Superman as an everyman

[GreatKungLao]

But how can he be an inspirational figure as a God? He will just be someone else people pray to to solve their problems instead of striving for improvement and do something by themselves. Unless you show him struggle like a human, there is nothing to take from all mighty all perfect character who never troubles with anything accept kryptonite and magic.

[Sacred Knight]

He's not a god. There's a pretty wide gulf between being a god and just not being an everyman. He has powers that sometimes can be compared to the gods, but I'm not suggesting he is one. And regardless of what his powers happen to be like in any particular era, he inspires mainly because of his heart, not because of his brawn. His heart has never changed regardless of his power level. There is very little correlation between Superman's heart and moral fiber and how humanized or grounded he is beyond the lessons his parents taught him. That's the mistake that I feel comes with those that want him as an everyman, in that the motivation and thought process is that he's more connected and is more relatable when he's more grounded. I steadfastly reject that logic. He can be somewhat disconnected from humans just because of how different he is yet still love them and connect to them on that level. A connection of living amongst them in a public guise albeit not being able to be completely himself in that guise. Learning, caring, and identifying with them in some capacity via that identity. And as a result believing with all his heart they are a good people worthy of existence , and worthy of protection and the chance to flourish. To achieve their potential. And I've never felt it benefited Superman to change him to make him more like us so we can relate better on a more straightforward level. To me that misses the point. We relate to him in the messages of his exaggerated life. Not in the straightforward.

[the illustrious mr. kenway]

Being an everyman is a hat Superman could wear but it's shouldnt be the only hat he wears.

[Jon Clark]

I really don't need stories where Clark is late with his rent, worried about his job security, really depressed about his relationship with Lois, or any of the dozens of other things we all face every day. I'd rather focus on obstacles that are unique to Superman and his life.

Is Superman doing enough with his powers? Is he doing too much?
Are some opponents too dangerous to trust to conventional prisons?
How do you defeat guys like Lex who have the power to twist justice?
What happens when Superman does the "right" thing but it's not something most people agree with?

I want stories that start from what Superman is and find the conflict based on the character and his unique position rather than stories that shoehorn this unique character into the readers' viewpoints.

[Vordan]

I like over the top Cosmic adventures and more mundane adventures focused on Metropolis as well. I think it’s important that Clark have a job, and I’d prefer it involve writing, even if it’s not journalism. So I’d say that yes I think Clark should definitely have parts of his life that are everymanish. Secret Origin was a boring story though. Way too heavy handed with that “Golly geez” attitude.

[Sacred Knight]

Johns' return to a more silly Clark I really didn't mind. One of the few things I don't have an issue with about his Superman. I don't need Clark to be that nerdy, but at the same time it needs to be enough where he's not seen as anything close to physically imposing. For me though it was boring really because it was cut-and-paste. There's taking inspiration from the past and weaving it as a new origin, like Morrison did, and then there's Secret Origin, which just took verbatim elements from other stories and mashed them together. What we ended up with was a story that could have just literally been pages taken from Silver and post-Crisis stories, pages taken from the Superman: The movie screenplay, and taped it all together.

[Netherman14]

I feel that, Superman should be the opposite of an everyman. and yet by distancing Superman from being one, and intentionally distancing Superman from that. he strangely makes for a strangely unintentionally compelling everyman, so we've come full circle.

[Adekis]

I think it's important that Clark be an everyman, but not a sad sack. Superman is a different story, I definitely prefer for Superman the adventurer not to be an everyman, in contrast to how he is in his everyday life as Clark.

[Netherman14]

I think it's important that Clark be an everyman, but not a sad sack. Superman is a different story, I definitely prefer for Superman the adventurer not to be an everyman, in contrast to how he is in his everyday life as Clark.

Did I manage to explain myself properly? I feel I didn't.

[KC]

Superman has always been an everyman. That is clearly shown everytime he is Clark Kent.

I think Johns wrote the character in a way that showed multiple facets of the character. And that is partly why I love his Superman so much and why I think he is one of the best writers to write the character post-crisis.

[Lightning Rider]

He’s not an Everyman because he acts in ways beyond ordinary character and has struggles both internal and external that are unique to him. But he has concerns that overlap with the Everyman and focusing on those strengthen his character, so long as you don’t forget the rest.

[marhawkman]

I think it's important that Clark be an everyman, but not a sad sack. Superman is a different story, I definitely prefer for Superman the adventurer not to be an everyman, in contrast to how he is in his everyday life as Clark.

Yeah, living as Clark makes him more relatable as a person.

[manofsteel1979]

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.

[Flash Gordon]

Superman isn't motivated by tragedy, but a sense of melancholy is very important to his world. He's a refugee, a relic of a dead world. There's a sadness to that, that isn't expressed enough in modern comics. The older stuff is chuck full of it.

He's not an "everyman", he's big and bold font and he's the greatest hero ever. He can have a rather mundane life as Clark and it can be relatable but he is not the average guy by any stretch. Even with amazing powers, the average guy wouldn't do any of what Clark does and I think there's time much time spent trying to say otherwise.

[Flash Gordon]

I really don't need stories where Clark is late with his rent, worried about his job security, really depressed about his relationship with Lois, or any of the dozens of other things we all face every day. I'd rather focus on obstacles that are unique to Superman and his life.

Is Superman doing enough with his powers? Is he doing too much?
Are some opponents too dangerous to trust to conventional prisons?
How do you defeat guys like Lex who have the power to twist justice?
What happens when Superman does the "right" thing but it's not something most people agree with?

I want stories that start from what Superman is and find the conflict based on the character and his unique position rather than stories that shoehorn this unique character into the readers' viewpoints.

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.