Supermasculinity: or Why it’s hard to look up to Superman anymore
Whatever Happened to The Man Of Tomorrow, He used to be the most respected well-loved Superhero of all time, outselling all other heroes. Did times change, are the ideas of Truth, Justice and the American Way dead? is he too powerful for modern audiences? is he too square and unhip? Does standing up for the little guy against corrupt capitalists, make you unrelatable or does having the power to move planets do that to you? Well the truth is Superman is a shell of his former self, riddled with Toxic Masculinity and misused by his publisher in ill conceived attempts to make him more grounded and relatable instead of being kindly man-god who loves humanity.
Lets start this dissection of Superman’s history at it’s most logical starting point his creation. Created by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster originally as a telepathic bald criminal, Siegel and Shuster as well as National Comics (later renamed DC) thought this idea was lacklustre. Retooling the character for the great depression they realised what America needed was a Hero and this Heroic Superman was there to fight everything that kept the modern man down, corrupt business owner, evil machinery and the encroaching threat of Fascism. Superman was a Marxist empowered, Super Strong Luddite determined to destroy the Bourgeoisie hiding in plain sight as a mild-mannered reporter Clark Kent son of hard working Kansas farmers (but secretly from the planet Krypton). This incarnation of Superman caught the interest of the FBI and his creators and publishers where accused of being Communists so the anti-Capitalist sentiments of the early strip where muted and in place was unwavering patriotism and a new catchphrase “for Truth, Justice and The American Way”. Remaining in tact was of course his arch-enemy Lex Luthor a corrupt power hungry criminal obsessed with greed, not to mention the time Superman put Stalin and Hitler on Trial.
Superman spent World War 2, advocating the importance of stopping the Hun and more unfortunate remarks and front covers about the Japanese, selling War Bonds in his comics (not an uncommon practice for fictional characters, Bugs Bunny and Mickey Mouse both did this as well) and of course telling us the reason why he can’t just throw Hitler and the rest of the 3rd reich into the sun was because of their various “magical and occult artefacts” (when the real reason being Superman is a fictional man and Hitler was real). But once the War was won by the Allies Superhero comics declined in popularity sure Superman was still one of the most popular his only real rival being Captain Marvel (that DC Comics took legal action against proclaiming him to be a Superman knock-off). Superheroes where also losing their stranglehold over the medium of comics with more Horror and Crime Comics increasing in popularity, with the war won America no longer needed it’s heroes and with less news stories about war atrocities they needed to get their scares and shocks from fantasy now. This lead to William Wertham’s crusade against Comics, and not just the new wave of violent comics, ALL comics, he declared Superman as nothing more than power fantasy. This lead to the Comics Code Authority, a set of guidelines for comic publishers to self police themselves as to not offend the sensibilities of 1950’s America.
Neutered by overzealous censorship Superman was forced to change, gone where the days of Superman is the good guy because we say so. Now Superman was a more thoughtful character he even had a surrogate son in the form of breakout character from his radio series Jimmy Olsen, someone for him to be a direct role model for. Sure some of the stories in CCA where silly and DC had a strange obsession with Gorillas, and there only other method to try and increase the sales of a book was to suggest the hero turned evil leading to the current meme of “Superdickery”. The problems of this Superman’s time where thought of more as fascinating conundrums be they earthbound or cosmic in nature. Equal thought would go into stopping a college girl being teased for not having a boyfriend or to the meteor heading towards Metropolis, it probably also helped that he was aided by a new Superpower every week ranging from telescopic vision to super-knitting. With more challenges Superman had more and more challengers many of them representing aspects of Toxic Masculinity like the arrogant Brainiac and Mr Mxsptlykz who care about nothing but proving their superiority to the Man of Steel who where both always beaten by Superman outsmarting them. Drooling savages like Titano the giant ape with Kryptonite laser eyes, power hungry sociopaths like Metallo or Parasite or my favourite an irrational giant man-child who looks almost exactly like Superman Bizarro. Of course the most persistent threat to Superman was Lois Lane’s stubbornness and constant attempts to trick him into marriage, never trying to ask him or have him enter into this contract willingly, hell she rarely ever discussed the idea of her and Superman settling down together. Superman always had to try and turn the tables on her, reasons for why Superman not wanting to settle down with Lois varied from her not knowing his secret identity thus causing a strain that he had to sneak out to go to work and keep up the Clark Kent charade or that he was worried being married would mean he couldn’t do his Superman responsibilities like stopping Kryptonian criminals from escaping the Phantom Zone. The Superman of this era could be mutated by Red Kryptonite, sent back in time or become trapped in another Dimension, he still relied more on his brains than his brawn and always did whatever he could to help anyone whenever he could so much so you wonder why only Jimmy Olsen was given a signal watch.
With renewed interest in Superman lore, it was only a matter of time before Superman would go Hollywood again (since the George Reeves Television show and Movie Serials). This time the man of Steel was to be played Christopher Reeves, and directed by Richard Donner who the previous year directed The Omen. In this movie is to many the Definitive Superman, wise, charming and optimistic, hopelessly in love with a Neurotic, Anorexic and grouchy, chainsmoking career woman also known as Daily Planet’s Ace reporter Lois Lane a woman he loves so much he’s willing to break all the laws of physics to travel back in time to save. The Sequel had Superman face an all new threat General Zod (well the name Zod was used once for a disposable Kryptonian Phantom Zone Criminal), and his two disciples Ursa and Non. These 3 Kryptonian scoundrels are a Dark Mirror on Superman having the same powers, while Ursa being a woman she of course has the least in common with Superman, but Non as a mute savage and General Zod the all powerful renaissance man of Superman inverted into an arrogant tyrant. Superman cannot defeat these 3 on his own so he sets aside his ego and works with the villain of the previous movie Lex Luthor to take a long gambit of outsmarting these villains which includes the deception of “Superman can’t lie” and depowering them.
DC’s sales as a whole started to decline as their rival Marvel comics where holding nearly an 80% share of the market, deciding to do something radical DC gave the Superman series to Batman writer Dennis O’Neil and Artist Neal Adams who wrote the Sandman saga, this was the first of many “NERFings” of Superman with the story ending with Superman’s power cut down to a tenth of what it was and him no longer being vulnerable to Kryptonite. This storyline was overshadowed by Crisis on Infinite Earths and then shortly after that due to Superman comics being too confusing with the DC’s New Earth having a Superman from a different world DC ret-conned this with the Man of Steel mini series written and drawn by John Byrne. Despite this Storyline doing a lot to bring Superman back to his roots including a Donald Trump inspired makeover for Lex Luthor and it ending with Superman outsmarting General Zod it would lead to the broken Superman of today. DC thinks the best selling comics are the best, unfortunately for Superman his 2 best sellers neither of them portray him particularly well. The best seller being The Dark Knight Returns a story about Batman declaring he hates Superman because “Fuck you logic”, and Superman being a government stooge who doesn’t think for himself and Batman is the best because he wears black or some bullshit. The story climaxes with a Superman weakened by a Russian nuke and Batman in a robo-suit punching either in defiance of DC’s former rule that all disagreements between heroes should be settled civilly. The next best seller being the Death of Superman where he is confronted by a literal embodiment of Toxic Masculinity a snarling drooling Kryptonian dinosaur called Doomsday. How does Superman deal with him, well by punching him of course, he even realises that punching him makes him stronger and does Superman change strategy? nope he comes to the conclusion that he should punch him some more. Not to Mention that DC with its New Wave of "Cool Writers" also known as The British Invasion, seemed to single out Superman as an old hasbeen. In Alan Moore's Swamp Thing the whole Justice League impotently watch The Floronic Man take over the world with his ability to communicate with plants, in Sandman Superman appears in a coma as Dr Destiny puts the world to sleep and Grant Morrison has Superman appear and basically declare nothing he can do in the pages of Doom Patrol as Paris has been swallowed whole by a painting.
Superman of course didn’t stay dead, but he emerged from a “Kryptonian Healing Coma” with a new hairstyle (a mullet) and the same attitude that got him in that coma in the first place. That said it’s hard to single out Superman for Toxic Masculinity in the 90’s in the age of Liefeldian overblown muscles and guns all heroes where suffering from this. However in what current comics historians are calling “the Renaissance” he still doesn’t fair that well, like how even though he’s well meaning in “Whats so Funny About Truth, Justice and the American Way”, where he tells a bunch of Government contracted killers to not kill people by beating the snot out of them.
Outside of the comics the publics perception hasn’t been much better, like the American Express adverts with Superman and Jerry Seinfeld. Superman is clearly voiced by Patrick Warburton best known then for the character David Puddy on Seinfeld, Elaine’s idiot boyfriend whose whole character is being an idiotic jock. Since Death of Superman we have had 2 cinematic versions of Superman, the first being Superman Returns which has Superman abandoning a pregnant Lois Lane and then stalking her after learning she had his son, And that was the less Toxicly masculine Superman. The 2nd being Zack Snyder’s Man of Steel, which is heavily routed in its directors belief in Objectivism, a series of rambling amoral ideas pretending to be morality written by Ayn Rand. In this version we have a Superman whose parents try a make him less special and conform to the standards of everybody else like the protagonist of Anthem or Howard Roark from the Fountainhead, this is also contrary to every other version of Superman’s backstory where Ma and Pa Kent do everything to make sure Clark grows up to be a good person who helps everyone (although worried he’ll work himself to exhaustion). After becoming Superman, he then battles General Zod destroying half of Metropolis in a tantrum of “But I want to be the only one whose special”. The Movie was financially successful enough to warrant a sequel where Superman and Batman both throw tantrums about being special.
Popularity for Superman was in a dire state for the October 2002 Wizard Magazine when the readers of a western magazine about Comics declared Goku would beat Superman. This goes to show how far Superman had fallen to be beaten by a character who like many of his villains just wants to be more powerful. Although months later the poll was reopened, and Superman won. But this whole line of argument is a never ending void of fanboys proclaiming my guy punches harder, all the while ignoring that Superman traditionally won by outwitting his opponents and his internet rival is a half-wit with brain damage.
After realising a nearly 30 year old storyline has seemingly damaged Superman forever is there hope? Are Superheroes inherently full of Toxic Masculinity? Well no. Superman has been written in ways where he isn’t afflicted by excessive amounts of testosterone, but these comics seem more like an exception than the rule like the Silver-Age inspired series The Adventure of Superman which where all non-canon to DC’s then New 52, which had him do things like convince Bizarro to take a nap because he does the opposite of what Superman does and Superman is awake. Not to mention the seminal All Star Superman unfortunately this book is as much about Mortality as it is about Superman, but in the book by Grant Morrison he’s portrayed as caring so much that even when dying of Solar radiation poisoning he still stops to hug a teenage girl contemplating suicide and tells her “Don’t worry it’ll be ok”. Before flying into the sun to save all of humanity after Lex Luthor poisoned it. As for the Toxic Masculinity Marvel has in its movies managed to give superheroes mass appeal by having their heroes have to overcome toxic masculinity to actually become heroes, and if you don’t accept that DC with Geoff John’s run on Green Lantern dealt with themes like this, with Hal Jordan starting off as a womanising arrogant shmuck but evolving to become a more selfless dutiful man who ends up actually proposing to Carol Ferris overcoming his long time fear of commitment. So Superman is broken but a good writer and a better movie could fix him. But that said it's ironic that attempts to make him more relatable (and more popular) by making him less powerful.
