Proof again that fans want the real Superman

[Genis Vell]

Just a note: every issue of SUPERGIRL is released with variant covers.
Without this little help by Michael Turner, this book wouldn't be in top 10.

IC and ALL STAR SUPERMAN deserve their place in the top 10. Especially the second title, in my opinion.

[JulianPerez]

Not sure if accepted is the right word, but I think maybe there was some genuine feeling of corruption in high and low places going on at that time. So the idea of a honest and true hero who would take on these forces, and do it in the spectacular, fun way that Superman does really connected with audiences.

This is also where the importance of Clark Kent being a reporter for a crusading newspaper played such an important part. He could fight this battle for truth and justice on two fronts.

You hit it right on the nail, Kuuga, about part of the reason Superman's incorruptibility and invincibility was so popular back in the 1930s was because the world was fundamentally a dark place. Superman were shown to be a light in a dark world.

You can see this most clearly in the contemporary Doc Savage pulp story, "The Czar of Fear," where everyone is suspicious about Doc Savage's generosity and philanthrophy. "What does he get out it?" They ask. "Nothing," someone responds. "There's never been anybody like Doc Savage, ever."

[NotSuper]

I was just going to post this. It's fantastic news and it doesn't surprise me in the least. People want to see Superman have cosmic stories where he does things that blow your mind. They don't want to see him facing street-level jobber villains.

Boy, they must've really hated Superman back in the 30s and 40s, when virtually all he did was face "street-level jobber villains." Most of 'em didn't even wear costumes!

That's not what I meant at all. I'm talking about street-level SUPER-VILLAINS. Guys like Bloodsport and such--jobbers, in a sense. Believe me, I miss the days when Superman fought against agents of the status quo. I love the scene where he makes the wife-beater pass out from fear. And I'd also like to see a return of old J. Wilbur Wolfington.

Hopefully I've made myself more clear.

[ShinDangaioh]

Sure, the Superman of the Golden Age faced stret level crime.  He also faced  munitions dealers who were provoking wars.

The GA Superman didn't have the constant self doubt the current one does.  He did what was right and did it, even he was hunted by the police.

you mean that vigilante's were accepted by the general public back then?

Superman came out in the decade of the 1930's.  What is the one thing that the 1930's are most famous for?

The Great Depression.

Superman was a symbol of hope and positive change when he came out.  The goverment failed the citizens of the US.  The felt that something needed to be done to get the USA back on track.

Hope, self-confidence, decency, truth, justice are the things that are supposed to be part of Superman's character.

He became a reporter to get an inside track on injustices.  If that Superman started today, he'd be working for The Register, Electronic Frontier Foundation, or one of the on-line papers.

[Gary]

The self-doubt seems to be on its way out, thankfully.

I'd hate to see a Superman who never acknowledged his own mistakes or questioned his own actions. That to me would make him a lot less interesting as a character. Yes, he always tries to do the right thing, but that doesn't mean he always knows what the right thing is.

[ShinDangaioh]

The self-doubt seems to be on its way out, thankfully.

I'd hate to see a Superman who never acknowledged his own mistakes or questioned his own actions. That to me would make him a lot less interesting as a character. Yes, he always tries to do the right thing, but that doesn't mean he always knows what the right thing is.

That is true, and I can understand that.

But constant self-doubt and indecisiveness is what we have now as Superman's personality traits.

[lonewolf23k]

The self-doubt seems to be on its way out, thankfully.

I'd hate to see a Superman who never acknowledged his own mistakes or questioned his own actions. That to me would make him a lot less interesting as a character. Yes, he always tries to do the right thing, but that doesn't mean he always knows what the right thing is.

That is true, and I can understand that.

But constant self-doubt and indecisiveness is what we have now as Superman's personality traits.

Acknowledging one's mistakes and questionning one's actions is one thing..  But allowing low confidence and self-doubt to get in the way of doing the right thing is quite another.  

Ultimatly, for Superman, "The Right Thing" is using his powers to help those in need, because that's what he believes someone who has Superpowers should do with them.