I guess it'd be between him and Superman in the Bronze Age for the most complex long running version. But Golden Age Superman was the most dynamic and inspiring imo, when that guy said he was going to do something he did it.

Quote Originally Posted by bat39 View Post
On a slightly unrelated note, I've had this theory about Superman and the early vigilantism that I've wanted to share for a while now.

Does anyone feel that the reason Golden Age Superman started out as a vigilante was because he didn't have the Kents around to temper him and keep him in check?

I just have a hard time believing that a Clark Kent who had his aged parents back home whom he frequently visited to talk to about his work as Superman would go about demolishing slums or threatening to throw corrupt politicians down from flagpoles. I have a hard time believing that Pa Kent would be okay with his son threatening elected officials and being wanted by the police for some pretty violent and destructive actions.

The Kents strike me as the kind of people who would want their son to 'do good' but not necessarily go on a rampage against the system.

What got me thinking about this is that the early New 52 Superman is a kind of throwback to the Golden Age and...surprise, surprise, the Kents are dead in this version too!

I'm remembering the STAS pilot episode (well, Part 2 or 3 of it anyway) where Martha talks about how Clark isn't like "that nut in Gotham City". Golden Age Superman was is every bit as violent and ruthless, if not more, as "that nut in Gotham City" (definitely more so than the original Kane/Finger Batman even).
In the Golden Age the Kents dying wasn't really a source of sorrow for Superman. It hurt but it was also treated much more like a natural part of life, they were old and passed away from unspecified reasons. Typical storytelling signaling that he was a man now and was off to make his own decisions in the world. He was just upset at the way the powerful treated the weak and it made him mad. He also happen to be able to throw a pickup truck like a golf ball. He was passionate about injustice and spent most of his waking hours trying to combat it. It might be simple but I think of any Superman it's probably the most reasonable and relateable of any Superman; he was the rage of the working class.

I think what you said about the Kent's is a good example of why they have to die though. When he's an adult he now has to make his own choices, he can't be going to them to figure things out or look for guidance. If the Kent's living is ultimately to be a tool to enforce the status quo then they've done their son and probably the world a great disservice robbing it of what once was one of its greatest champions for a better tomorrow. Frankly the villains have drank pretty deeply under modern Superman the idea that a more mellow Superman is going to create a safer world seems unfounded give the Golden Age guy nabbed Hitler.

But lastly I think if you read a majority of modern stuff you might feel that Superman's job is to be nice, smile, wave a kids, and pet dogs. But in reality Superman's job as a character was to do right by the people who were not powerful enough to stand up for themselves. If people are asking for help and Superman tells them to just accept it unless the world is about to end then he's failing as Superman. Old Superman is pretty much a relic in the sense that he does have a lot of pent up frustration that he lets out on crooks and villains but it's never for himself but on the behalf of the weak and disenfranchised. The current day successor to Golden Age Superman is probably current day Batman but the rage is all self centered and much like Golden Age Superman started what we consider the general idea of what a superhero is moder day Batman has altered that into a more self absorbed and self centered version.

But also I never get the "nut from Gotham" thing since Batman still has to work with the cops too. The Golden Age guys Superman, Batman, Wondy, etc were figures sitting outside the law fighting for what they believed in. The modern day guys are all basically either cogs in the larger DCU machine.