Everyone knows who Superman is.
Maybe not everyone.
Every AMERICAN knows who Superman is.
Maybe not everyone.
Every AMERICAN knows who Superman is.
Why? I don't think it has to do with a supersaturation of images (print or film), or the newest Superman attraction at 6 Flags. It's not because of the success of the trademarked "S" t-shirt. I think we know Superman best because he wages the “Never-ending fight for truth, justice, and the American Way." While he battles for truth and justice in these early comics, the most intriguing element of the Superman chronicles I've discovered in my readings this week is that there seems to be no mention of that final piece of this famous line. Reading Superman without the origin story we all know -without his established spot as a great American icon (up there with John Wayne and apple pie) – was an unsettling thing.
While
I recognize that this back story gets fleshed out further down the line, I was
initially [honestly] concerned by Kal-El’s lack of patriotic backstory in the first
editions of the Super Man Chronicles- namely his well-known upbringing in Kansas
by the salt-of-the-earth Kent’s. Herein lies the zero-to-hero story that
befalls so many of our favorite [DC and Marvel] comic book characters- one that
is so intrinsically intertwined with the “American Dream.” While the Superman
of the first editions certainly fights for truth and justice in his various
adventures, I’m finding myself questioning whether this “American Way” can be
found there as well. Is it implied, or does it become salient in Superman’s struggle
to uphold it against the forces of evil which threatened world peace (and
America itself) during the years of the Second World War?
I think you bring up an interesting question: why is Superman the most famous American superhero? You're right in that now, the first comics don't seem like anything special: flat characters, old story lines, and none of the intriguing back story that we're so used to. But if we put Superman in its own context, I think it can be said that Superman is really the first superhero comic of its time. There are some similarities with Tin Tin, but Tin Tin was no super hero, and Superman takes it to the next level. Perhaps what makes Superman so great is the fact that he was the first one; so even if the first ones are not as high quality, there was nothing to compare it to. Later on, they were able to expand it and make it what it is today. We discussed in class the sheer length that Superman has been around, and the fact that Superman was just different enough to be unique, and just vague enough to allow for people to flesh it out again and again.
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