The Superhuman Tattletale

The Superhuman Tattletale

After having read 201 some-odd pages of Superman over the last two nights, my opinions on the icon have changed. While I have always grown up adoring Superman, and still do even after reading Volume 1, my perspective on his role in the American and World communities have changed. The whole world knows that Superman is the ultimate fighter of evil; his actions are present in seemingly all facets of American culture as well as overseas as we learned in class. However, having not previously done any serious reading or viewing of Superman comics or movies and having had a more idealistic understanding him for most of my life, after reading Volume 1 I must say I find his demeanor in punishing wrongdoers a bit irksome and not as "cool" as I always assumed it would be (at least in Siegel and Shuster's Superman). As I say in the title, Superman's approach to fighting crime is that of a herculean babysitter or tattletale, and I don't often find myself cheering in admiration when he succeeds. While of course his actions are brave, well-intended, and send a very positive message to young readers and really readers of all ages, a part of me is annoyed by how is "ha-ha you lose I win" attitude (and also how easily he often convinces the villains to be better people, but that's a whole different story). To give an example, on page 153 panel 96 (below) , Superman grinningly says "Their faces! It was worth it just to see the expression on those scoundrels' faces when they said their crooked schemes go up in smoke!" Without the need for context or knowing who the character is it is evident here that whoever said this is rejoicing in the defeat and loss of hope of others', much as one would expect a stereotypical tattletale to after ratting on a younger sibling, for example.