean Superman is going to get into a debate on the ethics of the death penalty, or whether police officers have the right to fire their weapons.

Or, Superman may believe that Lex Luthor can be reformed and use his wealth and knowledge to help humanity. That's because, on a personal level, he believes that Luthor can change (especially in continuities where they knew each other as kids). That doesn't mean Superman is going to get into a debate on reformation vs. retribution in the justice system.

When Superman swoops in to save someone from a burning building, he doesn't care if that person is Democrat or Republican or Libertarian. He doesn't care about that person's views on race relations, gender politics and the economy. His priority is to save a life.