DCNu Superman and the Legacy of Christopher Reeve

One of the main criticisms of DC Comic's recent revamped Superman, as seen in the pages of Grant Morrison's Action Comics, George Perez' Superman and Geoff Johns Justice League is that his cockiness and arrogance is out of character and that Superman should be more humble. Fans of the reboot have hit back with the argument that Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster's Superman, as seen in early issues of Action Comics from the 1930s, was a particularly cocky fellow, and that DC has returned the character to his roots. I would agree with this, but I would go a step further and argue that a humble Superman is a relatively recent interpretation of the character and up until the '80s Superman had always been a somewhat cocky and arrogant character.

Whether he was forcing foreign nations to stop warring with each other or threatening to kill individuals if they didn't stop gambling, the Superman of the 1930s and 1940s was always arrogantly imposing his will on others. He was followed by the Superman of the 1950s and 1960s, who was the very definition of arrogance, with his super-powered pranks on Lois and Jimmy and his anti-evil rays. But these characterisations can easily be dismissed as typical of the un-sophisticated comic book story-telling of the era. What about 1970s Superman?

There was a big streak of arrogance running through Superman during the 1970s and the early part of the '80s. In Superman #233 (1971) Denny O' Neil rendered all Kryptonite ineffective and Superman couldn't have been happier! It was left to Clark's boss Morgan Edge to ponder the ramifications of a completely indestructible super-being, 'cos Superman was too busy showing off. It later took the presence of a power leeching sand duplicate from another dimension to take Superman down a peg or two.  In Superman #247 (1972) Superman has to be taken down another peg by the Guardians, who show Superman that he may be interfering with human history just by existing. In DC Comics Presents #27-29 (1980) Superman arrogantly steals a macguffin from the Martian Manhunter by force and then attempts to cross into the afterlife to rescue Supergirl. As a result he has to be taught a lesson in humility by the Spectre.

In all these instances (and more) Superman learns humility, but it is usually a lesson that comes from some outside force, not some innate humility on Superman's part.  So what happened to change things?

Richard Donner and Christopher Reeve happened!

Richard Donner and Christopher Reeve have probably influenced the characterisation of Superman more than anyone else in the past three decades. In Donner's 1978 movie, Superman, Reeve portrays Superman as a very humble character, almost shy character.  It really works. The humility that Reeve brings to the role is a big part of what makes his Superman such a likeable character. Also, Reeve has to deliver some lines that even in the context of the film could have appeared corny. For example, when Superman tells Lois that he's here to fight for truth, justice and the American Way, she laughs at him. But Reeve delivers the lines with such humble sincerity that it's Lois' cynicism that seems daft.

Reeve gave such a definitive performance that it wasn't long before his influence permeated the comics portrayal of the Man of Steel. This became particularly prevalent when John Byrne revamped the character in 1986. After 1986, Superman was always considering the limits of his power and his right to impose it on others.  In one late eighties story, after being forced to kill, Superman decides off his own back that he's too much of a menace to remain on Earth and exiles himself in space!

We got a lot of interesting stories out of this new humble Superman but in the past few years this portrayal had grown a bit stale. Everyone seemed to be trying to take Superman down a peg, and Superman seldom did much to stick up for himself. In Infinite Crisis (2005) we see a Superman almost crippled with doubt. In that story Geoff Johns had Batman famously put Superman down with the line "The last time you inspired anyone you were dead." Wonder Woman meanwhile was busy accusing Superman of being a naive idealist in response to his criticism of her actions in killing Max Lord. As it happens Greg Rucka wrote the perfect resolution to Superman's doubt in the pages of Adventures of Superman, but if you had just read Infinite Crisis you would have just seen Superman self-doubting, with very little resolution.

J. Michael Staczynski's recent storyline in Superman, 'Grounded', had the Man of Steel so shaken with self-doubt that he embarked on a walking trip across America to reconnect with the common man. To my mind one of the major flaws in JMS' tale was the fact that self-doubt-Superman was a concept that had been so done to death by the time 'Grounded' began. (There were of course other flaws in the story.) It was definitely time for a change.

Thankfully, with the recent revamp, a change is exactly what we have! The Superman we've been seeing recently, particularly in the pages of Action Comics doesn't spend any time worrying over the right thing to do, he does what he feels in his heart is right. It really is a breath of fresh air to see a Superman that is so full of confidence and, yes, arrogance too!  And I'm looking forward to seeing this Superman getting taken down a peg or two! Because if this Superman gets abused by Batman, criticised by Wonder Woman or so shaken that he decides to walk around America, it will be a novelty.

Because this Superman is a cocky arrogant git, and quite right too!