What makes Superman a compelling character for you? Is he pure power fantasy?

What makes Superman a compelling character for you? Is he pure power fantasy?

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He has a great rogue's gallery. Luthor is pretty relatable

He's not.

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He isn't bad when they treat him as a character and stop pushing him as a symbol.

He can be an inspirational character.

because he's pure. he's a genuinely good person and someone I aspire to be

Superman isn't about power. He's about doing the right thing. Even if it's hard or comes at great personal cost. Reducing his character to a power fantasy is like saying that the only reason people like batman is because they wish they had blue eyes. It's an extremely small part of the larger character, and kinda misses the point.

except when he isn't

he's the kind of guy who would throw a fight against his best friend who's throwing a tantrum just to make him feel better.

I don’t really know. There are lots of reasons I guess. Most I don’t really know how to put into words. Superman has all these powers and he can do whatever he wants. He could kill Luthor if he got too annoying, enslave humanity, destroy the earth, anything he pleases. All that but instead he chooses to help people. And I really like that about him. Not only that but he’s so nice and caring about it. He could go and sulk in the fortress of solitude at the end of the day but he has an apartment in the city and goes to Kansas to see his family often. He visits sick kids in the hospital and helps suicidal people just by talking to them. He just does good things because that’s what make sense to him, that’s what makes him happy. And the more time I read and think about him, I feel like a better person. I see more and more opportunities to do those good things. Not because I want something out of it but just because I can. I read somewhere that 40% of the US population is eligible to donate blood but only 10% of those people do. And after reading that I started donating blood every two or so months. I’ve been doing that for the past three years. And I’ve started looking into some careers in the medical field.

This

This is the correct answer.

He's probably the only selfless character in all of comics

>He could kill Luthor if he got too annoying, enslave humanity, destroy the earth, anything he pleases.

is there a comic where he does this

Right. I think most dude bros buy superman shirts because for them it just means "tough" or "powerful" but what it should mean is "I've decided to be a symbol of hope" but it's just lost on them because anyone who doesn't read Superman just thinks of him as the strongest guy in the room.

The stories where Superman solves his problems with is fists are the least worth reading. Stories where Clark has stuff going on in his life and still has to go out and save the world, but does it the right way, with compassion instead of anger. That's when Superman is firing on all cylinders.

There is a comic where someone just like Superman does. Its not pretty

Red Son
Injustice

Speaking of Supes and similar character, what's your opinion on Supreme ?

Justice Lords

The neat thing about Superman, to me, is that his particular brand of heroism is actually fairly ordinary. He's just a decent guy. A friendly, kind-hearted sort, simply doing the best he can in his situation. It's just that his situation is totally out there and fantastic. My favorite superhero stuff in general tends to be fueled by that sort of juxtaposition. I also like the themes of trying to find a place for yourself in the world, and living up to the image people kind of put upon you. That sort of thing.
Also, best love interest, best arch-nemesis, best secret hideout, best dog.

In the hands of his best writers, he's the exact model of how I think a person should behave. He's something to aspire to.
Everyone always wants to drag heroes into the mud so they'll be on our level. Superman is the classic hero, far above what we think we can achieve, who gives us something to strive for.

His humility is his best feature IMO. Most "paragon" characters come off as smug, but not Supes unless he's got a writer who doesn't get him.

Get out normie

I can't trust someone like that. The planet has to just trust him and live on his good graces. Hes a living weapon of mass destruction. He thinks he's doing us a favor by simply choosing not to kill us all. (Yet.) Dosent that drive you crazy?

To be fair the Plutonian was insane from the beggining, the impressive thing is that he remained a hero for so long.

That's kind of the point.
To quote the Crash Test Dummies:
"Hey Bob, Supe had a straight job even though he could have smashed through any bank in the United States, he had the strength, but he would not."

He has the power to do terrible things but he never would. He's content with a life spent using that power to serve others.

trust is a two way street though, the fact that he hasn't done anything to opress us is beause he trust humanity will do the right thing, the fact that someone like that can put so much trust in us is what makes me trust in superman.

This entire sequence epitomize why I love Superman.

...

I know this wouldn't work every time but the fact that it's capable of working makes me that much more of a Superman fan.

Not everyone sees him like you do, Lex. Go find another thread to bash Supes.

Go to bed Lex

Says more about you, that you have paranoid shit this that

Another page that speaks to Superman's character.

you guys realize current Lex buried the hatchet with supes and he is on his side now. Do you?

>What makes Superman a compelling character for you?

He's compelling because you can treat him as a symbol or a plain dude from kansas and he's still a great character if written correctly. He is the epitome of morals and ethics due to him being a powerful alien who doesn't really have any reason not to be a ruling god amongst men, yet he usually sticks to doing good and bringing forth the good in others. the psychological complications while doing the things he does is furthermore always a treat, especially if the story includes his earth parents. him sometimes struggling with doing the things he does while society is shitting on him is also pretty great

>Is he pure power fantasy?

not at all. he can be but that's only in cases in which writers are lazy and unwilling to showcase the really great things about the character. nothing wrong with prominently portraying him being powerful but when it gets a spotlight as his only characteristic, then the writer has definitely missed the point

Also, to me personally, Superman has and always will be my best and fastest pleb filter when it comes to people who like comics. Someone who finds Superman "boring" and "bland" usually has no real knowledge on comics and definitely no knowledge on Superman as a character

Another great moment. Joe Casey's Superman run is god tier

I really dislike when they write him as a symbol and not as a character, with his humane characteristics.

Also, for those who says he should be with Lois Lane because she is a mirror to humanity, fuck you.

They'll be back to the status quo by the end of February at least. Lex is about to take over Darkseid's throne and with Jor-El btfo him, he's gonna be pretty bitter.

As much as I wished for Lex to stay good, things always go back to normal.

Get off Sup Forums, Lex.

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>us
So, you pretty much saying that it's ok for Superman to oppress humanity when he doesn't like what they doing?

He has all the powers of a god, but chooses to live as a man. A hero is someone who goes above and beyond to reach a goal. The idea that anyone can save the day is what makes Superman compelling. He is a character that is out of place in our cynical pop culture world we currently live in; someone who wants to do good for the sake of doing good.
>people who claim they hate superman are too cynical to accept any sort of purity and
innocence in the world

Superman isn't compelling because he's a power fantasy. He's compelling because he's a moral fantasy.

We already do that. We've entrusted the world to a bunch of sociopathic oligarchs that literally try to use "affluenza" as a justification for being assholes. I'll take the boy scout over that every time.

>out of place in our cynical pop culture world

I've loved the character for as long as I can remember, which is going on 30 years now, but never have I truly enjoyed him as much as right now.

Dissenting opinions are at their most valuable when they are at their rarest...and characters like Superman are all but extinct in our current society.

I think I'm just tired of Batman (to a lesser extent admittedly), Deadpool and every other character in culture always being some kind of edgy anti-hero.

What's the hell is so wrong with someone who wants to do good for the sake of doing good? and being happy about it?

>What's the hell is so wrong with someone who wants to do good for the sake of doing good? and being happy about it?
Nothing. But pretending that he is the only guy who is doing good for the sake of doing it and no one can be "good" as Superman is the problem.

Lex please

>But pretending that he is the only guy
Didn't say that.

You must have somehow missed the
>all but

> no one can be "good" as Superman

Never said that either. Stop putting words in my mouth.

Just in comparison, the number of Superman-like characters when put up against the number of edgy antiheroes is outweighed to the 99th percent.

And where did I say that you did? I was speaking about people who pretend that Superman is "the greatest guy" not just in comics, but in the entire world.

You said what's the problem of him being good? I said nothing and it's silly to assume that being a good guy make people hates you. Some people simply don't like Superman because they his stories boring.

>And where did I say that you did?

In the part where you addressed my post and didn't say anything about other people at all?

You should have worded it better because no one could have gleamed your meaning from what you actually wrote.

Are you for real? I only addressed you question which is relevant to my point. I don't bother to address the rest of your post so stop trying to start a fight if you have nothing nothing else to say except being triggered like I offended somewho.

>don't
*Didn't

>offended
*you

lolwut

>lolwut
This explain a lot.

What is the source of this? I know I've read it somewhere but I can't remember where

He's a messianic character, some kind of modern Jesus.

No, i said that trust can be mutual

>it's silly to assume that being a good guy make people hates you.
Except that’s what’s happening with Superman. The widespread belief is that he’s a god who never struggles and has a perfect life. That doesn’t resonate with a population of people who seem to have latched onto much more edgy characters.

>Some people simply don't like Superman because they his stories boring.
Those people are among the comic reading population, which is just a fraction of a fraction of the total population. And even then, there are many comic readers who don’t like him and have never tried any of his books.

He's a simple character. Trying to make him complex ruines him

He's an actual fucking hero. None of this "ride the line" anti-hero shit, no wife beating controversy, no drinking problem, no drug habit, he's not a "zany" psychotic who happens to be on the right side, he doesn't have legions of people who hate him and make him bitter and cold to the world... He's a good kid from Kansas with super powers. Pisses me off people want him to become "darker" or "subversive."

What makes a character IN GENERAL compelling to me is how they interact with different characters and situations.

Superman can be really compelling sometimes and really boring other times. Him being "a good person" doesn't matter to me because I believe that there are many good people in real life and it's not exclusive to "Superman". I read comics because of my enjoyment and I drop characters that I don't enjoy.

>I don't read Superman, give me the rundown famalam
no fuck you go read it

>because of
For

>no wife beating controversy, no drinking problem, no drug habit
Literally most characters don't have these problems.

Reed Richards and Peter Parker have.

>Superman has to hear this all the time
>he will never be able to adopt every orphan in the world, even though he wants to
Fuck me man. Fuck you. I didn't want this. I came to this thread to get angry.

I didn't know that Reed and Peter = most characters.

Not that guy but those are two examples of popular characters that did the same think Hank Pym did under less forgiving circumstances but neither were labeled as a wife beater

Life is difficult, scary and overwhelming, so it's very nice to imagine someone who could have anything in the world, but just wants to help make life better for other people because it's the right thing to do.
We've become overloaded with cynicism and pessimism, as a society, so it has also become refreshing to have a superhero that isn't cynical and moody and dark, but stoically optimistic.

Let me repeat that. Superman is fresh and new because the last 40 years have been overwrought with moody-toody-dark-and-broody.

There are TOO MANY comics about this. Superman has spent more time being deconstructed and turned into a hypothetical evil God than he has spent being the good guy.

>Is he pure power fantasy?
Honestly that's like half of it. Of anyone he's the one I daydream about being. I'm not gonna give a sappy "He's a symbol" answers. Plus Lex Luthor is GOAT. Also he has an interesting alter ego in Clark kent. Something about seeing one of the most powerful man ever do mundane shit undercover is fun.

...

>That doesn’t resonate with a population of people who seem to have latched onto much more edgy characters
You know why people like "edgy characters"? It isn't because they are "cynical people" who don't believe there's good in the world, it because their struggles to be good people makes them enjoyable to read. Because being a good person isn't easy, we all struggle with negative emotions and that doesn't make us a bad people.

>Those people are among the comic reading population, which is just a fraction of a fraction of the total population. And even then, there are many comic readers who don’t like him and have never tried any of his books
Maybe because they simply find the concept of him is boring and they don't find him interesting like any person would feel toward any character that doesn't appeal to them? Why you have to assume that they don't like him because he is "a good guy"?.

Action Comics 808

Wish I knew the source. Do have the preceding page

This would taken an immense turn and make him instantly unlikable if he was off planet or busy fighting a bad guy.

I like this page, just a guy trying to do the right thing

Power used responsibly. Like Spider-man without the whining.

And this one

Genuinely brings a tear to the eye. Love moments like this. Is this collected in a trade?

Lex was never ever wrong. He was just too paranoid.
They actually entrust the entire planet and the human race into the hands of 1 unstoppable person.

>Genuinely brings a tear to the eye
Really? I'm genuinely asking.

This basically. We have never needed him more than we do in today's overly cynical society. It's not a coincidence that he grew to popularity as he did, when he did, and has stayed with us since.

>Love moments like this. Is this collected in a trade?
Pretty sure it's collected in Judd Winick's Green Arrow series.

>What makes Superman a compelling character for you?
I like him best when he's a normal goodhearted guy just trying to do as much good as possible, rather than a godly paragon. Clark is a working-class guy from Smallville with a lot of friends, a wife, and sometimes a kid, who who likes football, beef bourguinon, and Metallica. He just happens to be able to fly, tank bullets, shoot lasers out of his eyes, freeze stuff with his breath, see through walls, outspeed a bullet, and bench press a 747.

I also like his rogues gallery. Luthor, Brainiac, Bizarro, Zod, and Myx are god-tier.

I like that his alter ego is a huge part of his stories.

>We have never needed him more than we do in today
The moment we actually need a fictional character to be good people is the day where is humanity totally doomed and hopeless.

What we really need is to kill of the media and tell our kids to stop being such sensitive snowflakes because your color and sexuality doesn't define

Gonna need a source on this. Could have sworn I've read it before.

Pls post more superman scans

Yeah. I mean I wasn't blubbering, obviously, but that slight dampness you have to blink away and slight clench in the throat. I find Superman a moving character at his best.

>t. edgy cynic who purposfully ignores such ideas as inspiration and myth to propose 'solutions'.

I mean, I totally agree with your second sentence, that would be a great start, but capeshit are just the myths and legends of our times with none of the illusions of them being real.

Superman/Batman Annual 2

Who /luthor/ here

I miss Connor

...

What did he to do Supes there?
What did he do there?

Why doesn't he make oracle walk again........

Give me back my 40 cakes!