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Superman

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Superman is more than Nieztche's ideal man, he's also the originator of the entire superhero culture. Before there was Batman's motivation to avenge his parents, and before Spiderman let guilt enslave him to sacrificing his time, education, sleep, and even girlfriend, there was Superman - doing what was right simply because it was RIGHT.

In order to compare Superman to other superheroes, you must first define how you are to judge the battle: will brute strength be your factor, or will character? For this argument, I'm going to say that a superhero is more than a strongman using a supernatural gift, as it can be shown that even villains can be difficult to stop or kill (for example, that killer of supermen himself, Doomsday). No, if we were to define the best "superhero" as simply being the best warrior, even the most villainous brute would qualify - so, ostensibly, prowess in battle cannot be used to validate Superman's reign as the better hero.

The key word here, then, must be "hero," rather than "super." And what's the most important aspect of a hero? Image. Heroes are bestowed with awards and medals, monuments and statues - Spider-man is a hero, right? He saves people every day! But he gets no glory. New York thought he was a menace for a good part of his career, and the Daily Bugle, Spider-man's own place of employment, slanders him every week, often right after he's saved dozens of people! Then you've got the heroes who abuse their position, like Iron Man in the recent "Civil War" story-arc. No one would think of Iron Man as a hero right now, and why? Image. A hero's most formidable weapon is his (or her) public image.

Superman has tons of image. He's the American icon. He stands for truth and justice. He was so inspiring that every other hero that followed in his footsteps followed his formula (cape, silly tights, bright colors). There are tons of other heroes who are stronger than Superman (I believe the the Hulk may be), or have better powers than Superman, but Superman always emerges triumphant.

The image is fostered mostly in his appearance: he is unmasked, as opposed to most other heroes, including the aforementioned spiderman. A concealed face naturally causes one to wonder what the concealed his hiding. What is he so worried about? we might ask. It gives off a subconcious feeling that the hero is not 100% confident, that he doesn't think he's doing right (because he's afraid that he may be arrested if his true identity is known) or that he may be unable to protect his loved ones (if someone comes looking for revenge). That doesn't make for a confident citizenry. And Superman knows this: Superman hides nothing, he appears friendly, confident, and so at ease that he can show his entire face to the world. You can TRUST him. Remember that old saying, "Can you trust a face like that?" Well, how can we trust a faceless man? Superman is far from faceless, his is the face of justice and freedom.

This would also help future Superheroes once Superman is gone: we can trust the men in tights, because we could trust Superman. Without the son of Jor-El paving the way, laying the foundations for the brightly-colored saviors of today, the public would never completely trust or tolerate any other "hero." There would be no "Justice League," if we can't trust one masked vigilante, how do you expect us to trust a whole gang of them, and never mind giving them a giant space laser to play with.

No, Superman has always been, and always will be, the world's greatest superhero, even if he loses all of his powers. His true power is hidden in his symbol.

Learn more about this author, Michael Collins.
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