I have always been a fan of Superman. I watched reruns of the George Reeves serials when I was a kid and I also bought the comic books whenever I could find them. I watched the 1970’s and 1980’s movies featuring Christopher Reeve as Kal-El/Superman/Clark Kent, and I occasionally watch Smallville, the cartoon versions on Cartoon Network, and Lois and Clark episodes.
With the Christopher Reeve movies, I know that they covered things that were political issues in the media at the time (as many superhero movies tend to be). They covered such things as the Star Wars debates, and the nuclear arms races with Russia. You’d see Superman flying in to save the day whenever there was an oil spill or forest fire, tornado, earthquake, etc.
We need Superman now more than ever. And it sucks that he’s a fictional character. He lives in Metropolis, which is the fictionalized name for New York City. So in the movies you will frequently see the sights and sounds that New York has to offer, including a cloned super-villain grabbing the Statue of Liberty and heading right toward the World Trade Center with it. How eerie and cringe worthy is that? Of course Superman grabbed Lady Liberty in the nick of time and set her back where she belonged. Disaster averted.
My eleven year old son does not remember the 9-11 incidents when they happened. He wasn’t quite two years old when it happened. He has learned about them in school and has seen all the movies and books on the incident. Almost as long as he’s been alive, there’s been a war going on because of this travesty.
I have this tradition with him: to introduce him to the TV shows and things I enjoyed when I was a kid. I happen to be a sci-fi and fantasy buff and so far, he’s the only Trekkie in his whole school, who has the force and likes to hang out with the likes of the characters of Alien Nation, Quantum Leap, and The X-Files in his imaginative play. Now he’s added Superman to this list of interests. Superman is nothing new to legions of little boys everywhere, but he’s definitely not as frequently seen as he used to be.
So, thanks to my introduction of Superman to my son, he sat there, saw the World Trade Center in the movies and then looked at me and the most profound thing came out of his mouth. “Too bad Superman isn’t real Mom. He would have grabbed those planes and set them safely on the ground and never let them hit the buildings.” No, Superman wouldn’t have, that’s for sure.
We need Superman for more than just averting terrorist attacks. He was needed in Oklahoma City, the Gulf Coast, and anytime someone in political office does something corrupt and shameful, which seems to be happening on a more than regular basis nowadays.
Superman was created in 1932. But he really didn’t take off and become popular and start appearing in comic books until 1938, at the end of the Great Depression. People needed something to believe in and Superman is it. He’s changed quite a few times over the many years he’s been around, but at its core, Superman is still the hero’s hero.
While we can’t depend on a real life Superman to solve the world’s problems, it’s nice to have these fantasies from time to time, even healthy. I believe, (and this is just my personal opinion) that we need to introduce kids to characters like this, as it will keep them alive and who knows…we might just spark this interest in a kid who can offer a solution to all these problems and usher in a new era of peace, justice and the American way…which is not the current version of corruption.