The other day I started wondering about the continuing relevancy of Superman (the DC comic hero, not the Übermensch) as an American cultural icon. Historically, the character was first realized in a 1938 comic magazine immediately following the brunt of the Great Depression. He was seen as having a “strong moral compass,” and as “someone who could fight the crooked politicians and businessmen.” The character in itself is fairly generic, representing the desire for power and vanity typical of the male sex. The genre is paralleled with great monetary effect by a focus on the ‘shounen’ demographic in the Japanese anime and manga industry:

• In its rawest form, characters can often produce energy beams or perform super-human feats without aid of technology
• Major focus is placed on individual battles, and the struggles and hardships needed to overcome an adversary
• Improvement is typically depicted through training and coaching by more experienced role models
• A love interest is typically part of these series, though often included as a side character which receives little to no character development
• Perhaps most important, the reactions and expressions of others at the main character’s raw display of power plays an important part

Sound familiar? Many of these aspects are present in Marvel/DC series, and can be seen specifically in the Superman universe. Although I’ve seen the Christopher Reeve movies as well as about half of the Smallville series, I’ve never read the Superman comic or any derivative novels. While this doesn’t necessarily give me “street-cred” to criticize the story, my experience with the character and what he represents got me wondering if whether, philosophically, we are closer to Superman “the character” today than were Americans back in the 30s.

Take for one his Fortress of Solitude. To many Americans (and perhaps people in industrialized societies in general), our home is our own personal Fortress of Solitude. This is compounded by the fact that as humans we tend to pair off and socially seclude ourselves from others. While this construct has formed the basis of the American family for generations, its revelation came as quite a shock to me after college. For someone like myself, the thought of living the first several decades of our lives surrounded by an active social environment, only to be destined to live within the confines of our comparatively insignificant adult social circles is abhorrent. This, some could say, is the destiny we face while living in the contemporary pseudo-existence known as adolescence.

Likewise, we learn at a young age to exude our own thinly veiled disguises to those around us. These skills keep us fashionable, make us more desirable to each other, and keep us safe from bullies. As we grow we begin to question Superman’s omnipotence and whether his “glasses” actually deceived anyone–but by then we understand that something as simple as glasses might actually be enough. And, as adults, we continue to be assured by the warmth and safety provided by the great and powerful mediator known as the military might of the United States.

Perhaps most striking is the fact that Superman is an alien. Some of the more cynical among us may take this to its relevant modern conclusion that he is in fact an illegal immigrant. What’s more surprising is that this alien from billions of miles away just happens to look like a middle aged white guy. I wouldn’t be surprised if he converted to Christianity as well. I must have missed the picket lines demanding his birth certificate.

While most of these are fairly superficial comparisons, I find it interesting that some of the aspects of Superman’s character seem fairly relevant to the social issues we face today. As Americans we continually look to higher powers who can solve all of our problems, whether these be politicians, celebrities, God, or (gasp), perhaps even Superman. We may not have his powers, but many of us do have our own strong moral code which guides the choices we make. What we seem to be missing now is our own “someone who could fight the crooked politicians and businessmen.”