Favorite Super-Family Member

[Kuwagaton]

Ehhh I guess that's a success that the others can get ahead albeit as a group. I'm... kind of weird I guess, because I'd normally want to give something a shot. However, I'd be bugged about voting for someone who isn't Superman when Superman is available as a choice. That... doesn't feel loyal, ROFL

[Kon93]

Well then one of you guys create another thread without Superman/Clark Kent in it, and see what happens.

I'm thinking Lois's #s will go way up

[Moonwix]

Superman of course. And Jon Kent a close second and then Lois.

[HeroVladimir93]

Let me start this comment by saying that Superman is my favorite character of the entire Superman franchise, but I do have some measure of love and respect for the secondary members of the Super-Family. When comparing Superman with another member of the Super-Family, we should all keep in mind that Superman has been with us a lot longer than the other members of the Super-Family, with the obvious exception of Lois, and that means he's had a longer time to endear himself to the fanbase. Not only that, the entire superhero genre was started by him and we wouldn't even be talking about Superboy, Supergirl, Steel or Krypto if it wasn't for Superman.

That is the obvious problem any member of the Super-Family faces when they are introduced. Their goal as new characters is to capture the hearts and minds of fans not only this generation, but also previous generations that already love what the Superman franchise. Clark is the protagonist, the star of the show, which gives him the love and admiration of many people all over the world. Some of those fans, right or wrong, have no desire to see Clark brought down even one peg in an effort to propel the new character forward. Is that fair to that new character? Maybe not, but Clark is the precedence setter in the franchise and the standard against which the new character will be measured or judged. Trying to give audiences a character that easily exceeds that precedence or proves to be better or more powerful than Superman, then people will likely reject that new character and the very least, demand answers as to why is the new character better. However, if you put her below that standard and make the character less interesting or less powerful, people won't likely care that much about them, certainly not enough to star in their own stories, at least.

That leads to a problem when a secondary member of the Super-Family becomes the star of their own stories. How do you have that secondary member not seem like she is completely outshining Superman in his own stories, which is likely to and has already angered some fans, and then have Superman completely outshine the secondary member to the point that we no longer care about that secondary member because Superman is now around?

Different writers had come up with different ways to solve that problem, like Young Justice and the Supergirl TV show. Both of those shows keep Superman in the background and let the secondary members hog the spotlight. This approach has led to varying degrees of success, but what matters is that those media adaptations have tried to let those secondary characters be the protagonists of their own stories. Some people might even try to hard in getting those characters to be amazing heroes in their own right to the point that yes, they outshine Superman in some respects, such as easily defeating a villain that Superman normally has trouble defeating on his own. This comes off as sacrificing the old in trying to sell the new and such a method is bound to upset some fans. Furthermore, this leads to the implication that Superman has nothing to offer to this new hero, that the new hero doesn't need him.

The comparisons and differences between Superman and his supporting cast might lead to what some of you might call a double standard. Superman, the protagonist, is the character with the largest importance to the mythos, and if he changes in some way, then the secondary members of the Super-Family have to accommodate for that change, but if any of those secondary members change, Superman is allowed to stay the same.

Obviously, an effort should be made to make these secondary characters great, interesting and to endear them to the many fans of the Superman saga and right now, there are people who do love these secondary characters, but the truth is that creating an amazing, new character isn't something that you can just do. DC has to show the fans why these characters deserve love and admiration and these characters obviously have to earn that love and admiration.

[superduperman]

What, no Beppo?

[OpaqueGiraffe17]

At first I was really surprised that Linda was beating Kara, then I remembered Karen is also Kara, so if you combine her votes, she kinda-sorta beats out Linda.

[jetengine]

What, no Beppo?

Beppo as a concept is terrifying frankly.

[Naruto1996]

my favorites are obviously Superman (Clark Kent) and Superboy (Kent Conner)
the best hero on earth and his successor