Superman

Superman is one of my favorite comic book characters. That seems passé to many people, and this is the topic of my guest bytch.

As much as I love the character, I didn’t like Superman Returns. One of the key reasons for my dislike is the film’s failure to answer one of the questions it itself poses: why does the world need Superman? I was stunned that Bryan Singer didn’t specifically and clearly touch on Superman’s power as an embodiment of the heroic, despite visually painting him as a Christ figure whenever possible.

Forget that Superman is a white male for a moment. Consider him as a totem of the possible, of the undiluted best parts of all of us. Superman is an ideal, a symbol beyond the power of a single person – even one from Krypton. And that symbol tells us that even though we don’t have super strength or heat vision, we can all still be heroes in our own right, because Superman’s greatest strength, his greatest weapon, is his compassion.

For this compassion, he’s labeled a "boy scout", "no longer relevant", "too unrealistic", "too perfect". Yes, Superman is perceived as perfect in the blue tights, but as Clark Kent he’s a bit of a bumbler who misses deadlines and lets his wife down a lot. Superman is what’s possible, Clark Kent is the realities of day-to-day life.

The fact that we are all Clark Kents does not give us an excuse not to try to be Superman.

Clark Kent isn’t the professional success his wife is, nor does he have the profile he could if he used his powers selfishly. Instead, his human identity is struggling, awkward and mundane, because his priorities are on doing what’s right, not doing what’s ambitious or popular.

The modern world, with its cynical complexities, needs heroes more than ever. Day to day kindnesses are lost in the rush of the business world. Many people see the pursuit of wealth as a way to empower oneself and become superhuman. In the DC Universe, however, that makes you Lex Luthor, not Superman.

An example of this Lex Luthor mentality that’s been driving me crazy lately surrounds a local feud between two comic book conventions. The organizers of the much larger show are threatening to deny participation in their event to anyone who participates in the smaller show. They’ve done this, in some cases, to people who have prepaid their fees as much as a year in advance. This large show, it seems, isn’t happy just being the biggest show. It wants to be the only show. They justify their actions by saying it’s just business, it’s an open, competitive marketplace, etc. etc. What it really is, however, is a power trip. Lex would be proud.

There is a growing movement to actively object to this way of doing business. One person, an independent comic creator, took the brave step to send out an open letter, calling for an end to these practices. He asked others to join with him in boycotting the massive convention until it allowed vendors true freedom of choice.

Despite many people privately cheering him on, to my knowledge no one other than myself and my show has joined him in the boycott.

The most common excuse people are using is "I can’t afford not do the big show". While I believe that’s true in some cases, other people simply can’t bring themselves to do something hard.

Here’s the thing: heroism isn’t easy. If it were easy, it wouldn’t be heroic.

You might have noticed I’ve intentionally used no names in the tirade about the comic book shows. My venom here isn’t for the show itself; it’s for the people who won’t stand up to them.

Basically, people are afraid of making enemies, of taking a stand and having to deal with the consequences. I understand being risk adverse: some days I just want to crawl under a rock myself. But then I think of my beloved superheroes, and Superman (or Wonder Woman, or Batgirl, or Ms. Marvel) wouldn’t let something he thought was wrong keep happening if he could do something about it.

THAT’S why the world needs Superman. His personal accomplishments may be surprisingly fleeting, but he shows heroism is possible, in bright, bold, idealistic colours, in broad daylight. If Superman can leap tall buildings in a single bound and choose to use that for the greater good, then all of us can take a few small steps towards making the world a better place, one choice at a time.

We need superheroes, even if sometimes they may seem like childish, even ridiculous, archetypes. We need them to show us the way out of complacency and fear, to make us question mediocrity and conformity. These costumed heroes are psychedelic dreamscapes which mold the limits of how far we dare to go.

Up, up and away, I say.

Liana K. is the co-host, senior producer and co-head writer for Ed’s Night Party!, the #1 late night show in Canada. Ed’s Night Party! can now be seen in the US on G4. Liana spearheaded the publication of a spin-off comic book, Ed and Red’s Comic Strip, available at www.edthesock.com. Her columns will be featured in upcoming issues of Faze Teen Magazine, Urban Male Magazine, and Bobbi.