Superman Returns, much like the Dark Knight
The new Superman movie has reopened that inevitable debate of 'Who's the better superhero, Superman or Batman?' (Also known to 10-year-olds and Usenet folks as 'Who'd win in a fight, Superman or Batman?') I've had this debate with people and I always seem to be in the minority.
I guess it's just that I'm always amazed when people cite The Dark Knight Returns in their explanation of how Superman is a patsy for authority (i.e. conservative loser) while Batman, with his brooding and weakness, is a more mature and nuanced superhero (i.e. liberal and awesome). Never mind that Frank Miller, being more than a little reactionary and authoritarian himself (remember the scenes mocking Robin's hippy parents?) is clearly gunning for Batman; look at what Batman does to clean up Gotham. He kills, he maims, he recruits gangs of street thugs to do his bidding. Batman of The Dark Knight Returns is entirely a conservative character, an old general of sorts who attempts to counter the permissive excesses and lawlessness of the world around him with almost Orwellian surveillance and violence. (It bothers me that most authors after Miller have chosen to emulate this dark portrayal.)
Contrast with this Superman who, although dumb and not posessed of as many cool toys, has a pronounced idealism that Dark Knight's Batman lacks. The ends do not justify the means for Superman. He does not like killing; he does not like hurting others. You have to do strange chemical things to him to make him evil, whereas Batman's moral 'nuance' allows him to go off on whoever's nearest.
There was a bit on 'This American Life' a while back about a simple experiment some guy did- he went around and asked all of his friends whether they'd rather have a.) the ability to become invisible at will or b.) the ability to fly, and why. The people who wanted to fly mostly wanted to be able to fly down to Mexico for a vacation, or to save kittens from trees, or, you know, just fly. The people who wanted to be invisible wanted to eavesdrop, to sneak into other people's houses, to shoplift. The funny part was, while the people who chose flying didn't bother to speculate on the people who chose invisibility, the people who chose invisibility had a lot to say about the people who chose flying. They're lying to themselves. Everyone really wants to be invisible so they can do sneaky, amoral things. They're just choosing the one that they think is right regardless of what they really, really want. I think of the Batman/Superman dichotomy in sort of this way. All those Dark Knight fans are saying is, 'People who say they don't want to do bad things are either patsies or liars.'
Me, I want to fly. Hence, apparently, my love of Superman.
I guess it's just that I'm always amazed when people cite The Dark Knight Returns in their explanation of how Superman is a patsy for authority (i.e. conservative loser) while Batman, with his brooding and weakness, is a more mature and nuanced superhero (i.e. liberal and awesome). Never mind that Frank Miller, being more than a little reactionary and authoritarian himself (remember the scenes mocking Robin's hippy parents?) is clearly gunning for Batman; look at what Batman does to clean up Gotham. He kills, he maims, he recruits gangs of street thugs to do his bidding. Batman of The Dark Knight Returns is entirely a conservative character, an old general of sorts who attempts to counter the permissive excesses and lawlessness of the world around him with almost Orwellian surveillance and violence. (It bothers me that most authors after Miller have chosen to emulate this dark portrayal.)
Contrast with this Superman who, although dumb and not posessed of as many cool toys, has a pronounced idealism that Dark Knight's Batman lacks. The ends do not justify the means for Superman. He does not like killing; he does not like hurting others. You have to do strange chemical things to him to make him evil, whereas Batman's moral 'nuance' allows him to go off on whoever's nearest.
There was a bit on 'This American Life' a while back about a simple experiment some guy did- he went around and asked all of his friends whether they'd rather have a.) the ability to become invisible at will or b.) the ability to fly, and why. The people who wanted to fly mostly wanted to be able to fly down to Mexico for a vacation, or to save kittens from trees, or, you know, just fly. The people who wanted to be invisible wanted to eavesdrop, to sneak into other people's houses, to shoplift. The funny part was, while the people who chose flying didn't bother to speculate on the people who chose invisibility, the people who chose invisibility had a lot to say about the people who chose flying. They're lying to themselves. Everyone really wants to be invisible so they can do sneaky, amoral things. They're just choosing the one that they think is right regardless of what they really, really want. I think of the Batman/Superman dichotomy in sort of this way. All those Dark Knight fans are saying is, 'People who say they don't want to do bad things are either patsies or liars.'
Me, I want to fly. Hence, apparently, my love of Superman.