My favorite superhero of all time used to be Spiderman. But I'm not sure if that's so true anymore.
Recently, I had a chance to read through all 12 issues of All-Star Superman by Grant Morrison, Frank Quietly and Jamie Grant. At first I wasn't all that impressed (Watchmen is still my favorite graphic novel of all time), but the more I think about what I've read the more it grows on me.
It's no secret that, on the DC side, it's all about Batman. One needn't look past the two stellar films to see that it kicked Superman's last Hollywood outing in the butt. But I think it's more the sign of the times rather than one being a better character than the other. It wasn't THAT long ago (maybe fifty years or so) when Superman was top dog.
Thing is, if you look at the world around you, and then you look at what films make it these days and which don't, you can kinda see why Supes is playing second to Bats. Nowadays, with the less than rosy forecast (both economic and climate), people are more... negative... than ever. And that's pretty much Batman. These days, when you hear on the news of so many struggling (to make ends meed, for instance), you also think of... Batman! And it's kinda easy to see why.
Batman, despite his wealth, struggles every time he gets into his Bat suit. Just to get where he is he has to train for years with Tibetan ninjas and whereas Superman can leap a building in a single bound, Batman has to work out everyday just to stay in shape. In today's popular perception, Batman just fits more. Here we have a rich kid with a huge inheritance feeling 'just not good enough' so he has to don his bat costume each day and slave like a dog just to catch criminals who ultimate will always escape jail just so they can be caught again. It's rough being Batman, just like how it's rough to be human, sometimes.
Superman, however, is the total opposite. Here you have a being who's basically just... being himself. The movie Kill Bill told it best when the titular Bill said that Clark Kent is the disguise, while Superman is the real identity. Superman doesn't have to work out. He doesn't have to do anything to be super. He's super just cause of what he is and this is the important lesson. As much as we may value struggle, as much as we may value making it on our own through the sweat off our backs, Superman reminds us that it's enough just to be who you are. You don't have to DO anything to be super. You just have to BE super.
A lot of people, I think, have forgotten that message lately. Sure, we can't fly, or lift cars, or run faster than a speeding bullet but we don't have to. We just have to be ourselves. Personally, I'm a little tired of having to constantly struggle and to prove myself (especially at work). Now, I just want to sit back, relax, be myself, and STILL BE SUPER! And I think that is why I'm more inclined to Superman now than ever before.
Because sometimes, it's enough just to be who we are. Even if it means wearing our underwear on the outside.
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