Jordan Peterson Explains Why People Stopped Caring About Superman

[@Furluge]

The trials that Superman faces aren't usually physical. They're moral and philosophical. "How do I be a good person?" "How do I do right by people?" "How do I protect the ones I love?" Superman himself may be invulnerable, but the people and ideals he cares about are incredibly fragile. I'd say some really good examples of Super Man stories are the films All-Star Superman and Superman vs. The Elite.

[@JeremyBelpoisX]

Dude, Superman Vs. The Elite is goated for life. The irony of Snyder being IRL Manchester Black in saying that anyone who says Superman doesn't or shouldn't kill is "living in a f***ing dream world." How ironic.

[@arcanefeline]

Your comment is highly underrated.

[@MiserableMovieMan]

Great comment. I also think Superman is incredibly interesting in how he has to hold himself back all the time, walk on eggshells and live with the choices of who he saves as he can’t save everybody. This is best embodied when at his Dad’s funeral in the 78 movie where he says “all those powers, and I couldn’t even save him…”. Beautiful.

[@alfredosaint-jean9660]

Big majority are physical trials and they suck. You are picking the good ones, and Superman vs The Elite, which is not about Superman, is about the british invasion at the time.

[@AtmxDawg24]

Jordan needs to Reread more Superman Comic Books. He barely got anything right about Superman. If You’re not familiar with the ins and outs of the example that you’re trying to use, don’t use it. It makes you look and sound Stupid.😎

[@WesYes]

People use to look up to the sky and hope, now they look down at their phones and despair.

[@secondchance6603]

Pretty much.

[@jakeschwartz2514]

Unless your hope is in Christ its worthless

[@jgnogueira]

I am 14 and this is deep.

[@AE-pv9vc]

I never stopped looking at the eastern sky. Christ is coming soon...

[@oddindian1]

The issue is you look outside for something to one day come, that day will never come. The way out is through. Look inside for the way out. No one is going to be saved you must save yourself.

[@mytzyxptlyx]

People used to aspire to defeat human weakness. Now they just accept it as the human condition.

[@redemissarium]

well Superman have almost no weakness thats the problem he dont have to solve his condition and thats why batman are always more popular. My fave comics still 80s-90s legion of superheroest though, their heroes are OP but the villain mega-OP 😁

[@cabsflix8310]

Because superman is not human after all

[@redemissarium]

@@cabsflix8310 yep he is not, human are homo sapiens, he is homo kryptonianus rex

[@QuickestTazn]

Everyone has a weakness and having an end to that battle with weakness will make you nonexistent

[@dankovskimark4540]

That is what you get for beating the "never changing human nature" fallacy into people heads for decades and decades.

[@TheIronTiger44]

Superman can be interesting still. After all, he could compel the world to bend the knee to him. Yet chooses to serve the world instead. In that way, Superman serves as a metaphor for what power SHOULD be.

[@MegaKnight2012]

It's so fascinating how he can break a moon apart with one hand, and with the same hand, rescue a child in the warmest embrace.

[@MrBigcuts36]

Yeah, he chooses to INSPIRE others to be good and be the best that they can be.

[@alexandru5369]

Yep that's what makes him interesting. People who call him "boring" are nihilists ate being ignorant

[@jamescheddar4896]

History is nothing BUT writers speaking in hypotheticals about how the world "should be" lol

[@CafecitoConLeche]

Agree, this is central to the character. If you think about it, this is the same concept behind Jesus. I am not religious myself, but you have to conclude that in this respect they represent the same idea.

[@nalublackwater9729]

What I've seen is that people no longer like superheroes like Superman because they no longer aspire to be "good" or "righteous". They want morally grey anti-heroes to reaffirm their own mediocrity.

[@anthonygarcia8749]

Bingo

[@anthonygarcia8749]

The issue with living in a morally gray world is all you see gray. And it gets to a point where most things can just be open to interpretation, no real sense of right or wrong, and people just give up and revel in it and say there's nothing you can do about it and therefore stay in mediocrity.

[@stormcutter59]

​@anthonygarcia8749 The problems in the world are in one sentence, and I truly mean that. That's really where all the issues we find ourselves in began.

[@ardentares1167]

No its because reality hits and you grow up and you realize life aint all superman you get real responsibility and no time to be watching fiction anymore

[@nalublackwater9729]

@@ardentares1167 What has all of that to do with being a good human being?

[@nickthepick8043]

The beautiful thing about Superman and his ideals, is that they were never truly fashionable. Because they were about what's right. So it makes sense that people stopped looking up to him because they can't look past themselves to make that first step.

[@ziraprod6090]

American ideals.

[@Siegfried5846]

Ideals are very silly. It makes sense that adult superhero fans who have gotten used to schlock can be tricked into believing in ideals.

[@Siegfried5846]

​@@ziraprod6090 🤡

[@Zellonous]

​@@Siegfried5846people like you perpetuate things that are wrong in the world.

[@under-a-rock5444]

That's why Tony Stark and Rick Sanchez are so popular with today's gen. Self centered wannabe know-it-alls.

[@DrFranklynAnderson]

“No one wants to look up to you anymore, Superman. They don’t want to strain their necks.”
Lex Luthor, Marvel vs. DC fanshow

[@nickthepick8043]

I was JUST gonna quote that. Glad I'm not the only one who remembers It'ssomerandomguy!

[@DrFranklynAnderson]

@@nickthepick8043 Dude is legendary. He showed me that good writing and acting are THE most important thing in film.

[@nickthepick8043]

@@DrFranklynAnderson Not to mention a proper understanding of the characters involved!

[@ComeAlongKay]

Yeah just some random guy. I got the behind the scenes stuff for that I remember at one point.

[@AlbertBalbastreMorte]

What's the context of the quote?

[@bunkwaa]

The 80s were a hugely popular time for superman comics. I don't know where he get's the idea that sales went down. The Man of Steel came out then and was not only popular but redefined the character, to much success. Also Kryptonite was introduced just before the 50s. While i get the point that an invincible god archetype can be perceived as boring, and giving flaws to a character make them more relatable, Superman stands as the archetype of truth and justice (which are already perceived weakens from the view point of his adversaries) I think the point Jordon misses is that being a good person is something people don't aim for anymore and it's no longer relatable. Things like personal sacrifice and the pursuit of goodness are almost old fashion ideals, sadly.

[@1TightMinute]

Yeah when he said that I was like I remember kryptonite in the tv show from the fifties.

[@momzwrite]

Yeah it's clear Peterson here doesn't know much of the comic details, but I think his point is still made clear with the analogy. Flawed though it may be :)

[@alfredosaint-jean9660]

Comics sales fluctuate so much, you have to be knowledgeable about it to pinpoint them with exactitude. Peterson clearly isn't, but that doesn't discredit his general statement.

[@Sentinel82]

"Truth, justice and the American way!"

[@MegaKnight2012]

And yet, MCU's Captain America and All Might from "My Hero Academia" have had huge popularity in the last decade, and they're as much Superman characters as anyone.
The problem isn't Superman's character, it's just the storytellers aren't having Superman as the big blue boy scout.
Take away Superman's powers, and he's still himself.

[@tylersoto7465]

"You will give the people an ideal to strive towards. They will race behind you, they will stumble, they will fall. But in time, they will join you in the sun. IN time, you will help them accomplish wonders."
-JOR EL

[@sparrowsanzo]

Also from Jor-El.
“They can be good people if they want to be, Kal-El. They only lack the light to show them the way.”

[@mikerainbow11]

We don't understand him anymore. Every hero has to be tainted, everything has to be grey, and the idea that someone is so good, that messes with us. We think: "If I had that much power, I would be a monster, so obviously Superman isn't realistic, because he wasn't corrupted." It is because we, as a society, stopped believing in goodness.

[@anthonygarcia8749]

Then that's a problem with society and what's in people's hearts than a fictional character

[@mikerainbow11]

@@anthonygarcia8749 Agreed. People don't like pure good characters because it makes us look at our own hearts, and most people don't like what they see there.

[@alfredosaint-jean9660]

Is this about something Peterson said in the video?

[@X-Bones]

Captain America: the Winter Soldier begs to differ. That whole story and character is about sticking by your morals when it’s hardest. What made that story impactful was that you were constantly aware that Captain America was capable of losing and the threat was stronger than him alone. His super power in the movie was being able to inspire others to stand up for what’s right rather than his physical powers. None of the Superman media if seen has ever been able to give off that feeling for me.

[@AlbertBalbastreMorte]

The fact that we had Henry Cavill and failed to make a good Superman movie suggests we stopped believing in good men.

[@scetchmonkey007]

Peterson made a mistake, he claimed they had to try to weaken superman with kryptonite because he became too powerful in the 80's thats not true. Kryptonite was introduced in 1943, during the radio show as a reason to give the radio hosts a break for a week and put superman out of commission.

[@1TightMinute]

@@scetchmonkey007 yeah it was on the tv show from the fifties also. I saw all those as a kid on syndication.

[@ESLTeacherTom]

Correct.

[@Sentinel82]

Very interesting. 🤔👍🏻

[@Shiirow]

he didnt make the mistake that it was made to weaken him, whether its power creep or to give radio hosts breaks, it was still made because Superman was simply too powerful of a character. He needed a flaw, something to ground him.

[@scetchmonkey007]

@@Shiirow Kryptonite was introduced before Superman could fly.... You dont know anything. Perhaps in the 80's kryptonite started to get overused because superman became ridiculously powerful but, superman was actually weakened before the 80's. Superman used to be able to invent new superpowers at will, like duplication and the ability to sneeze away a solar system.

[@KingSlayer_.]

He's not written to be relatable, he's written to be ADMIRALABLE.

[@horationelson1840]

Superman always was and always will be my favorite superhero and arguably my favorite fictional character. He has the power to rule everyone and do anything he wants, but he chooses to live on a farm or work for a newspaper company, and use his powers to help people.

[@Time_Lantern_Gameplay]

So basically 80% of other JL members can do too if they want control.
Superman is overrated.
Flash is my favorite.
If he wanted control,he can bend spacetime at Will,rewrite history in his image and travel across space and time to learn forbidden knowledge and learn immortality on a divine level and ascend into godhood like dr doom did but still his that next door neighbour guy who is a nerd like me and this why I love him,not soooopaaaman who reminds everyone that he's powerful and that we are free because he allows it.
Borrriiiiiiiingggggg

[@janzeman3777]

Superman has always been my no.1 superhero. Ppl always told me that he is too strong but that's the most impresive part about him. He could destroy the whole planet if he wanted to but being physically strong isn't what is so fascinating about him. It's the fact that he remains such a good person, doesn't hold grudges abd cares about ppl even tho he is a demigod. He could be like Homelander or other villains but his parents raised him so well.

[@silverwolf6866]

Completely missed the point. Superman is about doing what is right with the powers you are given. It is a lesson in morality. It has little to do with how great of a power you have but how you use it.

[@normcmiller]

The notion that you have to do what's right with those powers is universal in the super hero world. Not special to Superman. The point was that as Superman's abilities kept increasing, everything around him had to increase to keep it interesting.

[@hatingontruth9118]

@@normcmiller I disagree.. the more current movies detached him from his human side. They focused more on the world destruction and not enough on his emotional context. Even Henry Cavill stated he wanted more human interactions that showed superman helping common people. The last few movies failed to do that.. and so people detach from the character.

[@alexdeghost2729]

People still love Spiderman tho

[@hatingontruth9118]

@@alexdeghost2729 people like spiderman because he is the hero that has normal people problems and has to navigate them. People relate to that.

[@mikeg2491]

@@hatingontruth9118also the Spider-Man movies made a big deal about saving ordinary people like the infamous train scene.

[@XxHUNT3RN4T0RxX]

Zack Snyder has done irreparable damage to Superman’s character and how the public views him over the years.

[@rhystyr7489]

I saw nothing wrong with his portrayal except maybe he could’ve had a more positive attitude in the justice league movie

[@gra9]

i blame injustice more

[@XxHUNT3RN4T0RxX]

@@gra9 Injustice definitely had a hand in it but I’d argue that universe didn’t really become popular in the mainstream until the first game that came out in 2013 around the time Man of Steel released. But Injustice was already well established in the comics and not everyone who watched movies also played games so having access to MoS was easier for a wider audience than Injustice.

[@TheAMSport]

Thank gosh for Zaslov at DC for Selecting JG AND PS to Fix that gigantic Mess
Call the Snyderverse

[@BraydenLaver]

We need a Superman now more than ever in this fragile world 🌎

[@tinytitan8807]

Nah we need Spider-Man😂😂

[@EmmanuelNnabue]

Agreed we need Superman.

[@EmmanuelNnabue]

​@@tinytitan8807*you need spiderman

[@monk3110]

I think the writer’s/screenwriter’s stopped understanding the character too. Yea at some point he got too strong. Justice League/Justice League unlimited did him really well

[@arc4859]

I honestly thought he was too weak there, especially season 1. Man of Steel did a good job balancing him out while keeping him powerful

[@codyraugh6599]

​@@arc4859well that's the problem with multiple independent super heroes put on one team, you have to balance for the less popular and less powerful.
But it's also that they just lost Superman's moral point.

[@arc4859]

@@codyraugh6599 True, especially during the Cadmus arc. Superman was pretty unlikeable there

[@codyraugh6599]

@@arc4859 YES! Of course I can't remember if it was part of the whole cadmis arc or not, but the League threatening the USA pretending that they are independently superior to the will of multiple nations, and even "stop your civil war because we say so" even as a kid those moments never sat right with me, because they clearly weren't taking any further effort to actually resolve the issues, but just dictating from on high.
Which Superman and Batman weren't like that when they were independent cartoons.

[@alfredosaint-jean9660]

He was invincible in the very first issue. It wasn't until the Prankster that he found a regular struggle.

[@FourKaiju]

The people who still care about superman.
👇

[@daishaw9133]

Superman is just an iconic character for a reason
He’s nice
He doesn’t use his power for his own personal gain
He doesn’t think highly of himself
He’s not self absorbed
He’s humble
He doesn’t judge
He’s caring about others
And he’s a hero

[@MoïsePicard-ef8fr]

I still care about Superman.

[@hristijandimitrovski8664]

​@@daishaw9133still there are better and more well written characters than him. He is nothing special.

[@MsSharondenadel]

That's why Spiderman is a universally loved character.

[@Time_Lantern_Gameplay]

Nope
Just you and your country
My country Nigeria is more Flash and Batman fans
Me specifically is a flash fan.
Superman is overrated
Edit:sorry I thought I saw you write superman.
I was too enraged or ragebaited to read it properly 😂😂😂
Spiderman is loved no doubt.
His my favourite marvel character.

[@MsSharondenadel]

@@Time_Lantern_Gameplay And what is my country? And how do you know what's popular in yours? Did you talk to every nigerian to ask their opinion? When i said spiderman is universally loved, i talked about facts and numbers. Batman is also universally loved, not just in nigeria.

[@Time_Lantern_Gameplay]

@@MsSharondenadel I'm a Nigerian living in Nigeria for all my life.
Are you saying you don't know what most of your country people like or not?

[@pavitrprabhakar3981]

Spider-Man is very similar to Superman except he questions himself from time to time and lacks confidence in his ideals. Hence he is far more interesting than Superman who is just perfect.

[@chidieberenwadike4165]

I love superman. He's literally the godfather of the superhero genre. We couldn't imagine it without him ❤

[@generichuman_]

What I want to know, is the guy that said "It's a bird!" What was he so excited about?

[@PeterDivine]

Maybe he just had Downs or was an autist or something, who knows.
"IT BURD"

[@CarnivoreChris89]

This comment made me laugh way to hard! I like your brain.

[@Tommy_007]

He was trying to make sense of what he saw. A first spontaneous guess could be a bird. Then something else. He was exited to see something unexplainable.

[@voncrowne6603]

I like birds.

[@marcd1981]

Or a plane. What were these people smoking that made them think a man was a bird or a plane?

[@darrylferguson3622]

The more powerful a character is, the more creative the writer is forced to be to justify weakening them

[@xtrwombat4876]

Superman has good stories, dcau superman is a good example of how to write superman.
I think the problem now is dc thinks superman needs to be super relatable to the reader or watcher so like zack snyders version of superman. they make him a whiney teenager and give him a god complex making him absolutely insufferable.
Not even just that dc genuinely sucks at story telling now, they have are no good writers and dont want them. Most stories now are just shock value stories with insufferable edgy characters and identity politics.
Also superman is supposed to be a character with strong morals so imagine what happens when some Hollywood writer with no morals writes superman 💀

[@cchavezjr7]

@@xtrwombat4876 The whole "Flawed Hero" thing has really ruined the superhero genre for me. As a kid, I loved that the hero would do the right thing and that he was better at things than regular humans. Heroes just can't be heroes anymore and that is sad to me.

[@tinytitan8807]

​@@cchavezjr7so a hero to you is a person who's better than everyone else, never makes mistakes and is all good all the time.
But if a hero who doesnt allows do the right thing sometimes, makes mistakes, has flaws but still tries to do the right thing, is a bad hero in your eyes and ruined the genre for you. Ok, that's an interesting take.

[@cchavezjr7]

@@tinytitan8807 I never said that. Nice recharacterization to justify your own feelings.

[@tinytitan8807]

@@cchavezjr7 pls elaborate then

[@masonhall3617]

Dude doesn't understand Superman at all. What a surprise.

[@Netherwolf6100]

Part of me thinks this is very wrong. Its not that Superman is perfect that started to bore people, its that as Superhero comics continued, were reprinted, elseworld', reset, recycled, writers eventually ran out of interesting or compelling ways to get us as readers to root for the heroes and relate to them on a personal level. So instead, they started either making Superman less of a beacon of hope and forced him to struggle more OR the focused more on power and that ultimately, led to it becoming harder and harder for others to relate to him.
Even moreso, there's also a sense of today's psychological climate. The majority of people in the Free World nowadays, ironically all want to be victims of some sort of oppression. If they're not struggling, they're constantly manufacturing intangible forces that holds them back and pushes them down and the victimhood mentality is addictive for a lot of these types. The biggest problem with that is, Superman isn't a victim. He is a man who does what's right, because its his nature. He holds everyone accountable and he does so with a sense of honesty and understanding that's too profound for today's generation.
A character who doesn't struggle deeply on a psychological front, day to day, who accepts what they can and can't do and simply finds peace in doing the best they can because that's what their morals demands on them, is unsettling to so many people of today's generation. They need reasons to be good people. They create excuses to do selfish/bad things. They're victims in some sort that pushes them to act in ways a Superman would not agree with because he embodies the idea of being a good person, regardless of recognition, payment, or personal benefit. Its boring for a lot of people today to be a good person simply for the sake of it, but easy for them to justify a criminal who was misunderstood.

[@Shockkings0714]

Try growing up while warmongers were giving money to foreign nations and you'd be a "victim" as well. Gen Z was sold out

[@robertrainford6754]

Making Superman struggle more is how you get people to like him. I grew out of Superman because he was just boring. It was annoying seeing him just power though a problem every time instead of the writers thinking of some other way he could do it.

[@ericb9804]

I mean, ok, but that seems more like using Superman to make a psychological point as opposed to explaining "why people stopped caring about superman," which its not really clear they did.

[@DrGeorgeAntonios]

both maybe?

[@ericb9804]

@@DrGeorgeAntonios maybe, but it seems like Peterson is saying, "Superman was too powerful and so people lost interest in stories about him." Which seems obvious enough, I guess. Except its not clear that people actually did lose interest in Superman, at least not more so than they lost interest in traditional superhero comics in general during the late 80's. Moreover, as is pointed out in the comments, Superman's whole narrative point has always been how he solves moral problems that he can't simply punch away, making Peterson's analysis here just a misreading.
Be that as it may, I'm not disputing Peterson here - I get his point and its fine to use Superman to illustrate it. I'm just saying the tile of the video seems a little click-baity, if not deliberately obtuse.

[@DrGeorgeAntonios]

@@ericb9804 Cool, I appreciate your excellent answer. Thanks.

[@thnkpd1]

I did not stop caring about Superman.

[@michaelmurley487]

Not exactly where I thought he was going to go. He talked bout Superman's abilities, and I thought he was going to talk about his character.
If it wasn't for Superman's character, he would just be a generic overpowered hero who just does things... because? Instead, what makes Superman compelling is the fact that Clark Kent, who is mild mannered, has these incredible powers and uses them for good rather than be complacent, apathetic or evil. All because of what he chose to believe in (truth and justice) and the values his parents raised him with.

[@BenHopkins1000]

Exactly! This is what separates Superman from his various deconstructions over the years, such as Doctor Manhattan (Superman w/o the autonomy), Homelander (Superman w/o a family's guidance) and Omni-Man (Superman if he never fully assimilated into Earth)

[@anna-mariageorgiades3628]

Also they've created the antihero and justify evil now. From Tony Soprano to Joker. Superman stood for truth, justice and the American way and Christopher Reeves epitomised that idea.

[@WarKing77]

Funny how people view Supes as a boring godlike hero but fail to hold Bats up to the same standard despite Bats having thee most powers of any human.

[@user-gj9uq3kb7y]

BATMAN DOESN'T HAVE POWERS
THE BATGOD DOES
NOT THE SAME CHARACTER AT ALL

[@tinytitan8807]

Keyword there, his Still Human and last time i checked Batman has flaws and character traits that make him interesting to watch bc his morals are so contradictory to his reality and evil around and seeing him navigate the trails and tribulations while trying to stay to his morals is interesting. Not to mention his fantastic cast of villians and side characters that help him along the way. Fact that its also grounded( in some sense) helps in his popularity and why ppl favour him more than Superman who is just a boy scout and majority of villians that are more sci-fi and larger than life than something simple like a mass clowned serial killer against a rich billionaire in a bat costume😂

[@user-gj9uq3kb7y]

@@tinytitan8807 Superman
just wants to help his fellow man
there's nothing wrong with that

[@tinytitan8807]

@@user-gj9uq3kb7y that's fine, nothing wrong with that, but if your only character trait is good boy with zero flaws and all your villians require reader to think outside the box, it's not unexpected that he ain't as popular as Batman or Flash or Spider-Man.
Keep in my mind tho there's nothing wrong with that, like who like bro.

[@user-gj9uq3kb7y]

@@tinytitan8807 clark kent has flaws
like pettiness and ego
so Superman is hardly without flaws
Batman keeps keeps Kryptonite
because Superman's dark side is very similar to his if he was flawless
Batman wouldn't need Green K
but since he knows him inside and out
he does

[@JeffCaplan313]

Narrative power creep turned Superman into a power creep. 😅😭

[@Ronin3453]

They kept buffing him every patch.

[@1TightMinute]

That’s the actually the problem. He can move entire solar systems.

[@1TightMinute]

@zackiebullock3614 you can seriously tell me that you think the Jerry Siegel had these ideas for the character when they created him back in 1932 and all the hundreds of writers that have worked on Superman kept this slow hundred year burn going on just so that it could pay off today. When Superman was first created he couldn’t even fly but he could leap tall buildings on a single bounds which gave the illusion of flight. He also was only as powerful as a speeding locomotive. Now he can move solar systems. As far as speed, he was only as fast as a speeding bullet. Now he has the flash’s level of speed and his ability to turn back time. Furthermore, he used to dodge bullets. That means he could be hurt by them bc why would you dodge a bullet if you can take a shot to the eyeball and not even feel it. His enemies in the beginning were common street thugs. Now they are multidimensional beings. Today’s superman is the result of trying to continue to top each and every story with something even bigger. It wasn’t planned from the start. In fact, Shazam was the most powerful character in the silver age of DC comics for a long time. However, I will say this DC comics has stated that they wanted Superman to be the ultimate hero so any argument of who could beat who in a fight then the only answer could be Superman so they started buffing him hard in the 90s and now he is basically an immortal good with limitless power. The decided that Superman being ultimately OP was his brand so you are right in a sense but this shift is way past the date he is talking about in this video.

[@1TightMinute]

@zackiebullock3614 the character was created in 1932. Superman volume 65 came out in 1950. Most of his early stories were on the radio. So no he couldn’t always fly and was not always op. Even as late as the 80s, there were instances where Superman wasn’t strong enough to prevent a tragedy. HIs super strength was very much limited to this earth. Now it’s hand of good strength and that really started in the mid 2000s. OP Superman is about as old as OG Superman was. It’s incredibly new.

[@user-gj9uq3kb7y]

@@1TightMinute 1938
and in the radio stories he could fly

[@snowflakeeel]

This is far more than an explanation of why superman dropped in popularity. He just resolutely answered a question that many have asked for thousands of years: Why did God allow evil to exist?
There's your answer. If He didnt there would be no story, no love, courage, hope, sacrifice, none of the virtues that human hearts are most moved and inspired by.

[@user-gj9uq3kb7y]

answer to this question
in order to make humans choose to return to his world of course
who wants this world when they can be in a better one

[@freedone.]

In the comic Superman 2 (Fall 1939) Superman comes to the rescue of a suicidal boxer, and impersonates him, taking his place in the ring. It is a very human story. I think Christopher Reeve portrayed Superman as having awesome powers but also with vulnerabilities which made him relatable. The trend of overpowered heroes or strong female heroes with no flaws fall flat. Even heroes have to learn and grow and if they are not changing in some way they are stagnant and uninspiring.

[@jeffthompson9622]

John Byrne reimagined Superman's origin in the '80s, making him less powerful, and subtly redefining how some of his abilities worked.

[@ziraprod6090]

Re-imagine is what people with no ideas call changing someone else's ideas.

[@imperiumoccidentis7351]

@@ziraprod6090 That's basically 90% of human ingenuity. Truly original ideas are extremely rare.

[@kingklank6732]

​@@ziraprod6090Byrnes reimagined superman was so genius that it is the same Superman today. The more you know.

[@kingklank6732]

​@@ziraprod6090Miller reimagined Batman and changed comics forever.
The more you know

[@TNTITAN]

@@kingklank6732Didn’t he also reimagine Daredevil too?

[@jcraigwilliams70]

I love Superman. For me, what made him a great character was not that he was a man who is *super* but a super *man* with all that entails. He is strong but strong enough to be gentle. He is brave and brave enough to be kind. A lot of modern writers have lost sight of that, not just for Superman, but for heroes in general. We used to look at superheroes as role models to emulate. Somewhere along the way, we decided that we preferred to make them more like us. So instead of rising up to meet them in the sun, we dragged them down into the darkness.

[@alfredosaint-jean9660]

Thats very pessimistic. People aren't defined by darkness.

[@jcraigwilliams70]

@@alfredosaint-jean9660 I'm talking about our "heroes" and I stand by it. Notice how in the past, only a handful of superheroes killed. Those like Punisher, Wolverine, and a few others. Now it's much more common, especially in the movies. Superman, Batman, even Spider-Man and the various Marvel heroes are all killers now. And again, they used to be positive characters to emulate, but now they tend to emulate us. There are exceptions of course, but it's a general trend. Same thing happened with Star Trek, which made an effort to be darker and grittier, showing that the dark side of humanity still exists and that Gene's vision of a better future isn't really as great as we thought.

[@alfredosaint-jean9660]

@@jcraigwilliams70 Superman killed.
And I think it took a while for Wolverine to actually kill, I remember he attempted to kill someone but it turned out it was a robot.

[@jcraigwilliams70]

@@alfredosaint-jean9660 are you talking about the movies or the comics? In the comics, Wolverine has killed hundreds of times. In the movies, the first time I can remember was in the second film.
Superman famously killed Zod in Snyder's film and he killed in his early comic appearances, but for most of his existence, he hasn't been a killer.
Many "heroes" today are pretty casual about it, which is sad.

[@alfredosaint-jean9660]

@@jcraigwilliams70 The comics, were many heroes were pretty casual about killing and become popular enough so they were later protected during the silver age and later under their current idolized hollywood versions.
About Wolverine, it does indeed took a while for him to start killing.
He had the image of being the black sheep of his X-Men team, but actually he didn't do anything other members wouldn't also do.
He was mostly a comic relief character whose main attribute was engaging in silly arguments with Colossus.

[@CapAnson12345]

Superman was always my favorite. Him, the Hulk, and the Punisher.

[@Shockkings0714]

Superman and Punisher couldn't be further apart lol

[@CapAnson12345]

@@Shockkings0714 I know I'm weird.

[@MarkanVaran7]

Thomas Jane's Punisher was amazing. Should have got a sequel and he should appear in new MCU. At least something positive in this terrible disney marvel phase.

[@RWSfan2024]

You have good tastes dude

[@Girlwithmetalgear]

Superman is everything man strives to be, invincible, all powerful, and unyielding. But he's everything humanity forgets to be: compassionate, hopeful, encouraging, strict when needed, and never one to judge despite appearances, background or culture. Superman was always welcoming to everyone who needed him.Superman isn't some political symbol, he's an idea of what humanity could be if we stopped listening to people like Jordan Peterson, who tell you how to think and how to understand

[@Shockkings0714]

Superman tells people how to think and how to understand. "Truth, Justice, and the American Way/A better tomorrow". You contradicted yourself

[@Girlwithmetalgear]

@Shockkings0714 No. I didn't. He isn't going around preaching that like it's gospel. Truth is what humanity seeks, justice is what humanity craves, and a better tomorrow is what humanity works towards. How is any of that contradicting? Superman strives for a better humanity despite it being an impossible ask. But he isn't asking anyone to be better, he shows them how to be better, even if we don't want to see. Kind of like you my guy.

[@Shockkings0714]

@@Girlwithmetalgear He is forcing that down people's throats. How is that different than what Petterson is doing? Spiderman shows people how to be better. Superman does not

[@Shockkings0714]

He is forcing that down people's throats. How is that different than what Petterson is doing? Spiderman shows people how to be better. Superman does not

[@Girlwithmetalgear]

@@Shockkings0714 Yeah, let's all be like the unlucky, constantly beaten by life, always riding by the skin on his teeth and barely making it by. Dude, Spider-Man literally preaches the whole great power thing on a daily basis but clearly can't handle the responsibility

[@armorbearer9702]

It is hard to feel like a character is in danger when they have an arsenal of abilities. Either the opponent cannot challenge them, or it feels like the hero forgot their own powers.

[@roysmith770]

See the Boys.

[@Underworlddream]

He may not be in danger but other people and his love one are. That how they hurt him in injustic, they target his love ones. Some iteration of Superman has to deal with this despite having so much power but not being able to save everyone.

[@ashardalondragnipurake]

@@Underworlddream are they really
he can just lightspeed save them both
the timer of things literally happening at the same time is overcome with power just like the rest

[@silverwolf6866]

That's true. The real question is why do you feel the need for a character to constantly be in danger?

[@ashardalondragnipurake]

@@silverwolf6866 tension? yea you can have a comic of superman just baking pancakes and watching the sunrise
but it wont keep me on the edge of my seat

[@darkcylander]

It was actually around the 40's where the really absurd feats started not that 80's, and kryptonite came out in the 50's

[@richle905]

The best Superman comics are from writers that have made his perfection his flaw. Where he is incapable of doing wrong. He must keep his word. The 80s movie has him give his word that he will save the mother of Lex's girlfriend before stopping the missle head toward Lois. Killing Lois. ...sort of.

[@1TightMinute]

@@richle905 “how is he so fast he could turn back time but not fast enough to get to two separate missiles?” My dad said that when we left the theater back then. Stuck with me about comic books and how inconsistent their powers are and how they change writer to writer.

[@briansransom]

What he said, in a very roundabout way, is that our life experience is what matters. The afterlife probably is very boring because we will be virtually indestructible and perfect, and there's no fun or plot in that. I theorize that eternity is very boring and the whole reason for our existence on Earth is to experience everything for the first time, because we are unaware of the truth. Every religion is man-made, not divinely inspired, and that's because we are not supposed to understand eternity. The whole point is just to live and enjoy it.

[@Gettinsketchyonbourbon]

A good story is what matters regardless of how powerful a character is.

[@normcmiller]

Superman nerds...chill out. Peterson is just using superman as an example of vulnerability as it pertains to our own existence. He''s not a superman expert but the general point is made just so people can relate.

[@momzwrite]

I was hoping he'd comment more on the modern issues with Superman, which is that his classic moral characterization is basically gone. Thank you, deconstructionists, for writing someone you RELATE to instead of someone to LOOK UP to 😢

[@artofsam]

I always felt a movie that really centres on Lex Luther as almost the main character to Superman would be really interesting because the reason he hates Superman so much is that he believes that Superman will be the downfall of humanity in his efforts to solve all the problems on our behalf. We as human beings in all of our flaws should be the ones responsible for solving our own conflicts and that by having Superman do it for it what he is effectively doing is taking away our ability to learn, evolve and grow into a better species. Superman in all of his good intentions would actually cause a regression in human society and it’s kind of hard to disagree with that theory and I hate that in all of the superhero nonsense we got over the last decade DC never saw an opportunity to expand on that concept especially post-Man Of Steel.

[@rickrivers2021]

This comment section is ridiculous. So many "this is why Batman or Marvel are better". Yall are missing the point

[@vincentwolf1456]

What works for fictional characters doesn't works for humans. I want to be omnipotent, immortal, allpowerful being. I won't care if others find me boring. I'm not a character in fiction.
On another note, asians made another character who's basically like Superman, even more powerful, the Onepunchman. And this character is sooo much more fun than Superman. It never gets old watching him oneshotting all most powerful entities. He's not boring. Why? Idk. Probably because of all the other characters around him, often being the focus on the story to show their struggles, to show that the enemy is strong, but not too much, because Onepunchman is still also around, he's THE main hero. Just good writing, unlike in Superman.

[@nobodynothing00000]

Batman V Superman was one of the best experiences I ever had at a movie theater. I immediately grasped the ideas the filmmakers were going for, and how much work they had put into the movie. It was also evident that there was outside interference - Warner Bros executives? - trying to cram more material into the movie, or doing a last minute editing hatchet job on it that switched up some scenes around the middle.
For me, the best part of Superman was always about parents and their children. Clark Kent is a superman because he was raised by the Kents, not because he has superpowers.

[@va003612]

What a shame. Your comment makes me want to see what the filmmakers were envisioning.

[@nobodynothing00000]

@@va003612 I could tell the writer and director were big Ayn Rand fans. Superman embodies the living ideals of objectivism. His near invulnerability all but makes him incorruptible, which drives Lex Luthor to the point of madness, who successfully manages to corrupt Bruce Wayne into doing his bidding. Productive achievement being the noblest activity represents the only absolute but it drives Luthor mad that his wealth and political power mean nothing in the face of it. Anyhoo that was my opinion.

[@va003612]

@@nobodynothing00000 fascinating. Thank you for sharing!

[@AlexanderLunariusG7]

BvS was an amazing film. I really enjoyed Henry Cavills approach to Superman, it was grounded; very spot on. After Cavill was fired everyone stopped caring about Superman.

[@Shockkings0714]

@@nobodynothing00000 "Superman embodies the living ideals of objectivism."
Never talk about Superman ever again

[@DivineKnight_115]

That’s why most dc fans default to Batman. He’s very powerful but time and time again reminds us he’s only human. Christ is God and sure God will always win but what’s real interesting is that even God chose to sacrifice himself in all his power for our sake and at our level even going as far to be beneath our level.

[@Raycheetah]

Huh. Batman is a psychopath, and even *he* knows it. =9[.]9=

[@GrimSoldat]

And He chooses to work through deeply flawed people, like all of the judges and the apostles, not just for their individual sakes, but that of others around them, and ultimately point them to Himself. I think people far too often misunderstand God's omnibenevolence because we only have other humans as a point of reference, and fail to grasp the supernatural power of God and how that literally bends the physical fabric of the universe. That's what I think, any way.

[@DavidAVest]

Meh, when Batman became an untouchable character that creates his own deus ex machina, he got a lot less appealing than the guy that was simply really smart, well-trained and educated, and disciplined. But I see your point.

[@GrimSoldat]

@@DavidAVest Yeah. It seems to be a writing pattern where he faces a problem and magically has a solution as though all he had to do was look in the "superhero/supervillain manual" or something. That's justbad writing in my opinion.

[@Arcad1010]

lol you serious? The one with the thickest plot armor in dc? 😂 the one who beats godly being? That’s not even my issue with Batman comic. I truly despise how he never ends his those psychotic villains. They keep on escaping prison and causing more deaths. I despised how the author hides behind the excuse of him becoming evil once he has power or kills his enemies. I hate that narrative. Why won’t he use his super intellect and money to change the system or maybe create a prison for those mentally ill villains? Nope. His story is lame.

[@StiffAftermath]

You can have people relate to a god. Look at Jesus. People are drawn to him by means of his virtues, but also his trials, although he was flawless. Interesting. Approachable, personable, but also a god, which is beyond our relatability.

[@Tizzo1982]

Naw, and I might be in the minority, but Superman is still my number 1 Superhero. I don’t care for these alternate versions where he’s a Villain or an Anti-Hero. I still buy and read Superman Comics.

[@Abr022575]

Superman is my favorite. The purity is what i like about it. Everything doesn't have to be super tortured, dark and murky. I think Peterson is the power creep

[@justapasserby6063]

Stopped following Superman years ago. Maybe it's that Gotham City in me... I just have a bad history with freaks dressed like clowns.

[@kjetilknyttnev3702]

Which is why Batman is so popular. He literally has no powers besides peak human physical capabilities, cool gadgets and a keen mind.
It's easy to relate to him- he is flawed too, and in theory anyone could become Batman. This also means Batman is often the underdog, and people love rooting for underdogs -as well as the arc for him to come into power every story becomes easy -he doesn't need to fit some overpowered villain with Godly powers for the fight to be real and exiting -and villains like joker, two-face, penguin, and harley quinn emerges -easily some of the best villains there is, and they are all more or less humans too.
This is what modern movies and especially superhero movies and action movies does badly -they fail to realize that its not the scale of the conflict, the size of the effects or the amount of power thrown away that makes us interested -in the end its the human struggle, the motives and finally the journey the hero has to take that makes a movie good.
If there is no journey, no sacrifice or no vulnerable points -like She Hulk for example, the story of the hero is gone -and all that is left IS the hero, which in its own rights is very dull without any human aspects to relate to.
The real Hulk had to overcome incredible hardships, and still struggles to this day, his superpower an enormous sacrifice, whereas She-Hulk came along, with no adversity besides cat-calling or corporate jargon, able to control her powers and her transformation perfectly at once, with no struggles. Where is the journey, the mystery, and the sacrifice? It's a one-sided coin! And those coins are fake, unbelievable, and they lack any depth, its one-dimensional and utterly disinteresting.

[@VinceLyle2161]

In the modern era, i.e., since Year One, The Dark Knight Returns, and the 1989 movie, we see that Batman (more precisely, Bruce Wayne) is not just flawed, he's broken. He's wounded in such a way that he's never been able to fix himself, and so he's leaned into his brokenness and decided to break others, i.e., criminals like the one who murdered his parents. So while we know that anyone could become Batman, we also know no one would (or should) want to.
That makes for compelling stories. A man born to wealth and successful in his own right, but never able to enjoy his success. A man who's hypercompetent at his night job, tracking and punishing criminals, but never good enough to really eradicate the criminality that tore his life apart.
You're right about scale, too. The stakes of superhero movies have gotten so high, it's impossible to contemplate. We went from Iron Man building his suit and then getting revenge against the enemies who hurt him and a colleague who wants his company to The Avengers et al fighting to save half the population of the universe, already snapped out of existence by Thanos. And where did they go from there? More universes!
This is what makes the first Superman movie from 1978 so good. It's about foiling Luthor's plot, which is grandiose, yes, but exciting. And Superman fails. The result of his failure is the death of Lois Lane, which drives him to a rage that makes him burst past all his perceived limitations to literally rewrite history. Love was ultimate driver of the plot.
Another ancient gem of a Jordan Peterson video.

[@outlawful]

True, but I feel like I can relate more to the guy who was raised by two good parents and has a middle class job more than the multi-billionaire whose parents were murdered when he was 8

[@miloradvlaovic]

"This is what modern movies and especially superhero movies and action movies does badly"
No actually they simply cater to an average simpleton, which by definition is undereducated, lacks critical thinking, letalone empathy and ethics, and a clear sense of wrong and right.
They want "entertainment" which consists of predictable, cliched, seen-before, but with a lot of explosions and lightshow.
A writer can not be that dumb, by definition, to think that's good writing or illustrative of human deepest archetypes understanding, but the average human is not (nowhere even close) that deep. They just want their playground childish fantasies: "My robot beats yours" on the silver screen.

[@jamielthashepherd6870]

How is Batman the underdog when he constantly wins? Always pulling plans out of his ass and always outsmarting everyone

[@lastson5014]

Batman is the biggest Mary Sue there is so he doesn’t apply. A better option is Spider-man

[@Tom-re6zo]

I almost started crying. somehow, this was comforting.

[@DeMan59]

I still love Superman. If you go deeper into the cannon there is much more there than just “truth, justice, and the American way” My favorite is still Batman though.

[@isaiahmorris7856]

Explaining why powerscaling ruined superman is hilarious

[@ChristianPauchet]

That's why I love Batman so much, he's flawed, he's only human, an exceptional one.

[@anthonygarcia8749]

Right it's not like he doesn't have ridiculous plot armor and prep time ;)

[@silverwolf6866]

Batman is the most unrealistic mary sue character to ever exist. To be able to go against characters as strong as superman has always made no sense to me. Just lazy writing.

[@alfredosaint-jean9660]

The guy that dodge omega beams?

[@albertoalves1063]

People don't like Superman, because he is the ultimate good guy, the unstoppable force of good, the one that everyone can count on and people no longer want to be good, they want to look good while being they worse and selfish as they can, they don't want to change to be good and Superman and Captain America are the pinnacle of morality and good. Superman also have the power to fight the worse enemy imaginable and he doesn't break his moral, that is what people doesn't want to see because they are dumb.

[@ComeAlongKay]

I saw a story recently where Superman basically mocks the joker and I felt like the writer got Superman more.
Though I’ve never got the idea of do you like this thing or that, do you like Batman or Superman? Um, both? Why am I forced to choose? People are like nope you have to like one all things are competitive and against each other and one must win.

[@PettyCrow-n9c]

It's no coincidence that Batman's popularity started to grow once they made him a morally grey, post-modern, atheist role model. People simply don't like good people, they would rather see the worst of people accepting how bad they are because it makes them feel better about themselves.

[@Ben-zg8xk]

Nope 😂😂😂

[@vibemasterkorosu2469]

@@Ben-zg8xkYeah, isn’t Batman a theist?

[@animal-rights]

Or are Batman's stories better and are more close to Reality , With real world problems and enemies like thieves , crazy guys and murderers ( not talking about Batman in Justice League comics or another comics just talking about Batman's solo comics are way close to Reality than Fictional like Superman )
I will say this Superman is the truest form of a Superhero but Batman is definitely a better written character

[@vibemasterkorosu2469]

@@animal-rights I dunno about that 💀

[@ifstatementifstatement2704]

People abandoned morality. That’s what happened to Superman.

[@DrakeBrunette]

Superman is still in my top 10 favorites…
JP is right in the sense that all his power & abilities have made many of his stories dull & predictable. But I think it’s important to note that he also lives in fear of his powers. And is constantly exhibiting incredible restraint so as not to hurt any innocent people. 99% of his enemies he could defeat in an instant. But he often fights at half-speed or lower to avoid or reduce casualties. Even if it means he gets more beat up for it…
That’s a form of heroism that gets highly under appreciated. Because only a character like Superman can do it.

[@Siegfried5846]

Superman was the first superhero. Due to censorship, you could never make superheroes with personalities (Spider-Man being the only exception). So they all had to be just like Superman. So the first one sold the best.
Once censorship laws waigned in the seventies and eighties, you could give superheroes personalities, and so Batman became the most beloved superhero thanks to Frank Miller and a few others.

[@alfredosaint-jean9660]

Are you talking about the comic code?

[@Siegfried5846]

@@alfredosaint-jean9660 Yes.

[@RWSfan2024]

So THAT’S why Spider-Man became popular in the first place

[@alfredosaint-jean9660]

@@RWSfan2024 Among other factors.
The original Ditko comics are very good.

[@GerardoGutierrezGonzalez]

What ended up happening is they created the Doomsday that the same origin in the Death of Superman and then they brought the Reign of the Four Supermen and they sold out.

[@bluecoin3771]

Because of hack writers. Get a good writer working on Superman and you’ll see interest resurface.

[@jasonl1942]

Ive never stopped liking superman, i get despondent because studios always inevitably dont know what to do with the character and screw it up.
The idea that a being as flawless as superman - who is a god - chooses to help mankind instead of destroy it inspires me to be a better person.
In a time of being disenfranchised, ignored, enslaved, and made into a commodity , i need heroes to look up to and aspire to be like more than ever...

[@grantbassingthwaighte6216]

Maybe that is one of the reasons God made us, He needed a being with limitations, to create something even more beautiful.

[@TexasTimeLord]

That is the problem with empowered super women like Captain Marvel, Galadriel, and Star Wars Rey.
They were invincible from day one and thus boring

[@aussiewanderer6304]

They were particularly not allowed to have any men beat them at anything, so you knew that unless they were fighting other women, they were most likely going to win or get away.

[@Afterword.]

The Galadriel of the book does not fall into that category.

[@cantonold7014]

The man haters keep making Superman weaker, dumber, and more childish. He used to be the man in the room. Now he can't decide which bathroom he is supposed to use. Bad writers write badly.

[@pliniomsann]

This is not true. Superman actually got less interesting when people started to care less about virtues and morality.
Superman was always more powerful than everyone, but the power brings moral and bigger challenges too, so it’s not about the amount of power, it’s about how inspiring virtues were.
Superman the Movie was all powerful, he could go back in time, but people loved because of his kindness, hope and other virtues… people today are decayed on that sense …

[@TheChooseAName123]

Not understanding Superman at all.

[@Fredwood3000]

In what way exactly? Why do you think so?

[@TheChooseAName123]

@@Fredwood3000 I won't write an essay here, but in short: Besides some normal ups and downs readership suffers most from bad writer/writing/editorial and bad publicity. And DC got all of those when comics went woke way before Hollywood. Also we need paragons now more than ever.

[@SilverSaw988]

I personally dont get much from paragons. I like characters who overcome their internal issues and strive forward, growing from their mistakes. That’s what gets me invested, and what I learn from.
Just watching a guy do what’s good all the time isn’t really helpful for me. I know what’s good. Just seeing someone do good doesn’t make
me think, “I’ll do good too!”. It makes me think that things aren’t that simple.
Not saying paragons have no weight, or that they can’t inspire. Just saying that flawed heroes are no less inspirational, and in some cases, are more inspiring

[@TheChooseAName123]

@@SilverSaw988 Not every archetype is for everyone. But societies need a mix of paragons and cathartic motivational heroes. And seeing how western societies are developing we really need more paragons, more purely good heroes. Also generally any good characters help and I don't just mean quality, but characters that are good people. (I'm sure there are a lot of people that can put it into better words.)

[@SilverSaw988]

@@TheChooseAName123 For sure, I can definitely understand the appeal and necessity of reall good role model characters. Ones that are purely heroic. I think different kinds of positive traits can help different kinds of people.
Someone who doesn’t have enough positive role models around, can get a lot from a pure hero. And someone who is trying to navigate how to feel about complex morals in the world can be helped by a character who has more of an inner focus.
I think both can do a lot of good!

[@Wuwei72-o5n]

The last nail in the coffin is that they made him woke.

[@abongilezolanipeterson5588]

This myth that people aren’t interested in Superman anymore has been going on for two decades now and it is still as untrue now as it was two decades ago

[@jameshansonful]

I do, I live me entire life by the values these fictional heroes represent! I still believe in superman!

[@sparrowsanzo]

Two things happened
1-We have become more jaded and cynical since the Golden Age of Comics.
2-Superman is a hero that is now considered too vanilla for people of the modern day.

[@cikame]

I never knew Superman as an indestructible hero, I grew up in the 90's/00's and I've only ever seen him portrayed as a weak willed emo who whenever something bad happens either gets depressed and hides or starts killing people, I don't know a single Superman story that has a happy ending, where his involvement doesn't make everything worse, his strength makes him a bully and his weak moral compass makes him a villain.

[@godleveleldritchblast5257]

People stopped looking to superman as a symbol of hope because that was the hero every man wanted to be and every woman wanted to have till men realised that woman weren't interested in wanting a superman anymore. Superman is nothing more then a version of the hero archetype. The hero archetype is what all men strived to be. When the hero falls, so does the world because men stop embodying the hero. The hero archetype represents man as his most noble form, chivalrous, kind, caring, brave and protector of all. Strip the hero from him and he becomes the monster of nature. Women killed the hero.

[@no.1spidey-fan182]

People who say that Superman is "boring" have no idea what they're talking about
I find him to be one of the most compelling characters ever written. A character with power that SURPASSES EVERYONE...and yet he CHOOSES to live like the common man because he SEES something in humanity that we don't even see in ourselves
People have become so SMALL minded that they FORCE their venomous mindsets onto beings of GREAT power and say it wouldn't make sense for them to NOT be evil. That just exposes the type of person they are
Superman is one of the BEST fictional characters ever created and we're better off because of his existence.

[@MoïsePicard-ef8fr]

I never stopped caring about Superman and I will never stop caring about Superman. Superman is The G.O.A.T. 🐐

[@colfdralegend]

I think people have started getting tired of moral ambiguity and started liking Superman again

[@SquekretGenius420]

This is a cute title, no one stopped caring about Superman. Zack Snyder happened lol

[@jorgedornelas5126]

He is kind wrong. The writers realised that Superman was too powerful and that they couldnt simply make him too weak, so they changed his objective, he no longer only wishes to keep humanity safe, he wants for them to be better, to show a better way, to show that no matter how hard things are you can always chose to be good, to help others. Superman is supposed to be the light of hope, not just strenght and Power, but kindness and optimism

[@looming416]

Yeah but you can always say it’s easy to be hopeful and say you can always choose good when you’re an invisible demigod. There’s still a place for Superman but we live in a time where there are more great characters with nuance going around these days.

[@Mustafa70116]

This is a very limited understanding of the Superman mythos. His foes are practically Gods. He also has the human dilemma.
People forget how complex Superman really is but also he has a golden heart.
Too many edgelords label Superman as boring. Also the leap was in the 1940s but they stuck with flying.
The 1990s Superman the animated Series introduced a good Superman who was relatable.
He is an Orphan. Superman is still a fascinating character but it's his more recent portrayals by WB that have been questionable

[@dynaguy3]

He has a point about Superman being too powerful. That’s why many adaptations weaken him and make him less powerful. The DCAU Superman was notably quite weak and the new animated series has a weak Superman from what I hear. But there’s also the argument to be made that Superman’s best struggles aren’t those of strength but those that test his character and resolve. Some of the best Superman stories focus on those kinds of conflict like All Star Superman and the Superman vs the Elite animated movie (based on What’s so funny about Truth, Justice, and the American Way). Grant Morrison said that Superman has the same struggles we all do and that’s what makes him relatable. He still has a job where he has to meet deadlines with a demanding boss. He has a woman in his life who looks over him for the cooler guy (who also happens to be him). He has to deal with loss like everyone else.

[@MegaKnight2012]

And yet, MCU's Captain America and All Might from "My Hero Academia" have had huge popularity in the last decade, and they're as much Superman characters as anyone.
The problem isn't Superman's character, it's just the storytellers aren't accurately having Superman as the big blue boy scout.
Take a way Superman's powers, and he's still himself.

[@petermj1098]

Imaging thinking a nearly 90 year old character with tons of writers over those years is gonna have consistent writing.
It doesn’t change the fact there are great Superman storylines over the decades that are great example that show why he is beloved.

[@janoycresva276]

Because they started making him not just more woke but also tried to make him dark & edgy like Batman rather than bright & hopeful which resulted in not just terrible comics with the New 52 but also the worst version of him in the films in the form of Henry Cavill.

[@GrooveStreet4Life310]

The real reason is that people don't need Superman anymore. The companies thought that they can gain profit infinitely by exploiting human's feelings and needs, but it turns out they can't, this is why they started to make flaws on Superman. But the point is this made him even more pathetic and even less desirable. Superman is a symbol of greatessness of reliability of strength, he is an angel protector. Superman is basically someone who comes to help, to rescue people when they desperately need him, he wasn't created to entertain people, he was created to remind people that there is good and strong force out there who would protect and help you. But once human's greed noticed that it is possible to play on human's despair Superman immediately lost his initial meaning and instantly became pathetic and stupid.

[@larryrich2288]

One thing I liked about the old Smallville tv show especially In the earlier seasons was focusing on Clark as a person. Struggling to cope with being the last of his kind and feeling alone. Wanting to be normal and viewing his powers as a curse. They tried to make him a more fleshed out character instead of being kind of one dimensional like in the early comics.

[@DekeRadio]

The purity of Superman is a very hard sell in a world that grows more cynical by the day.

[@BishopWalters12]

I understand his point and we have been in the age of the anti-hero but Superman and Lois is a pretty popular show. The boy scout still has a fanbase.

[@ItsJustAka]

And yet, manga and anime shounen characters have become more and more popular worldwide, with their power levels growing until they're almost as strong as Superman or even much stronger: gods. And they don't have to be dark or anti-heroes, Luffy is the complete opposite of that and he's selling more than Superman or anyone else.
What Superman and other DC/Marvel characters need is a good continuous story/plot. American comics write one story for Superman, then they reboot the whole thing, he dies, he comes back just because. There's no long coherent tale, there are many Supermans. Make Superman fight a stronger villain for a longer period of time in a well written story.

[@MrChristyCree]

The Injustice storyline really made me like Superman.
Just the fact that, because he wasn’t really challenged, when something awful happens to him he absolutely snaps.
It’s a very Jordan Peterson story.

[@petermj1098]

Joker killed Lois Lane in Kingdom Come but Superman didn’t abandon his principles lol

[@TFF_Onida]

i like how you uploaded this at a time where it couldnt be any more wrong

[@user-be2dt8eg2x]

Superman isn't going anywhere. And he was already juggling planets in the 50s, not the 80s. You can't blame the general decline of comics on Superman.

[@Alderan3344]

some people dont understand what superman is supposed to be. Professor Peterson here also doesnt quite grasp it.

[@catyear75]

Superman was and Is my favorite superhero…!

[@JustAskingQuestions8571]

Grant Morrison continued to write excellent Superman Comics.
Morrison realized that the only thing to do at this point was to scale up Superman's villains.
And boy oh boy... did he scale up Superman's villains, he made them universal threats and sometimes even threats to the fabric of the reality of all existence itself like in the case of Mandrakk.

[@RollinBoy]

There is so much more to Superman than just physical counters or plot devices
‘It is a remarkable dichotomy. In many ways, Clark is the most human of us all. Then... he shoots fire from his eyes, and it is difficult not to think of him as a god. And how fortunate we all are that it does not occur to him.’
BATMAN

[@jesus1021]

They say people don't like Superman because without kryptonite, he is pretty much invincible(Even though there are several villains who can go toe to toe with him). Yet they love Batman, and he is or has become the Gary Stu of superheroes.🤷‍♂️