I can feel a Superman renaissance coming. People are getting tired of the evil Supermen and are ready for a hero who just wants to help people. An animated series is coming, Superman is finally returning to the big screen with a writer who loves the character, Superman and Lois is great, and people are waiting for a hero like the Man of Tomorrow to reignite their passion for superhero movies and content

8:39 Powerful last line “When I was a kid I wanted to be like Superman, now I only hope I can be like Clark Kent.”

One of my favourite superman lines is when Martha asks if he is eating healthy foods and taking care of his health. Then he answer: - Mom, please, I'm the Superman - And I am still your mother

Omni-Man is definitely more like General Zod than Superman. Alien general with Superman powers viewing humanity as beneath them, planning only to conquer the Earth? That’s Zod.

It makes me sad that people don't understand Superman. He's a compelling character that doesn't get to shine in a lot of stories for the casual audience. He's really cool and down to earth. People think I'm crazy when I say Superman is interesting.

Superman is what he does to help people. Clark Kent is who Superman is as a person.

I always loved the animated series episode where Clark "dies" in a car explosion while investigating a case and his father said he might have to accept that Clark is dead and he says something like "But I AM Clark Kent! I'd lose my mind if I had to be Superman all the time!" Or a Lois and Clark episode where he says "Superman is what I can do. Clark is who I am". I hate that the dark and gritty craze in the 2000s gave this perception that Superman was out of style or too old fashioned. Meanwhile Marvel is like "Here's a character who's literally out of style, is always sincere and the flag is part of his costume. He's also one of the most popular and coolest live action characters we have"

I love the fact that he took Martian manhunter home. But left Bruce up there alone 😂

Zack Snyder and Injustice have done irreparable damage to Superman

This video perfectly captures the essence of what Superman is. Clark Kent isn't Superman's mask. Superman is the Mask of Clark Kent. He's just a guy who was raised with good values and does his best to help people because thats what he was taught. He's supposed to be a Symbol of Hope and the Betterment of humanity. Great Video 10/10

Superman is an interesting character because he has more power than most other people, yet he chooses to use it to help others rather then benefit himself. It’s more interesting to see a character go against the idea that “power corrupts” rather then embracing that idea. I also love the friendship between Superman and Batman.

I want to say this respectfully...I never thought I'd see a *Batman-fan* talk so positively and respectfully about *Superman.* We need more of this in the fandom. Great video!

I wish that the people that wrote the justice leage movies actually read the comics

As a Superman fan, I always get a chuckle whenever someone is surprised to hear a Batman fan talking well about Superman... even Batman fans themselves. As far as I can tell, both camps basically feel about the other like our favorite characters do: Batfans think Supes is a great person but idealistic and Superfriends think Batman is a BAMF but a little self-destructive.

Best superman was from the DCAU, aka the Timm Verse. That set of shows works perfectly at portraying the best of DC heroes without a lot of convolution and redefining characters for a 'modern audience'. It fits perfectly within its own bubble as a reference for how to portray the best of DC.

Dude, I have been making thos argument for years and years. "Superman is unrelatable!" Yeah, no shit. He's an alien with god-like powers. CLARK KENT is the guy in the uniform. He's a country boy from Kansas. He has a lot of BIG guns, and NO, he will not hand them over to tyrants. His parents and Lois remind him every day that he is as Human as the rest of us. That's why I HATE the idea of a Supes/WW relationship. And on THAT point: WW is similar. With all of her power, it's mortal men that she gravitates to. Trevor and Bruce. I actually like BnD more than I like CnD Both Clark and Diana can find understanding from the other. That's what makes them great FRIENDS. It's their admiration of the "spirit" and determination of "mere mortal" Humans that drives them to represent the best of Humanity. Clark has Lois and his parents. (Heroes like Steel and Green Arrow and Batman aside) Dianna has known Trevor, and now Bruce. (Other heros aside). The point is, CLARK is relatable. If writers understoid this, and made Superman a side character, the could tell stories that the general public would enjoy.

When it comes to live-action, the latest movies might not completely understand Superman, but I think the tv shows do him well. Both Smallville and Superman & Lois have great adaptions of Clark Kent. The E-38/Prime Superman isn’t done too bad either

To be fair to Clark, Santa canonically exists in the DC universe. He invades Apokolips every year, breaking through all their defences, just to deliver coal to Darkseid

If you can't be superman, be Clark Kent

There's a Starman waiting in the sky.

cynicide: posts me: time to watch all his videos again

I think the world needs Superman now more than ever. I hope he gets some writers who understand the character, and he makes a comeback.

you are so right. that is why Christopher Reeves is the best superman live action ever, and the best thing currently is Tyler (well the guy in superman and lois) they seem to get him pretty well. btw. i have always said for many years. superman is different. that Superman is actaully the mask and clark kent is the hero. Superman was literally the only major superhero who doesn't hide his face. . also, many writers try to say he is like the story of jesus, however, that is actaully incorrect /wrong. Superman is much closer to the story of Moses (he was written and created by 2 jewish guys afterall) so think about it. moses and superman both were born an put in a vessel of some kind to another place they were not part of. and they both grew up not being who they were supposed to be born as and moses also loved family/peole etc.. oh and one thing you said in the video. Superman still believes in santa . well. that is because superman IS santa . think about it. On christmas day, santa must be able to carry the weight of something like 500,000 lb of presents, whom would have the strength necessary for this? superman (he did move the moon several miles in a few seconds in superman 4) santa delivers presnets in 24 hours all over the word to what 300 million houses? the speed required to do this would be insane. well in superman 1 we see clarck flying around the world 8times per second. he has the speed to do it. also the decelration and accelration of such things at these sppeds would kill most. but superman is invulnerable. santa knows whan you are sleeping, knows when you are awake. superman has telesopic/xray visions as well as super hearing of the entire world. he can preform these feats. Superman starts with S, Santa starts with S, their alter egos are Clarck Kent and Chris Kringle/ CK/CK where does santa live? the north pole. Where is the fortress of solitude? The north polle. Also. superman even stops and rescues cats from trees and so forth. his kndness and love of all are similar to sanat and who do you think santa does the other 364 days a eyar? reight?

Superman isn't misunderstood. The Character has been around for over 80 years and there isn't a singular and "correct" take on the character. All the versions you laid out at the beginning are perfectly valid takes on the character. To take your argument to it's logical (and false) conclusion, every panel and frame of Superman that wasn't directly produced by Seigel and Shuster is "wrong" and the same principle applies to Batman. Different artists, writers, directors, ect. are all going to have their own idea of what the character is and does to create new stories. The reason Superman is known as a character who flies is due to the Fleischer brothers not wanting to animate a character who leaps everywhere he goes (as per the contemporary canon of the character), so they made him fly instead and because people liked it, it stuck. The same goes for the emotional portrayal of Mr. Freeze, a character who was fundamentally changed into a completely different person and archetype, again by animators. And because that change of the character was beloved by the fandom, it replaced the previous incarnation. And even then, over the years, that character has shifted slightly as different writers and cartoonists have explored him and there's no reason why that character can't fundamentally change again with a different creator giving their interpretation. Pop culture characters aren't "definitive", Adam West's portrayal of Batman is probably the most 180 degree portrayal of Frank Miller's character in The Dark Knight Returns, yet both are fully valid.

Great video analysis that shows an understanding of who Clark Kent aka Superman is as a character and as a hero.

Great video, and I agree 100%. People who say "Superman is boring. Superman is overpowered, and Superman is unrelatable" don't really know anything about Superman. Man of Steel got a lot right, but also a few key things completely wrong. When you look at him as a person, he's way more ordinary and relatable than Batman. DC occasionally finds writers who do get Superman, Grant Morrison, John Byrne and, proving to be the best, Mark Waid. The JL animated series definitely got Batman, Superman and all those characters right. It isn't even that hard, it's just that stupid people, in positions of authority keep getting the wrong people to make Superman films ( well, since Richard Donner got him perfect in 1978 - I saw that movie when it came out, as a 7 year old and it made me a Superman fan for life).

I think Smallville did a good job of understanding Superman. Tom Welling nailed it.

A lot edgy guys love the idea of a "Punisher-type" hero. An Anti-hero. Or a straight up villain. We need more heroes like Captain America, Superman and Nightwing in media. Someone who brings hope. Someone we can look up to.

I always wanted to be like superman when I grow up but now I realize I've just turned into darkseid the difference is just that I'm mortal weak and coward . And I would love you to look at metro man as well.

I have to say it's really sad to see in some of the comments a lot of people think Zack Snyder's Superman is genius. Just objectively speaking, and if you were to read some of the source material, you would realize that Zack Snyder's Superman is objectively the polar opposite of what Superman should be. I think here in the west our society has gone so downhill that we have to look up to characters that are so tragic and beneath us for us to enjoy them, but the point of Superman is that he's a role model and a person who's supposed to be better than us. We're supposed to aspire to his ideals, his morals, his kindness and his fairness. Superman does need to be deconstructed or killed for us to care about him, he just needs to be a kind, polite man who shows us that there's always a better tomorrow. Superman is actually a very simple character but people just over complicate him. Characters like Batman, Spider-Man and a lot of marvel characters are driven by tragedy. One specific moment happens in their life that then projects them to become superheroes and it's usually a tragedy. Superman is driven by love and kindness because he was embraced by love and kindness by the Kents. And in a Superman story he can have conflict. He can question his morals sometimes. But above all else, we know he's going to do the right thing and show us a better way. I think the real reason people don't like Superman is that they're intimidated by him in some way and take out their insecurities on that character because deep down they know they'll never be like Superman. Just the harsh truth but I genuinely believe that. Because Superman is actually very similar to a character like Captain America and Spider-Man and yet people like those characters. So what's the problem with Superman? Well nothing. I think Superman has just been so misrepresented in the media over the past 10 years that people stopped caring about him. There's room for all different types of characters, tragic characters and characters who are embraced by love. There's nothing wrong with Superman and there's nothing wrong with the tragic character like Batman. There's room for all forms of storytelling and different types of characters. Not every character needs a tragic back story. And I don't think Superman needs to be driven by tragedy for us to like him, and I think that's the one thing Snyder got wrong.

He is the starman waiting in the sky truly

Superman has a certain level of "tactile telekinesis" which extends lines of force over greater area to keep things like planes from just crumpling on contact with him.

You are 100% correct. The worst part of watching Superman, is the bad writers who despise him.

I couldnt ever really be compelled to like the super hero stuff, then again the stories have been motifyed, rewrite, retried, and retconned so many times.. superman, batman, wonderwomen.. their all like.. nearly 70 years old now, no property stays good for that long. Im happy that people can still enjoy stuff like this, just not for me. But very good case study, incredibly informative.

I personally love Superman and so much feel exactly what your saying. The reason those don’t work as Superman Critques is because they just aren’t anything like Superman. They are like modern “darker Superman” but not like actual Superman. Whenever I hear a discussion about the best Superman movie I always say “Superman vs The Elite” because you get to see Superman, not just as a “Jesus figure” or just some brute but having to deal with a real moral question of is the world to “dark” for Superman? And more to the point - Should Superman just kill his enemies? And the story flat out says No and let’s us really dig into the mindset of Clark and why he’ll never give up and never stop having hope for humanity and for a brighter future.

“When I was young, I wanted to be Superman. Now I can inly hope I can be like Clark Kent” Beautiful

The fans of "Man of Steel" would never understand Superman, as well as what Snyder got so wrong about Superman. He is a compassionate and empathetic character in the first place, in any of his fight with another super being he would try to take the fight as far as possible from any city or populated landscape, so that it doesn't harm people or property. But nah, Snyder is ok with showing Superman casually destroying things around.

Thank you for this study of Superman! I grew up with this character inspired by the matured humanity expressed via George Reeves interpretation on the television series. However, I was truly surprised to learn that ,originally, as conceived, The Uberman was a villain. Thus these" flawed" adaptations I find compelling juxtaposed to the ideal we strive for. Once again, thank you for sharing this study, and triggering discussion...❤

If you want a great representation of Superman, watch Superman and Lois.

Personality wise I think Christopher Reeves Superman nailed it. At the end of Superman 2 when he put the flag on the capitol and told the president he’d never fail America again gives me goose bump just thinking about it!

I never vibed with Superman but I agree on the getting no rep aside from animated movies and comics

Well Done! I am so joyful that you put the Christmas episode in this!!! It is the one episode that I understood myself to be the one that allows every writer to understand that Clark Kent is Clark Kent who happens to become and be called Superman. It is probably my favorite episode. That Clark is so excited and runs to this father shouting that he always gets to turn on the Christmas tree - that a man so powerful, a man who has seen dozens of aliens - he is one himself standing in a room full of aliens, Watchtower or his home, it is the most joyous moment in many of these stories; he revealingly looked at his parents with confusion saying, "...you mean Santa wrapped them...?!!". How could any parents not be so in love with such a child? That is the real Clark, the man who loves being an Investigative Reporter, who will give it is all to save one life, who remembers others, considers them.

There is another Superman-like character in Japan. From the Land of Light he comes for the sake of Righteousness, he came to us from the star. Ultraman!

This is why I always preferred Superman Returns over the Man of Steel movie. It seemed the Man of Steel and its sequels focused more on the character's powers, where Superman Returns focused more on the characters themselves.

Superman should take Batman and Damian to his parents' home for Thanksgiving. It might give them an insight into what they are missing. Constant combat without relief leads to PTSD. How sad that hope, optimism, faith, and decency are regarded as boring.

Creators always focus on the spectacle of Superman, but forget that he's a small town guy. He grew up here on Earth, and learned his values from Ma and Pa Kent. I don't like when they kill off his parents in movies or shows. Feels like cheap drama.

Weirdly enough Metro man is the best subversion of the Superman trope.

Lore of Superman is Misunderstood momentum 100

My friends named one of their twins Greyson. I ran wild with Robin and Batgirl onesies, but they weren't comic fans and simply didn't get it. I need to reintroduce Robin and Nightwing gear while she's young. Maybe she'll get it.

Imagine being a powerful god like being living on a planet where most of the popluation cries out for you when all hope is lost and you having the power to handle just about anything. Yet at the same time you cannot be everywhere all the time and living with the burden of not being able to save everyone no matter how much you want to. That is an incredible burden and something simply not explored enough in the main stream (movies, shows) and its a disservice to a great character. Supermans greatest weakness is also his greatest strength and its his humanity.

0:22 I LOVE Henry Cavill but when I saw this I WAS FUMING

And that! That is why Superman isn't boring - he's everything you should want to be. Fr

the superman fro the superman and lois show is pretty good

Omniman is what if a CIA agent has Superman's powers.

I really like this explanation of Superman and Clark Kent, but I think audiences won't resonate with either. I personally think that the comics fans who hate Superman and like the evil supermen, deep down, they want to be like the evil supermen. They want to be a godlike being who gets to look down on the rest of humanity. It's a power fantasy And there's always going to be more evil superman fans than Superman fans

"When I was young I wanted to be like Superman, but now I only hope I can be like Clark Kent." 😢😭

I gotta say that I liked the Man of Steel version of Clark Kent/Superman. I didn't find him gloomy and brooding. Clark seemed very confused. He had all these powers showing up in his youth. Then Pa Kent tells him that he is really an alien from another planet. That he has to keep it a secret because, he doesn't know what society and government would do to him. Clark was raised by good people and has powers that can help. But his father wants him to not interfere and possibly expose himself. Clark watches his father die in a tornado, that he could have rescued, but Pa Kent told him now. Yeah, this Clark Kent is going to have some issues. Notice when he discovers his biological father Jor-El and he explains to Kal-El/Clark/Superman his Kryptonian heritage. Clark seems to lighten up. Then he has Lois Lane who discovers who he is but will keep his identity a secret. Then Clark Kent meets other people from Krypton, who were alive when his biological parents existed. Finally people like him, but only to find out that they have bad intentions for his home of Earth. This has to take Clark on an emotional roller coaster. Clark now has decide to rid the Earth of his Kryptonian brethren to keep humans safe. Clark Kent a farm boy, ends up having to kill General Zod to keep a family from being murdered by his heat vision. Clark at heart isn't a soldier or anything like that. The guilt pains him. Now the aftermath of the fight between General Zod, the Kryptonian army, and Superman devastated Smallville and Metropolis. Not everyone sees Superman as a hero for saving them from the Kryptonians. There are going to be many people with many different opinions of Superman. From adoration, fear, hatred, love, respect and everything in between. Even Batman thought Superman was an alien possibly trying to take over the Earth. Yea, some things needed to be fixed in the DC films.

One nickname he kind of enjoyed = The Big Blue Boy Scout

Summed up perfectly

It like the newer viewings took that line from Kill Bill about Superman as fact about Superman when it was just Tarentino blowing hot air out of his ass. Forgetting Superman arrived to Earth as a Child and was Raised on Earth as a Human by human parents, Superman is as much of a Disguise to him as clumsy Clark Kent.

That’s why Taylor from Superman and Louis is the second best Clark Kent

To be fair, Santa Claus does exist in DC and loves Clark and despises Darkseid 🤣🤣🤣

Jesse Owens INSPIRED Superman Blessings and HUGS 👑💜

You should write the next justice leage movie!

The last sentence goes hard.

Omni-Man feels more like Zod than Superman ngl

I legit thought it was someone else for a split second 7:00

Freaking GREAT video. Superman truly doesnt get the respect and admiration he deserves. New subscriber.

Good representation of Superman exists out there. The 4 Christopher Reeve movies, Superman the Animated Series, Superman and Lois just to name a few things.

Tbh I kinda despise that bit after final crisis I would expect superman to be more sad or nostalgic than angry, Grayson is someone he likes and batman's son so that viceral reaction from Clark seemed off to me. On everything else more or less I agree and liked the video.

❤

You would have earned a like from me for the last two lines alone. Well done.

Remember the original super man couldn't fly he originally could just jump over buildings

I'd like to see your thoughts on Irredeemable and, if not a good take on "bad" Superman, definitely an earnest one

Knowing the extended story of Invincible Omi-man always gets named as an evil Superman but later he more so becomes an inbetween of Superman and Homelander as he was raised with the mindset of Homelander but his time on earth shaped him to gain more of Superman's mindset which makes his character change a lot later on.

If your Superman isn't the kindest most hopeful person in whatever room he is in then you have failed to adapt Superman. I wish this video had more views

Damn perfect ending line. Hope to be more like Clark Kent. Honestly this was much needed, Superman has always been my favorite superhero, unfortunately/fortunately I couldn’t get into the newer adaptations, but he’s the Beacon of Hope. It’s nice to see good and helpfulness in the world but without having to assert dominance but by actions of kindness and heroism. I hope they bring back the Superman of yesterday. Let’s go Blue!!!

Batman used to use Guns all the time though so to seem him use one in the movies while dressed as an older version of Batman makes sense. Especially when you see him using it against aliens in Darkseids earth

“When I was young, I wanted to be Superman. Now, I only hope I can be like Clark Kent.” What a powerful line

Great upload this one! Thank you 🙏🏼

Couldn’t agree more. This is also what makes Superman a good character, he becomes boring and predictable when he’s written as not only an unstoppable “god” but also a cold alien. One of the worst things they ever did was erase Superman’s tagline “Truth, Justice, and The American Way”, and I say that not to be political but it’s undeniable thats who Superman is he’s a kid raised by farmers in middle America and he stands for those old fashioned virtues that really can only be represented by a “Superman”. Misunderstood is a perfect word for it I hope people start to wake up to this because it can only get worse if people keep ignoring the character that Superman is beyond him being OP.

If you were in a situation where you were doomed to death by a force greater than society. And Superman came to help. You wouldn't dismiss him the way you think desperate people should.

Santa does exist in Superman’s universe. He once tore through all of Darkseids planetary defenses just to give him lumps of coal.

Just something about the plane scene, Superman has a special ability where he can touch something and fully control it like he has telekinesis so that’s why he didn’t just go straight through the plane

FINALLY people are waking up to how Superman misinterpreted often and bastardized. He's not some sullen edgy dark A Hole, he is hope incarnate. He's a country boy with honor doing the right thing. People say that Clark Kent is the costume and Superman is the rea persona. That isn't true Clark Kent is the true person that's going out saving the day.

The CW show 'Superman and Lois' actually does a really good job showing the humanity of Clark Kent, and IMO is the best modern Superman adaptation.

*Cries in Hyperion*

Superman has similar issues to Star Trek. The whole pitch to both is showcasing humanity at its best, but when put into wider media like a movie, its writers don't know how to put that messaging into the market or format.

I agree with a lot of what you said here in how a lot of people don't get Superman. However, I'm excited to see the public reaction to the rest of Omniman's arc, the writing of the Invincible comic is a great example of both a deconstruction and reconstruction, because Kirkman and Walker really get the person-ness of the character Clark Kent. Spoilers: Omniman willingly goes to supermax space prison after Mark finds out he's been living a few months on a bug man planet as their ruler he says he did a lot of thinking and becomes a much more humble and somber character constantly worried about how he will (if ever he can) atone for the things he's done in the name of the dead Viltrum empire. He convinces a number of the Viltrumites to live on earth (mostly vice versa), not just to repopulate their numbers but convinced that living with humanity, away from the society they grew up in where they saw themselves as gods over the rest of the universe and reinforced that feeling any way they could, will make them experience and feel the better parts of humanity, until they want to embody it themselves.

Dc doesn't understand all of its heroes. They need some comic book people to consult with.

It started with Frank Miller, in my opinion, and in the years after his Batman v Superman story he’s admitted to his own bias but that hasn’t done much to fix the false narratives about Superman he pushed. Even in the Justice League film, they tried to clean Bruce Wayne up by having him acknowledge the fact that Clark lived an honest life, found love, worked a day job, etc. But once again, by then the damage was kinda done as far as the anti-Superman bias in BvS.

You know, the thing you said about focusing on the “super” and not the “man”.. “Man of Steel” actually does it really well. I’m not a fan of the Jonathan Kent death scene, but it’s a small shrug compared to a really well told story.

As a long time Superman fan, I am tired of the evil versions of him, especially injustice. No way would he ever become evil regardless of what happened to his loved ones. Can I also state that I am not a Batman fan because I cannot relate to his dark, brooding personality and don’t consider him a super hero. No super powers to speak of. He is a hero and maybe even a great one but he’s not a “super” hero. As a foil and friend to Superman, he is a much more worthwhile character.

2:13-2:17 Dude, you can *fly* You *also* have super strength. Think!

The children yearn for a role model Superman. We need some light in this dark world

Omni-Man is not evil Superman. Mark is Superman dealing with a flawed world.

Someone needs to see Superman: The Movie (1978), and tell me seriously that they didn't fully understand who Superman is.

Santa should exist in DC universe.

I would argue that the “Jesus imagery” also comes from a misunderstanding of who Jesus is. Jesus is the type of guy to sit down with you and talk about your hobbies, or eat a meal with you and just talk about whatever. Yes Jesus is God and Yes He is Lord, but he’s also humble, kind, loving and honestly Superman is very similar to Him. And that’s why I love Superman because I love Jesus. P.S to fellow Christians who see this, if I mess up my theology please tell me and I’ll edit the comment

This. Superman is supposed to be an optimistic meditation on human nature. The point is that he stands tall even after seeing the worst humanity has to offer.