THIS is Superman!

[Genis Vell]

This is probably the best description of Superman I have ever read (from SUPERMAN 394, 1984).

Gallant, brilliant and brave! All that we see in him we would like to see in ourselves...
In this great soul --as in all soul-- there is pain, there is ambition, there is unquenched love...
...but there is something else that makes this soul the soul of a... Superman
...the ability to grieve for pain he doesn’t feel yet has seen in others!
There are those who say that the softness in his soul is the Man of Steel’s greatest weakness...
...but he --and others who feel it-- would tell you that is what makes him strong!

Thank you, Mr. Maggin... This is what makes Superman really special to me.

I use this as a signature in an Italian forum.

[alschroeder]

A line from Mark Waid in KINGDOM COME summed up Superman for me.

   "Only the weak succumb to brutality."

   Superman's like those huge hulking guys who are so big and strong they almost never get into a fight, and are very gentle.  He has so much power, that he would almost never dream of getting into a fight just for the heck of it. To him, that's a sign of weakness, not strength.

     He doesn't have to prove anything. Power doesn't impress him. It's significant that his closest friend in the JLA is Batman, who has no powers, but has skill. Skill DOES impress Superman.

    That's why it's Lois, NOT Wonder Woman, (no matter what revisionists write) who captured his heart. She's a skilled reporter, plucky and brave on her own terms. Not only does Kansas-born Clark Kent have little in common with an Amazon princess, but the very things that causes fanboys to want a romance between the two, is precisely what would  bore him. Trying to impress Superman with power is like trying to show the heavyweight champion of the world YOUR boxing prowess. You can't compete.

    That's why Jimmy, for all his occasional goofiness, who's also a good friend of Superman.  He is a skilled disguise expert and an excellent reporter, and brave and plucky on his own terms.

    "Only the weak succumb to brutality".

    He would have nothing but contempt for the hot-tempered and deadly Wolverine, and has nothing but contempt for Lobo.  Brutality is a sign of someone's weakness to him---not their strength.

---Al

[NotSuper]

You know, I've often wondered why Superman has never tried to take down the Spectre or any of the other DCU heroes that kill. Granted, he took down The Elite, but they weren't established heroes (if you want to call them heroes).

I like the Spectre (and I'll be buying his new series!) and all, but let's be honest: he has no mercy and actually tortures his victims before killing them. I don't think Superman would let this go just because the Spectre has helped save the universe a few times. He might let it go if the Spectre STOPPED killing people, but not if he constantly does it. Even though Superman is much weaker than the Spectre it would still be cool to see the two Jerry Siegel characters go up against each other.

Anyway, that's something that I've wanted to see addressed in the comics: how does Superman deal with established heroes that kill in a premeditated fashion (i.e. not in the heat of battle)? I know the editorial reason, but not the in-story one.

[MatterEaterLad]

Any ideas of how Superman would fight the Spectre?  Maybe time shifting based on his abilities?

One of my favorite ideas from the Golden/Silver Age is that they work on totally different playing fields...

[NotSuper]

Any ideas of how Superman would fight the Spectre?  Maybe time shifting based on his abilities?

Superman has some allies that have vast magic powers, so I assume he would get help from them. It wouldn't exactly be prudent of Kal to take on the Wrath of God by himself. If it were me, I'd bring the entire JLA and Legion of Super-Heroes.  

[MatterEaterLad]

Maybe true...LOL...

I think that my idea, and one that Supes COULD have used if he wanted in many stories was a constant travel to the past and appearance before an action that the Spectre was about to make...

But then, the "wrath of 'God'" was never settled with the science of the multiverse very well to my mind...what did "God" intend?

[NotSuper]

But then, the "wrath of 'God'" was never settled with the science of the multiverse very well to my mind...what did "God" intend?

Good question. My gut tells me that the Source wanted only one universe (though maybe that's my own limited mind talking). After all, it was Krona that created the anti-matter universe and the multiverse.

[MatterEaterLad]

It would have been fun to explore it, IMO...

Did Chameleon Boy, Element Lad, Cosmic King etc. have magical properties in that they could re-arrange matter and energy states, as much as Doctor Fate or Johnny Thunder's genie...was the Source "God"?  

I still like the Crisis in that it tried to touch on some of these things, and to ME super heroes dying in that tale was at least worth it...not that anything that good to me happened AFTERWARDS...LOL...

Of course, I would never want the ANSWER...