Understanding Superman

I never understood what made Superman compelling to people.

I - along with many others - think he is a one dimensional character.

He is invincible, he had a normal, perfect upbringing. No trauma of parents being shot in an alley. Not indirectly responsible for a dead uncle Ben. A wonderful career, a beautiful girlfriend. He has everything. Why would anyone care about him? What makes him relatable?

Spiderman is relatable. He is a normal young guy. He struggles with his career. He struggles to pay rent. He struggle with his girlfriend. He gets beaten up constantly.

But that's not the point of Superman.

Superman is a symbol of hope, strength, truth, justice and courage.

He CAN be homelander, but he CHOOSES to be Superman.

He loves humanity. He loves life.He loves animals. He loves kids.

In Christoper Reeves's Superman, he stops criminals, but also gets a cat down from a tree. When he saves someone, there's a smirk on his face. He loves helping people, it brings him joy. He loves using his powers for good. He is a good guy!

In the new Superman movie, he "looks at everyone and thinks they're the most beautiful person he's ever seen".

He wears underpants over his tights to make himself look silly and goofy. He knows he's extremely powerful. But he also loves giving hi-fives to kids. He wants to take himself less seriously. This way, he can still have those small, positive interactions with people.

And I think that's why he's so powerful. He was created by Jewish immigrants during WW2. Spreading ideals of hope and justice. The Nazis did not like this character, calling him "a corrupting influence" on American youth. Any character that Nazis hate is a pretty powerful one if you ask me.

I'll end with: when you show a picture of Spiderman, people will say "superhero". But when you ask someone to draw a superhero, they will draw Superman.