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  1. #1
    The Man Who Cannot Die manwhohaseverything's Avatar
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    Default Superman becoming the everyman.

    After crisis and into the modern age, superman writers had a tendency of making superman into the everyman in the name of "humanising" him. By everyman, i mean by superhero standards. An everyman in superhero would just be a normal guy with powers with all quirks, needs and tribulations of an average man.while,that can be done with superman and has been Interestingly(for me) with superman for all seasons, american alien.. Etc. It isn't a necessity for me.

    Personally,it had the opposite effect for me most of the time. Superman becomes less interesting for me, that was something i expected. But, superman would be less relatable for me compared to former, was very much a surprise. Wierd thing is, superman as an everyman losses the moral ambiguity of the character much more. That's the reason i find it uninteresting. You know him hiding in plain sight, clark being who he is and superman being something he does and now, superman losing the secret id itself.. Etc.By the same coin spidey doesn't for some reason . I guess, spiderman writers keeping" the masked vigilante scorned by the media and a section of society part" helps with that.as peter he is the guy next door. As spiderman he is the masked menace or the amazing spiderman. And when they meet at the middle he becomes the friendly neighbourhood spiderman.

    It is interesting to see superman with vigilante origin. Daily planet staff, lois reported the truth of the heroics and bad the superman does as unbiased journalists. While, the authorities see him as threat to law and order. It would have been a good conflict for superman and set up a conflict between staff and authorities. for me, you can't take away the super out superman. You will be left with nothing, not just a man. Those two are sides are intricately intertwined. He was born gifted.even if you take away the strength. There is intelligence and a whole lot more to content with. I guess, making the character just clark kent and putting less emphasis on the vigilante-superman or immigrant-kal el leaves him, as the everyman.

    I feel the loss of secret id is another attempt at making him into the everyman. Fine, superman loses secret. But, then what? For me, Superman has no more contradictions. He is a guy that was taught to keep secrets and had a gigantic trust issue. It wasn't just about keeping his friends and family safe. Because as bendis said, he was doing a lousy job at that. Clark being a secret keeper, having a giant guard of iron wall that kept others out and still complaining about solitude and pitying himself for the same, was very interesting. Now, that is gone and there doesn't seem to be a replacement of the same contradiction with another contradiction by the writer. Granted, its too early to tell. But, it seems to be going that way.

    From the looks of things, clark is just normal everyman, now. You know,just the guy next door only with powers.
    1)he isn't an orphan. He has his parents, alive. Has a happy family life. No loneliness or solitude. It was the core of his vigilante aspect.
    2)kal el isn't the all encompassing identity. Clark is. So the alien and outsider perspective is less. The core of his immigrant aspect
    3)he wasn't the path maker or an outsider. There were others with powers before him and friends with powers beside him(jsa before him. legion and later, justice league).
    4)Not the man of tomorrow who changes our outlook on things and works as an agent to bring us into the new tomorrow. Doesn't bring about any changes to status quo as a whole,anyways.
    5)His powerset is bland cause, there are others with same powerset and others who do specific things better and leave him in the dust.
    6)he isn't super-intelligent,his strength can be arguable and his speed isn't much emphasised. So, it removes anything that has wish fulfillment and wonder of the character. He isn't seen as gifted person who is supposed to be a cut above the rest.
    7)he isn't regarded as a vigilante. He is looked upto by the authorities and law, instead.so no dangerous aspects to the character.
    8)finally,the loss of the secret id. Clark's secrets and final contradiction are gone.
    9)his powers aren't an aspect of his being. Just an added part that can be taken off.

    One could say the president of earth is for that purpose of keeping superman from becoming the everyman and be somewhat the leader and man of tomorrow. As i said its too early to tell and clark wasn't the one to come up with the idea of united planets.

    What do you guys think of the tendency of making superman into the everyman by writers? Do you love it or you hate it? Is it necessary? Do you guys like superman to be everyman who needs money, house.. Etc or do you like the man of tomorrow who doesn't need material things is trying to lead us to a better tomorrow with his gifts and morality? Do you like the vigilante superman or are you happy with just the superhero?

    Finally, do you think my opinion that superman is becoming the everyman, itself?

    Last edited by manwhohaseverything; 01-14-2020 at 08:22 PM.

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