Superman: How global should he be?

[Netherman14]

I've been thinking, and there is something I'm curious. is Superman crossing not only physical boundaries when he flies over to Istanbul to stop a war but moral boundaries as well? where does Superman limit himself? should he limit himself to the United States only?

[synthetik]

I've been thinking, and there is something I'm curious. is Superman crossing not only physical boundaries when he flies over to Istanbul to stop a war but moral boundaries as well? where does Superman limit himself? should he limit himself to the United States only?

Personally , comics should reflect real life ,but not reference them , so 'flying to Istanbul' should be flying to Qurac , as its an established country in the DC mythos.
Clark should be used to react to events , he goes where needed to save lives/prevent catastrophe.

The Justice League titles reflect this for me , the JL is a world spanning title , it takes what are heroes from all over the world , Clark , Diana , Arthur and the two Lanterns (note there are no Russian GL's or such but that is a Legacy of the writing, and could have been addressed in the reboots but wasnt) and puts them in world threatening situations.

As for morally , yes Clark should get involved, but again reacting , he is not a first strike option.

(Just hope he has a proper greencard to be allowed back in).

[Mutant God]

I say global, hes an alien activist who doesn't believe in boundaries to help people which would make the UN, some Militaries and various international criminals very angry at him for breaking rules rules and no one can force these rules on Superman because hes stronger then them. Having him save all over the world is good and making enemies of various backgrounds and powers is great for Superman's franchise.

[rui no onna]

I've been thinking, and there is something I'm curious. is Superman crossing not only physical boundaries when he flies over to Istanbul to stop a war but moral boundaries as well? where does Superman limit himself? should he limit himself to the United States only?

Superman and the Justice League are already global at least as far as disaster relief and damage control when there are earthquakes, etc. Meddling with world governments, though? That's Injustice Superman.

I kinda prefer Superman to be guardian angel rather than benevolent dictator.

"Live as one of them, Kal-El, to discover where your strength and your power are needed. Always hold in your heart the pride of your special heritage. They can be a great people, Kal-El; they wish to be. They only lack the light to show the way. For this reason above all, their capacity for good, I have sent them you... my only son."

[The World]

Superman and the Justice League are already global at least as far as disaster relief and damage control when there are earthquakes, etc. Meddling with world governments, though? That's Injustice Superman.

I kinda prefer Superman to be guardian angel rather than benevolent dictator.

"Live as one of them, Kal-El, to discover where your strength and your power are needed. Always hold in your heart the pride of your special heritage. They can be a great people, Kal-El; they wish to be. They only lack the light to show the way. For this reason above all, their capacity for good, I have sent them you... my only son."

I never really saw Injustice Superman or any of the other dictator Supermen as a good example of why Superman getting more involved was a bad idea. More of strawman argument so people wouldn't ask why he isn't more involved.

When I look at something like golden age Superman I see a guy who's mission statement is relatively simple where he's just trying to save as many lives as possible and make things easier for people. Sometimes he may have to butt heads with officials or what not but he certainly didn't seem to see status as reason to backdown from a conflict.

[666MasterOfPuppets]

I've been thinking, and there is something I'm curious. is Superman crossing not only physical boundaries when he flies over to Istanbul to stop a war but moral boundaries as well? where does Superman limit himself? should he limit himself to the United States only?

Never. I say global. And there's a couple aspects to the issue: the one dealt with in BVS ("The world has been so caught up with what Superman can do that no one has asked what he should do."), and the importance that he, as a fictional character, has to people outside the US. He may have been created in the US as an answer to the great depression, but he has become a global icon. People around the whole world look up to and are inspired by Superman. The values he embodies, his powers, and the wild stories he stars in are loved by people of all countries, ages, religions and social status. Limiting his presence would make people feel disenfranchised.

[Netherman14]

Never. I say global. And there's a couple aspects to the issue: the one dealt with in BVS ("The world has been so caught up with what Superman can do that no one has asked what he should do."), and the importance that he, as a fictional character, has to people outside the US. He may have been created in the US as an answer to the great depression, but he has become a global icon. People around the whole world look up to and are inspired by Superman. The values he embodies, his powers, and the wild stories he stars in are loved by people of all countries, ages, religions and social status. Limiting his presence would make people feel disenfranchised.

I personally agree, I think Superman should be global. I did want to ask the question regardless though.

[magha_regulus]

I sort of see Superman having a Star Trek like prime directive sort of code. Help humanity where he can, but try not impose his will on masses of people. He'll interfere with the powerful imposing their will on others but only to a point. These questions make for some of the best Superman stories in my opinion. He's definitely a global hero. One of the things I really loved about Morrison's take was that Superman was quick to want to help everyone everywhere and the Justice League couldn't get behind his vision. Superman should always keep a bit of that sort of feeling.

[rui no onna]

I sort of see Superman having a Star Trek like prime directive sort of code. Help humanity where he can, but try not impose his will on masses of people. He'll interfere with the powerful imposing their will on others but only to a point. These questions make for some of the best Superman stories in my opinion. He's definitely a global hero. One of the things I really loved about Morrison's take was that Superman was quick to want to help everyone everywhere and the Justice League couldn't get behind his vision. Superman should always keep a bit of that sort of feeling.

Yep, this for me, exactly. You were far more eloquent than I.

[W8IN4KAL-EL]

I've been thinking, and there is something I'm curious. is Superman crossing not only physical boundaries when he flies over to Istanbul to stop a war but moral boundaries as well? where does Superman limit himself? should he limit himself to the United States only?

not only global but also universal

[magha_regulus]

not only global but also universal

absolutely!!!!!

[666MasterOfPuppets]

I personally agree, I think Superman should be global. I did want to ask the question regardless though.

Glad you did. I think it's an interesting topic, what with the possible ramifications of "state-level" interventions, a la BVS/ For Tomorrow.

not only global but also universal

Damn right. Those interventions I talked about above could be taken to a whole new level if we talk about entire alien civilizations instead of countries. And hey, what about "secret countries"? I mean, we could add some conspiracy-themed stuff in there. In All-Star, we saw the reptilians living near the center of the Earth, for example. Secret alien bases, hollow Earth, you name it.

[FishyZombie]

I think someone on the internet said that if there was like a genocidal dictator like Pol Pot, Superman would likely swoop in to save the victims and destroy the death camps, but wouldn't overthrow the dictator himself. Does that sound about right?

not only global but also universal

hell this is dc, he'd be multiversal

[K. Jones]

Superman is interesting because way, way early in his history he was already going like ... all the places. Stopping urban local crime in Metropolis, stopping Nazis in Europe, going to space to stop space tyrants, ultimately going extra-dimensional or higher-dimensional to stop alt-universe menaces and higher-dimensional abstract threats.

There's certainly no "area limit" on the notion of one guy who dislikes bullies and tyrants and how expansive the scope of those ideals can get. But obviously if you're having Superman go multiversal every issue you don't have much time to flesh out or develop his supporting cast who are mostly native to Metropolis. And while 'multiverse threats' are sort of 'everyday' for Superman, when stuff like the multiverse or higher power fifth-dimensional beings or even space tyrants come to town, it should definitely merit more "story" beats than just an alien lands and a slug-fest ensues.

Alien invasions start with X-Files conspiracies perfect for a crusading journalist. Multiversal infringement has all those great Fringe type things that can happen. God-beings touching down on earth to fight god-wars need some serious lead-up time (like Kirby's build-up to the Super-War).

[Francisco]

Superman should be global and so should be his family of supportive characters.