Superman as an everyman

[marhawkman]

I think there's room for all of that in the stories of Superman. I very much want to see Clark struggle to pay rent in a career that is dying out, depressed about not spending enough time with Lois, worried he's not being a good enough friend to Jimmy and Lana.

He can do all of that and struggle with the larger questions. I don't want a lofty Superman who debates what the right use of strength to use, to hell with that. I want an emotional Superman who is a little too melancholy at times and struggles with the every day but also helps people constantly and is always pushing himself more. A guy who brings Lois weird flowers from strange new worlds. Who takes time to talk to someone who is severely depressed and alone. Who punches intergalactic tyrants in the face without worrying what comes next. Takes on corporations without concern for his public image.

Man, there's room for it all.

A lot of that is things that people wish they could do but can't. so it's not what the average person actually does but what they wish they could do.

[Lightning Rider]

It depends on what the definition of "Everyman" is.

If "everyman" means he's just an "aww shucks" farmboy who just so happens to have super powers who is in a constant state of doubt and brooding over his responsibilities (I.E. the worst impulses of the post-Crisis version.) then a big fat no. To try and prove to us that " see? He's just like us! He's a screw up too!" by showing him ,say, worry constantly over his rent or his relationship with Lois or get upset over some mean words to the point he spends a year walking everywhere is missing the point of the character.

If "Everyman" means that in spite of his powers and adventures and higher level experiences that he still faces and deals with the same emotions and dilemmas we all do but on a larger and macro scale yet still keeps going and fighting the never ending battle,and therefore we the audience can see ourselves in allegory, then yeah.. he's an Everyman. He isn't like us... but we are an awfully lot like him if we really want to be. We all have the ability to overcome our problems and issues and every day stuff and be selfless and persevere while doing good for others.

One approach is bringing him down to our level. The other lifts us up to his level in a way.

I like this distinction, and it's an important one. Superman is the best of what we can be, he shouldn't be shown as equally flawed as your average joe.

[HeroVladimir93]

Well, it's good to see the debate going and everyone putting their own ideas about roles Superman could play in a story. All of you have valid ideas about what Superman could do within a story, whether or not that means he has to fulfill the everyman archetype. I think that, as an everyman, Superman could be the character readers are supposed to relate to the most or the easiest. We can, in a sense, insert ourselves in the story through him because he is experiencing much of the DC Universe for the first time along with us and he asks the questions that we ourselves would ask, such as his first confrontation with a new villain or his exploration of a new superpower. It's not an approach that could work long-term, but it could be a good way to explore Superman's character, without having to worry about his archetype. By portraying Superman as an everyman, his story could have a deeper emotional impact and his failures could hit harder and his accomplishments could feel all the more rewarding or satisfying.