Writers continue to denigrate Superman

[Kneel before Zod]

As much as I love what is happening between Lois and Clark it just gripes me to see the constant denigration of the Man of Steel. Lois is in Africa and realizes CK is the Blur and what happens? She has an encounter with an eternal being that is ready to be reincarnated to meet up with his wife of previous carnations. Now we see Lois turning into some kind of a supernatural, mythological being who has the power to tie Clark up and supposedly kill him if Oliver had not rescued him. Why can't these writers be enamored with Superman and stop diluting his unique abilities by bringing in other "beings" who can fly, live forever and have stories perhaps more interesting than Supermans? The main thing is keeping the main thing the main thing and the main thing is Superman. We don't need Freaks of the Week, or intergalactic freaks or anything other than a "strange visitor from an unknown planet with powers and abilities far beyond those of mortal man. SUPERMAN; who can change the course of mighty rivers, bend steel in his bare hands and who disguised as Clark Kent, mild mannered reporter for a great metropolitan newspaper fight the never ending battle for truth, justice and the American way". He is unique, he is amazing and we don't need Isis, or Hawkman or Green Arrow or any of these other entities that compete with Superman.

I understand where you're coming from, but it is a well known fact that Superman is vulnerable to magic. Besides, if Clark is all powerful, and unstoppable, where is the conflict? The show would be pretty boring if Clark beat every threat in half a second with both hands tied behind his back. What is he supposed to for the rest of the forty minutes? Twiddle his thumbs?

If there are no villains that can challenge him, why is he "fighting the never ending battle for truth, justice, and the American way?" If there wasn't anyone powerful enough to stop him, don't you think he would have won by now?

Besides, didn't Clark save the day in the end with his heat-vision?

[galatians221]

... But Oliver Queen is neither an alien or a freak, just a guy who dresses up in leather and fights crime (like Batman).

GA is the only other 'hero' in Smallville that is regular enough to warrant that view and he just doesn't fit.

How exactly does it 'boil down to' monotheism vs. polytheism? Do you know what the -theism suffix means and that this is not a show about gods or are you just referring to the idea behind them being similar to wanting one hero versus two or three?

Superman has always been a prototype of Christ. In Hebrew "El" stands for God. Bethel for instance means "House of God". Fleischman and Schuster clearly had this in mind when they created this character. He wasn't one of many. He was singular and stood apart. There was no one and nothing like him. DC has turned him into one of many and Smallville has made him as the weakest version of Superman ever.

[protector91]

All I can say is FLY GODAMNIT FLY!!!!!!!!

He flew during Homecoming. Twice. As future Clark and Present Clark. And how exactly is Clark the weakest version of Superman. He's saved the world a few times if memory serves.

[Audrey229]

Superman has always been a prototype of Christ. In Hebrew "El" stands for God. Bethel for instance means "House of God". Fleischman and Schuster clearly had this in mind when they created this character. He wasn't one of many. He was singular and stood apart. There was no one and nothing like him. DC has turned him into one of many and Smallville has made him as the weakest version of Superman ever.

Siegel and Schuster created Superman. Superman was not created to be a prototype of Christ. The creators were Jewish. If anything, Superman was created as a symbolic representation of Moses. Now, I agree with you that there has been a Judeo-Christian influence that has been prominant in the Superman story for decades and I agree that Superman has often been symbolicially compared to Christ. But he was not created as a "prototype" of Christ. He often exhibits many personal qualties that I believe make him "Christ-like" such as love, forgiveness and extreme humility...but he's not Christ.

[Dyanara]

I understand where you are coming from and I agree that they downplay how unique Clark really is. The more I begin to think about the more I realize that Clark isn't as unique as they make him out to be. They also don't remind us of how powerful he really is. The show could have done a better job showing us just how powerful and unique Clark really is.

In that aspect Smallville has failed in my opinion.

I honestly think they just don't have the money to do that. I seem to remember that they tend to use one of his abilities per episode, or two abilties that dont take up a lot of money. It seems they can't show how unique he is because this is a tv show and not a big budget movie that can afford it. The best example of downplaying his uniqueness, imo, was Absolute Justice.

[galatians221]

Siegel and Schuster created Superman. Superman was not created to be a prototype of Christ. The creators were Jewish. If anything, Superman was created as a symbolic representation of Moses. Now, I agree with you that there has been a Judeo-Christian influence that has been prominant in the Superman story for decades and I agree that Superman has often been symbolicially compared to Christ. But he was not created as a "prototype" of Christ. He often exhibits many personal qualties that I believe make him "Christ-like" such as love, forgiveness and extreme humility...but he's not Christ.

Christ was Jewish. Even though the Jews rejected Jesus as Christ they still believe in and wait for the Christ or Messiah. They argue over whether He will be God or just a man but still they believe He will come and save Israel and the world and overcome evil. Sorry about getting Siegel's name wrong. Fleischer did Popeye and Betty Boop.

[protector91]

I deleted it Dyanara.

[superman07]

well technically he isn't superman yet. so it's not denigrating superman or whatever you want to say. i agree, no one wants to see Clark just plowing through his rivals or enemies whether it's a freak of the week or Darkseid. i'm not a big comic book guy either but seriously if there was no challenge or struggle, physically or morally, for Superman do you think Smallville would have made it 10 seasons?

[Weez-El]

I put up a long rebuttal to many points made by the original poster, but I decided to remove it. For anyone who did read it while it was up briefly, my apologies but I really hope you enjoyed it.

I'll say this; there are just so many things that are logically inconsistent and flat out erroneous here I didn't want to tread in to possible moderator disciplinary territory.

[newtonh20]

Mere physical powers don't define Superman. His moral and virtues are what makes him the superhero he is. Anyone can hold superior powers but that's not what makes them Superman.

Couldn't have said it better, myself. Superman is Superman because of way more than just his strength and powers. If you look at any storyline that's existed with him losing his powers for one reason or another, you'd see that he's still the hero we know and look up to.

[xrayvision]

It's not a contest. And while one man can make a diffrence, not even Superman can be in two places at once. So, really, when Superman's off fighting Bizarro, Brainiac, Lex, Parasite, etc, etc, etc... Who'll be there to defend and protect the family, that's being confronted by a mugger, on a dark street; The little boy/girl, who goes home and gets beaten by their parents; The woman, who's being beaten, by her husband; The man, who's being beaten, by his wife; The kid, who thought, he/she was chatting online, with someone their own age; The kid, that gets beaten up at school for being diffrent; The store clerk, that was confronted by a robber; The young woman, who made a short cut, through the park at night and was attacked; etc, etc, etc?

That's how I see it. And also, Superman's never been a shallow cry-baby, that bursts into tears, because "there's someone else out there, who's willing to help humanity." In fact, he's quite the opposite. Sometimes, he even asks the others for help, when he's confronted with a problem, that goes outside his area of expertize. I remember one comic, from the late 80's, where Superman went to Gotham City and handed Batman a book, that he asked him to analyse. And the reason for this (which is even explained, in the dialogue between them), is that this concerns forensics (fingerprints and stuff): Something Superman knows nothing about, but Bats is an expert on.

I agree with this is most cases except on a show named Smallville that should be mainly about Clark/Superman & the characters that would traditionally surround him during his "young hero in training" days. If they really want to do that, they should have done a Justice League spinoff a long time ago. I realize that they took the liberty to add Lois & other characters who in the canon aren't involved with Clark at this early stage in his life. But I think a show about Clark becoming Superman would be much better if he's the only hero being developed in the show. I wouldn't mind occasional appearances by other heroes, but having Green Arrow (or even Batman, my favorite DC superhero) as a fixture takes away from the focus on Clark Kent. They spend so much time on Oliver & these other characters but still haven't ever shown Clark properly investigate something, write an article/headline on it (entirely on his own) & turn it in. I wanted to see Clark perfect every aspect of his future iconic self & it just hasn't happened on this show and I know it won't happen except for maybe the final or penultimate episode.

It kills me that they're doing Darkseid this season & they haven't even bothered to introduce Intergang on this show and instead are wasting time with other DC characters like Isis. They already set up a great version of Morgan Edge who in this case knows Clark's secret & seemingly killed him off, which was never really confirmed since he was seemingly killed in Phoenix & returned in Shattered (if Lex in Fracture didn't die after getting shot in the head at point blank range & was not treated until after being flown to Smallville, then I could believe Edge survived what happened to him in Shattered). They could & should bring him back & make him the man in charge of starting up & running Intergang and getting Bruno Mannheim out of prison while also setting up a deal between his organization & one of Darkseid's minions so he could acquire the weapons from Apokolips so they could arm themselves & rise in power. Intergang not only hates Superman but also hates Clark and since in Smallville Edge knows about Clark, that would make things even more interesting. I suggested an idea where Edge uses his knowledge of Clark, which would've grown since Shattered if they bring him back & explain him to be watching Clark from the background, and have his men throw a Blur party in Metropolis where Clark would be the reporter invited to cover it. His men would spike the punch with liquid red-k which would only affect Clark & afterwards, they would meet up with him & make him an offer to join their "elite" group & have him execute a transaction with an agent of Apokolips (I suggested Desaad) for the weapons in exchange for a briefcase containing vials of fluids from a variety of species (humans, metahumans, meteor freaks, Clark's own blood, and fluids from various Phantom Zone corpses Edge got his hands on over the years) that Darkseid would seek as the key to the Anti-Life Equation. Then Clark would say he'd do it & would take the case, meet Desaad, exchange the case for the weapons & then violently attack Desaad (in his vessel) & take the briefcase back too & screw over both Desaad & Intergang. Following this, still affected by red-k, he would as the Blur secure the weapons by transporting them to the military & destroy the briefcase & its contents to become Intergang's & Darkseid's #1 target. He would go back to the Planet & write several headlines on the Blur's recent saves & activities & prop/pimp out his hero identity as a result of the red-k, which would wear off and leave him realizing that he's been ignoring his love for journalism for too long & would finally address it. Following this, there would be fallout from screwing Intergang over, so Edge would target Lois to get some revenge & Clark would have to protect her & would come close to losing her. This is the environment in which I would have made Clark tell Lois his secret rather than have it happen in such a dull episode where Isis & Green Arrow take such a large percent of the focus. At this point, nobody would know Morgan Edge was alive other than his men since Clark wouldn't have met him back when they drugged him with red-k & Edge wouldn't have attended the Blur party Intergang threw as a front. Going forward from here, I would have Edge meet with General Lane & use all the recent slams against costumed vigilantes to his favor by telling the General that his own daughter was involved with one & ultimately convince him to hand the weapons over to Edge. In the meantime, Martha Kent would get involved since she would use her clearance as a senator to find out that Sam Lane had recently transferred the weapons to an unknown person he was dealing with. She would forward this info to Clark who would then start digging in & uncovering the new criminal organization & ultimately find out the Morgan Edge has returned & make it known to the public by writing an article & having it be published under Perry White's name to avoid alerting Edge that he knows about him. This would give Clark credibility as a reporter with Perry & they could bring him in for an episode or 2. He would have clashes with the now-armed Intergang who would now be able to contend with him & other heroes.

This is the type of story I'd like because it would utilize Superman characters like Clark, Lois, Morgan Edge/Bruno Mannheim/Intergang, General Lane, Martha Kent, Perry White, etc. and would fit in perfectly with the Darkseid plot because Intergang & Darkseid are traditionally tied together in storylines. And it would give us non-filler storylines in this final season.

[Audrey229]

Christ was Jewish. Even though the Jews rejected Jesus as Christ they still believe in and wait for the Christ or Messiah. They argue over whether He will be God or just a man but still they believe He will come and save Israel and the world and overcome evil. Sorry about getting Siegel's name wrong. Fleischer did Popeye and Betty Boop.

Umm....I'm a Christian. It's not something we talk about on this board. But I'm a church going, Bible reading, practicing Christian. I am well aware that Christ was Jewish and I'm well aware what the Jews believe regarding the Messiah as well. You stated that Superman was modeled as a prototype for Jesus Christ and I corrected you. There have been books written about this. He has often been compared to Christ over the years but many people believe that he was actually created as a symbolic representation of Moses. That is fact.

[Superman4lois]

I agree. If I'm watching a show about the Justice League I assume many people will have many powers. If I'm watching Smallville I don't want to see every actor and their mother fly before Clark is actually doing it. That should be his most awesome ability when he gains it and not an ability that other characters have had time after time. I don't want to see Clark truly fly for the first time only to bump into multiple people. "Pardon me, excuse me, sorry to bump into you but I finally figured out how to fly and if you could just move a little to the left I can get around you. Yeah, Superman here."

I'd like see him fly but I'm that desperate since this is the last season. I think it's funny that a bunch of villains fly but Clark still doesn't.Well, now I see it as a pushover for him to keep trying because one day his inability to fly might give his foes an undesirable advantage...

[Odysseus]

Why does everyone have to be less than amazing in order for Superman to be amazing? I like having a variety of heroes and villains with a varieties of powers and abilities.

----- Added 34 Seconds later -----

Mere physical powers don't define Superman. His moral and virtues are what makes him the superhero he is. Anyone can hold superior powers but that's not what makes them Superman.

Exactly. I LOVE the fact that the past few seasons have introduced so many DC Comics characters from outside of the immediate Superman family. It means they've really created a fully-fleshed out DC Universe. And if you think about it, this is the first time that that has EVER happened on-screen, in either TV or movie form.

[galatians221]

Umm....I'm a Christian. It's not something we talk about on this board. But I'm a church going, Bible reading, practicing Christian. I am well aware that Christ was Jewish and I'm well aware what the Jews believe regarding the Messiah as well. You stated that Superman was modeled as a prototype for Jesus Christ and I corrected you. There have been books written about this. He has often been compared to Christ over the years but many people believe that he was actually created as a symbolic representation of Moses. That is fact.

The original point is that the Justice League characters and Hawkman is a great example, are based on mythology which is at it's base polytheism. Siegel and Schuster I believe based Superman on the Jewish concept of monotheism: one God and the Messiah (Christ) being the focus. I didn't say Jesus. Moses was a prototype of the Messiah and a singular deliverer is at the heart of Judaism which is of course monotheistic. I was asked to explain what I meant by that and this is what I meant. I wish the SV writers were more loyal to the origin of Superman rather than the DC comic world.