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By Scott Humphrey
If you ask, many comic book superhero fan boys and girls will tell you that Superman is a boring superhero, that he’s naïve, or an overgrown boy scout. Many doesn’t mean all, mind you, although there are quite a few who hold those sentiments, and there is no shortage of Superman bashing on the interwebs.
Have we become too cynical?
Do the qualities that Superman possesses seem trite and unrealistic to today’s movie going and comic book reading audience? Perhaps, but that is a consequence of the world around us, and that is exactly why Superman is perhaps more relevant now than ever before.
With the imminent release of Man Of Steel on June 14th there are undoubtedly high expectations and outright dismissals concerning the substance of this movie. We know the issues with the overwhelming goodness of the character that may seem boring to some, but I’m not sure that’s a fair assessment of Superman.
Why is it boring to be good?
Does that mean he is less interesting than other superheroes? I suppose to some, but I’ve always appreciated the idealistic nature of Superman. Goodness at all costs. Our culture seems to be saturated with less than optimal behavior when it comes to what is displayed in the media. I tend to look at Superman as an inspiration.
To quote Russell Crowe as the new Jor-El in Man of Steel: “You will give the people of Earth an ideal to strive towards.” That is still one of the best parts about the character; that he represents, in terms of personal character, what humans should be striving towards. Goodness knows we can use some of that right about now.
The new movie looks to be a fresh and exciting take on Superman; hopefully one that will give the audience the spectacle it craves from a Superman movie, as well as giving us some substance behind the man. His emotional conviction was always as interesting to me as how hard he could hit.
So what do you think about Superman and the new movie, Man of Steel? Is he a naïve boy scout, or an ideal to strive towards?
