I dislike Superman
POSTED BY: AnthonyT
UPDATED: Monday, March 9, 2026 17:54
VIEWED: 22488
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Hello,
I dislike Superman, and I think the first and last movies illustrate why he is an uninspiring hero.
I was wondering if anyone else felt the same way, or if I was unique in my dislike for the character (at least as portrayed in film.)
--Anthony
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Hello,
Alternatively, perhaps some Superman fans/apologists can explain to me why they like him?
--Anthony
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Quote:You don't like the 1978 film Superman?
Originally posted by AnthonyT:
I dislike Superman, and I think the first and last movies illustrate why he is an uninspiring hero.
I was wondering if anyone else felt the same way, or if I was unique in my dislike for the character (at least as portrayed in film.)
If that's true Tony, you are dead to me.
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http://superdickery.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=category&lay
out=blog&id=28&Itemid=45
I don't think you're the only one.
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Hello,
Well Chris... It's bad storytelling. It's like a Greek Hero without any of the tragedy. Superman might as well be a God for all the jeopardy and risk he endures to do his deeds.
From what I can tell, Superman was designed with two major weaknesses. One is physical, and one is, for lack of a better word, philosophical.
1) Kryptonite - This is Superman's physical weakness. It theoretically allows ordinary human villains to threaten him with harm. It has proven demonstrably ineffective, however. When physically stabbed by Kryptonite, with a piece of it still inside his body, Superman was able to fly through the crust of the Earth, lift a mountain into space, hurl it into the sun, and survive a fall back to Earth. So this is apparently more of a mild inconvenience like a skin rash, as opposed to a real weakness.
2) Superman can't be in Two Places at the Same Time. For all his godlike power, Superman was designed to be vulnerable to this simple tragedy. With all his might, he can't save everyone, because he can't be everywhere he's needed. This is a psychological/philosophical tragedy that speaks to those of us who might wish, "If only." If only I was stronger, faster, smarter, handsomer, whatever. If only, THEN life would be perfect. Except life is never perfect, not even for Superman, because in the end he was powerless to preserve the one thing in life that was most important to him. THAT could have been a great movie. A story of the age. The ultimate modern take on the Greek tragedy.
Except they take it back in the last five minutes of the movie, ruining the whole thing.
Honestly, what's there to like about this guy? Why is an indestructable man who can't fail at all interesting? Does he work on some level other than being a hero? Because heroes feel heroic due to the possibility of failure and suffering. Not only can Superman not die, but he can undo any loss in his life through time-travel. He is largely incapable of true loss.
Heroes suffer. Heroes can die. Heroes can fail. Heroes can lose.
Superman, as presented in the first and last films especially, can do none of these things.
He is boring.
--Anthony
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Agreed.
I don't like Superman. For the longest time I didn't really like Batman either, but the newest movies have simply been excellent. However, neither character is what I would call particularly relateable.
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Hello,
I agree with you about the new Batman films.
I think the recent films have done a lot to heighten my appreciation for Batman and salvage him as a character. They've made him more human, they've made him suffer deeply, and they've made him lose to the bad guys at least some of the time. (He couldn't save his love interest. He couldn't save his successor Harvey Dent. Part of the city got poisoned despite his best efforts. He was powerless to prevent a Hospital from being destroyed. He is forced to surrender his public goodwill.)
Also, when Bruce Wayne showed up to the courthouse with a revolver, hoping to assassinate his parent's murderer, he was an everyman. An everyman with a lot of money, but an everyman nontheless. He felt like we would feel.
Batman as currently portrayed beats Superman all to hell.
--Anthony
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I sympathize most with Sheldon from the Big Bang when it comes to Superman. As much as I like a good superhero, I think about the physics way too much to ever really enjoy Superman, but I really, really like the 1978 movie. I just can't help myself.
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I agree with you to a certain extent.
Superman, when written poorly, is not an interesting hero. And a lot of people think this. I regularly have discussions with friends where I must defend him.
The first film is excellent, in my opnion. But I have to agree, whenever time-travel is used to undo everything, I don't like it, and Superman was no exception.
Superman is saved by the writer. If written correctly, Superman is interesting BECAUSE he is near-perfect. He should be near-perfect, striving for insane goals, and he should fail. He needs to succeed in saving the day because he has made insane choices, choices which only a perfect hero would need to make.
I actually really liked the new Superman movie. Not particularly for the Superman vs Lex story which is so familiar these days, but more for the Clark/Superman/Lois/World subplots. Lois writing "Why the World Doesn't Need Superman" was particularly interesting, and should've been explored more. What happens when the world depends on a perfect hero, and they have to leave? What happens when the perfect hero only wants one thing for himself, and he loses her?
These questions are what makes Superman interesting. I don't think Superman is a bad character at all, but poor writing can ruin anyone.
I think if you loved the recent Batman films, you should know that Jonathan Nolan (co-wrote Dark Knight/Prestige, and wrote the short story Memento was based on) is looking to write and possibly direct a new Superman movie, with his brother, Chris (directed and cowrote Begins, Dark Knight, Prestige, Inception, etc), producing. The story was written by Jonathan and David Goyer, who also helped the Nolan's write Batman Begins and The Dark Knight. So hopefully now we'll get a Superman movie completely worthy of the character.
I don't think Superman needs to be as dark and suffer to the extent that Batman does, but he needs to be vulnerable, even if it's not at the same standards as humans.
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Quote:Superman is immortal, but he would hardly do anything to prevent time from marching on. He saved Lois in the first movie because a lunatic caused mass destruction. Her death was a result of this(think a loved one dying from a drunk driver) it should have been prevented. He has never attempted such a feat since.
Originally posted by AnthonyT:
Honestly, what's there to like about this guy? Why is an indestructable man who can't fail at all interesting? Does he work on some level other than being a hero? Because heroes feel heroic due to the possibility of failure and suffering. Not only can Superman not die, but he can undo any loss in his life through time-travel. He is largely incapable of true loss.
Heroes suffer. Heroes can die. Heroes can fail. Heroes can lose.
Superman, as presented in the first and last films especially, can do none of these things.
He is boring.
--Anthony
I think the duality of Clark/Superman is rather interesting myself. Here is someone forced into a humble existence to practically act himself the invisible man. Anything to keep his secret identity.
Add to that the sci-fi Kryptonian aspect, and you have one hell of a complex superhero...If the character is written correctly.
Boring? That's a laugh. Batman is boring. A rich vigilante that wallows in misery(as displayed in the last two movies). About as interesting as a tooth ache.
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70's TV FOREVER
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