Controversial Superman Opinions

[rpmaluki]

Superman being one of "us" makes no sense because humans don't view themselves as a singular entity. You can look to the numerous conflicts around the world to see that. Better Superman view himself as an individual, a Kryptonian first than try to prove to every how "human" he is. Humanity isn't a weightlifting competition where you can out do someone, either you're a human being or you aren't and Kal isn't. Superman trying to curry favor with humans by trying to be human first hasn't really done anything but paint him as a very weak person with no pride in himself. Even when I got into American comics people still voiced the opinion that Batman and Spiderman were better than Superman because they were more human.

Yep, I've grown to dislike the idea of a "human" Superman more and more everyday.

[Superfan90]

I'm pretty sure the general public considers the Flash (whoever is using the title) more of an archetype of speed than Superman. Superman being the first is completely irrelevant in that regard.

What general population thinks is largely irrelevant to comics which is more and more niche. That's why movie Superman can be as fast as Flash and nobody bats an eye. Try that in comics and its outrageous.

[Alpha]

He wasn't as fast as flash. He can see flash and he can move while everything is in slow motion, but he was still slower than Flash.

[I'm a Fish]

What general population thinks is largely irrelevant to comics which is more and more niche. That's why movie Superman can be as fast as Flash and nobody bats an eye. Try that in comics and its outrageous.

Which movie version we talking?

Just the Snyder Cut clearly had Flash be faster with the time-travel stuff. Theatrical they where much closer, if not the same speed.

[SiegePerilous02]

What general population thinks is largely irrelevant to comics which is more and more niche. That's why movie Superman can be as fast as Flash and nobody bats an eye. Try that in comics and its outrageous.

He was not as fast as the Flash in the JL movie. He was much faster than Barry was prepared for and Barry was also a rookie who didn't know how to fight that much, but he was still the fast of the two. Just very unprepared.

And then Barry surpassed that speed in the climax. Which is honestly how it should be. Being the fastest is the Flash's entire deal and the one area he surpasses Superman in, it doesn't hurt Superman at all for him to be outranked in that area.

He's definitely the archetype of strength. He's more of a sci-fi Hercules or Sampson. Speed is also very important for him, but not the point where we could call him the archetype of speed over Flash. He, Wonder Woman and Captain Marvel should all be about equal in that regard, and all behind the Flashes.

[Jim Kelly]

Superman is human. It's in the name Super-Man. Man and human are the same word if you follow the etymology. The point of Superman as I said is the circus, the spectacle. That's the main thing Siegel and Shuster wanted to do. And it's what most of the comics are trying to do. They want to wow us. That's why they have to keep topping themselves and why Superman couldn't keep doing exactly the same stunts as in ACTION COMICS No. 1. They were always looking for new feats he could do.

It's on the cover of the very first comic. A man is holding a car above his head. Men can't do that. But this man can. If it was a giant gorilla, nobody would be bothered. But it's a regular size man, a pretty average looking guy in a circus costume, and he's holding a car above his head. You're supposed to see Superman and relate to him as a human being, so that it's impressive when he does spectacular stuff.

[Gaius]

Its called Superspeed, not Flashspeed. Superman is the archetype for the fast superhero because well, he was the first speedster. Flash came later.

It doesn't really matter who came first. Captain Marvel was flying before Superman was but that doesn't stop people from saying Superman is the archetype for the flying brick character, when people think of the speedster archetype where their definable attribute is being fast it's the Flash, not Superman.

[phonogram12]

First, This is a story about an alien who looks exactly like us but shoots fire from his eyes. Nothing about this “should” happen. It’s fantasy. So it’s beyond weird to me that you can buy all that other completely bizarre stuff but you can’t accept the fantasy that a miracle occurs and they can have a child.

Two, different species on this Earth absolutely can and have procreated in the animal kingdom. “Life finds a way” and all.

Three—and this is actually the most important piece:: infertility is actually a really, really serious subject and there is literally NO ONE at DC Comics I would remotely trust to touch it with a 10 foot pole. The previous attempts at depicting their infertility were insensitive at BEST and downright offensive at worst. The only medium that has ever even attempted to address the concept of Lois and Clark having infertility with even an ounce of the sensitivity it absolutely requires was “Lois and Clark” in Season 4. But the comics have done nothing but be offensive particularly when you get stories like the follow up Kingdom Come where they depict Lois apologizing to Clark as she lays dying for not being able to give him children only for the story to then give him a baby with Wonder Woman. Extremely misogynist, extremely insensitive to the infertile and just a terrible depiction of that issue. The murdered wife out of the way so he can go have a baby with someone else. BARF.

So all that said, unless comics gets a hell of a lot more sensitive in terms of how to actually depict infertility between a married couple (AKA by someone who has actually lived it) and until the fandom gets a heck of a lot more educated and more sensitive to not talking about infertility so horribly (it was common back in the day for fans to argue that Clark shouldn’t be married to Lois because they couldn’t have biological children—again disgusting) than I would say, actually, it’s pretty important they be allowed to have biological children. Because if they don’t we are subjected to the above insensitivity and I’m not here for it.

All of this.

[manwhohaseverything]

It doesn't really matter who came first. Captain Marvel was flying before Superman was but that doesn't stop people from saying Superman is the archetype for the flying brick character, when people think of the speedster archetype where their definable attribute is being fast it's the Flash, not Superman.

This is an opinion based on your experience and conjecture.There are people who don't knowwhat the heck a flash is. who do know what a superman is.So,the truth is we don't know..DC might be on the path to push that.But,we don't know as of now.Also,you are both wrong.The monkey king had superspeed before superman and flash.

[Alpha]

People who know who Superman is but don't know who Flash id, still don't think Superman is much faster than a train, so I don't know why that helps the argument that "Superman has to be the fastest being on earth".

And the Monkey King has nothing to do with this argument.

[manwhohaseverything]

People who know who Superman is but don't know who Flash id, still don't think Superman is much faster than a train, so I don't know why that helps the argument that "Superman has to be the fastest being on earth".

And the Monkey King has nothing to do with this argument.

All i am saying,it's pointless to argue "This is popular perception or this is what people think".All anyone can say is there is a contigent that believe a character x which is archetypical this or that.

It does.If you are arguing who did what first..

[Jim Kelly]

I know that we're not supposed to think logically about these characters, even though Flash and Superman are presumed to be science fiction heroes, but logically Flash being the fastest doesn't make much sense to me since he can't fly. Even Johnny Quick could fly. I know from elementary school science class that things move faster in the air than in the sea and faster than on land. If you drop a baseball off the C.N. Tower, it will fall faster than if you drop it into Lake Ontario. Felix Baumgartner free fell at a speed of 843.6 m.p.h. Andy Green's land speed record is 763 m.p.h.

The only way to explain how the Flash can be faster than beings flying through air and through the vacuum of space is magic. That seems to be what Mark Waid invented for Wally West, so he could go as fast as the story wanted him to go.

If Superman isn't human because of all the amazing powers he has, then how is Barry Allen, Wally West or Jay Garrick still human when they must be physically completely different from any normal human being? Do people just have different sets of rules and standards depending on which character they're talking about?

[NaVi]

It doesn't really matter who came first. Captain Marvel was flying before Superman was but that doesn't stop people from saying Superman is the archetype for the flying brick character, when people think of the speedster archetype where their definable attribute is being fast it's the Flash, not Superman.

As far as I know, marvel flew before in the comics, but superman flew months before in his animated series, which means that superman was the first.

[Sacred Knight]

In regards to fertility, I don't now and never have liked an outright incompatibility that prevents breeding. After what was actually produced in regards to Superman having a child, my preference is for him to never be a father in a current continuity, but I wouldn't want it in any lore that he can't.

[NaVi]

in Flash War, WW I can't even perceive Flash, Superman couldn't follow even 1s with them, that means Flash is 1000 times faster than WW and 100 times faster than Superman. If we follow the logic of Flash with Superman, it means that Superman would have to be 100 times stronger than the strongest hero n2 and 1000 times stronger than the top 10 heroes (WW is in the top 10 in speed) in strength.