What is the significance of Superman in today's society?

[Ric-El]

yes because everyone needs saving and he is there to help.

[Brainiac44]

Hi,

That is a very big question you ask.

Superman is mainly a product, sorry, basically, that's it.  
If you're inspired though, Superman can be your "invisible" father.  He gives people the measure of how one can live his life with honor in this world.

[Kuuga]

He's a fantastic character with a strong sense of morality and conscience. In the hands of a writer that truly loves the character and doesn't view his legacy, his morals, or his powers as an albatross; he's a very sympathetic character.

He has all this power but he thinks beyond himself. In so many ways he may be alien but through what he does he shows us the real meaning of being human and the idea that power does not *have* to corrupt. You make a choice.

He also (ideally) is alot of fun. The superhero idea at its purest. Fantasy, adventure, action, romance, heroism, good vs evil. Whats not to like?  

But to enjoy Superman requries using your imagination and your heart.

[Continental Op]

This is strange. It seems that DC is going to be publishing a hardcover story that deals with this kind of topic... a fictional story about what Superman still means in the REAL world.

From http://comics.toonzone.net/solicitations/2004-03/vertigo.php

<HARDCOVER

      Steve has just been given the opportunity every comic-book writer dreams of: the chance to write Superman. Only it’s an assignment he couldn’t want less. To Steve, everything about Superman is ridiculous. To write about the Man of Steel, Steve must believe he could exist…but he can’t.

     Steve’s story is the focus of IT’S A BIRD…, a semi-autobiographical original VERTIGO hardcover graphic novel written by former SUPERMAN writer Steven T. Seagle with exquisitely painted art by Teddy Kristiansen (SUPERMAN: METROPOLIS, HOUSE OF SECRETS). IT’S A BIRD… isn’t about how Metropolis’s defender would function in the real world, but how he does function in the real world. Our world, where he’s just a fictional character.

     How does anyone relate to a Man of Steel — much less Steve, with his own fear of death and the specter of a family history of a terrible illness hanging over him? Steve tears through every cultural and symbolic component of Superman’s importance, leading to a series of stories told in a variety of styles that form one provocative question: How does the most important heroic icon of the 21st century affect our lives?

     A Superman story that doesn’t feature Superman at all, IT’S A BIRD… is perhaps the most realistic Superman story DC Comics has ever published — a story about the character’s profound power as a fictional ideal.

     IT’S A BIRD… is a 136-page VERTIGO original hardcover graphic novel edited by Karen Berger and is suggested for mature readers. It is advance-solicited and arrives in comic-book stores April 14 with a cover price of $24.95 U.S. >>


Sounds expensive, but I'm going to at least flip through it if I can.

[Brainiac44]

Hello...again...

I somewhat rushed my other reply (I was fighting Superman again, at the same time.  I had this foolproof plan but he somehow defeated me...again...).

Part of my answer about commercialization is right.

The other part if we talk about the human factor, my personnal view...  I think that Superman has lost a lot of his inspirational value (to bridge another post I made).  We are living in an age where we believe nothing but believe everything.  Most people consider god a fairy tale but will buy books on aliens.  We decriminalize pot but give tickets to those who smoke cigarettes in a library.  The number of phones has gone up to ridiculous number but we never seem to be able to talk to anyone but machines...  Superman, like everything else, has had a bumby ride.  
Can you imagine Clark with a hat today?
Can you imagine Lois and Superman not having sex before marriage?
Can you imagine the Superman silver-age incorporated in a movie today?
There are lots of questions like that - they make us think of exactly your topic - WHAT IS SUPERMAN'S PLACE TODAY?

When I get home at night from work, I look at my Superman stuff in my display.  I read a sa story almost every night.  This kinda breaks my heart to answer but here goes...  Superman's place is in the past...  Unless the writers, artists, et al don't make an incredible creative effort to put back the super in Superman, his best years are behind.

[TriSaber]

What is the significance of Superman in today's society? Superman serves the same purpose in today's society that Hercules, Samson and all the great heroes of the past did. He serves to remind us that we don't have to define ourselves through material wealth and one's ability to wield power over others. Here is a man who is arguably the most powerful being on the face of the planet. If he so chose, he could easily set himself up as emperor of Earth and there wouldn't be much we could do about it. Sorry, Batman fans, but Kal-El could crush Bruce Wayne like an ant and not think twice about it if he were to be consumed by the power he commands. But he doesn't. He shows us by example that human beings don't have to define their existence by how much they own or how much they conquer. Superman serves to remind us that we are always capable of bettering both ourselves and our fellows if we have the courage to see things through no matter what obstacles may bar our way.

Is a figure like Superman a thing of the past? I dare say that in the face of such bloodthirsty "heroes" like Spawn, the Punisher, Azrael and even Wolverine, Superman is needed now more than he ever has been before.

[Duplicate Man]

Hello...again...

I somewhat rushed my other reply (I was fighting Superman again, at the same time.  I had this foolproof plan but he somehow defeated me...again...).

Part of my answer about commercialization is right.

The other part if we talk about the human factor, my personnal view...  I think that Superman has lost a lot of his inspirational value (to bridge another post I made).  We are living in an age where we believe nothing but believe everything.  Most people consider god a fairy tale but will buy books on aliens.  We decriminalize pot but give tickets to those who smoke cigarettes in a library.  The number of phones has gone up to ridiculous number but we never seem to be able to talk to anyone but machines...  Superman, like everything else, has had a bumby ride.  
Can you imagine Clark with a hat today?
Can you imagine Lois and Superman not having sex before marriage?
Can you imagine the Superman silver-age incorporated in a movie today?
There are lots of questions like that - they make us think of exactly your topic - WHAT IS SUPERMAN'S PLACE TODAY?

When I get home at night from work, I look at my Superman stuff in my display.  I read a sa story almost every night.  This kinda breaks my heart to answer but here goes...  Superman's place is in the past...  Unless the writers, artists, et al don't make an incredible creative effort to put back the super in Superman, his best years are behind.

IMO, your post shows that there IS a need for Superman!  What you say about the state of the world today is right on target.  It all seems to be going to hell in a handbasket.  AND there is nothing inspirational about the recent Superman stories.   :cry:  

Superman, to me, represents the best of humanity.  And if his place is, in fact, in the past, that means the best of humanity is in the past!    :cry:

[Defender]

Superman's place in the past?

 Rubbish.

 While it's certainly true that the current crop of Superman titles leave a lot to be desired, the concept and the ideals embodied in the character; Might for Right, standing up for the little guy, and actively working to make the world a better place, are as vital and important now as they ever were in the past. That's like saying that because the stories of Arthur and his Knights are in the past, the stories of Perseus and other gods and heroes of old are in the past that they don't mean anything today. It can be easy to look at 21st century society and see only the negative. But the spirit of heroism that is embodied both in classical mythology and even comic books is as vital and powerful a force as it ever was. Doctors, police officers, soldiers, EMTs, firefighters, missionaries. . .they're out there every day working to help others and preserve life and liberty. And they don't even wear capes. Crazy.

 Superman doesn't belong to some company in the United States in my view. Superman belongs to me. He became mine when I first got a copy of the fisher-price read-along book SUPERMAN: FROM KRYPTON TO METROPOLIS. He's been mine since I was four years old. He was part of my moral upbringing and remains a fondly regarded figure in the personal pop culture pantheon I have. Superman belongs to me, to you, to us all. As long as we remember to be civil and kind to one another, to strive for the better angels of our nature, Superman's never really gone.  I've no doubt we as a species can make a better world and get past the petty vanities inherent within us. We can all fly if we're shown how high we can soar.

 *ahems, steps off soapbox*

 Sorry.

 -Def.