Superman Through the Ages! Forum

Some time ago, there was a thread asking the question of how we'd react and what we'd think would happen if Superman and Supergirl were to appear. I thought I'd reuse the same question and ask others what we think would happen/how humanity and ourselves would react if a  youthful Superboy were to suddenly make his debut in our world? Would things be any different toward a grade-school-aged superpowered  youth showing up (vs. an adult Superman)?

mass suicides again?  :D

He would probably be accused of not looking enough like Tom Welling, and quickly retire to obscurity again.

No...Tom Welling IS IN NO WAY SUPERBOY, remember? At least that's DC's argument in the lawsuit...

I think people would react in much the same way that they did when Bat-boy debuted, and dismiss it:

(http://www.public.coe.edu/departments/theatre/images/bat%20boy.jpg)

Oh, the answer's obvious: the world would try to make a buck off of him.

I'm not just talking about street vendors selling Superboy's "authentic baby teeth," or Superboy-watchers clubs sprouting in areas he's known to live, though that sort of thing is inevitable. I'm not just talking about the unbelievable merchandise that would result, although take a good look around: all that already exists in our world.

People would find ways to appropriate Superboy's image, do "brand association." The city he lives in becomes "Superman's town." The newspaper that covers his stories would be the "Superman paper." In other words, milk his name for more money.

I'd love to see what the Supermarket Tabloids would be like in a world with a real Superboy. "Superboy and Tara Reid shocking tryst," or "Friends Urge Superboy to Give Up Cocaine Addiction," or "Globe Exclusive Shock: Superboy Eating Disorder!"

Even if Superboy himself is "beyond crass merchandizing" and things like pimping soft drinks (as Perry White once subversively observed in the passive-aggressive "Supermobile" story), consider this: there are a tangle of laws that control how a person's image and likeness can be used. But they won't matter if a person doesn't step forward, will they? So as long as they give him no reason to do so, they can continue to do what they do without being reasonably challenged.

If I see that screaming Bat Boy image again, why I'll...I'll...............

Would he be fast enough to read and reply to everyone's email and postal mail, and establish some personal relationship with everyone in the entire world who'd want to have one with him?

Big Boy restaurants would rename themselves to Superboy restaurants.

Secret Identity dealt with this a little bit. It depedns on what age he was. If he was a teenager people might be more accepting then if he was in elementary school (as some stories suggested he started his career). Regardless of his age, there would likely be the outcry of "where are the parents?" Some people would see him as the anti-christ and I think the mass suicide thing isn't that far off. EVERYONE would want to know where he came from and just how powerful he is, and then of course he would be expected to intervene in every dispute in the world. He'd be a busy boy!

The mass suicide thing was a joke, you will have to search for the original thread and read it to get the reference.