Why Superman Is More Relatable Than You Think 

Batman: Genius, billionaire and master combatant. Wonder Woman: Amazonian, princess, and daughter of the gods Green Lantern: Highly skilled pilot, unbelievable willpower and member of an intergalactic police force Aquaman: Atlantian, power over all ocean life, and King of the seas. Superman: Farm boy from Kansas, reporter, who does the right thing whenever he can. And apparently Superman is the unrelateable one.

Superman is a god who wants to be a man. Lex Luthor is a man who wants to be a god.

In this cynical world, most people don't believe in Superman's ideals. Thus they try to write him and drive into the ground and say "you're no different from the rest of us, there's nothing special about you." Sad to see how humanity has been slipping down.

Even Haters in the Comic book World.... Superman would still save them WHY???.....Because it's the right thing to DO.

Perfectly articulated. One of the most dehumanizing thing to be done to Superman in recent times is the pushing of the narrative that his humanity is tied to Lois Lane. As such, it discredits his compassion, his innate goodness, his heart and overall care for humanity. It takes away from the fact that at heart he is a man with a strong moral compass and sense of responsibility. That his upbringing by the Kents played a major part in shaping the man and hero he becomes.

Let’s face it. Without Superman, there wouldn’t BE a Marvel Comics or an Incredibles.

The people who think Superman is boring, pointless, overpowered etc. are often the people who are obsessed with power and fighting. Rather than look at Superman's intentions, struggles or "humanity", they only focus on his abilities; judging a book by its cover (no pun intended), like a Lex Luthor who resents Superman for who he is rather than what he's about.

most superheroes are heroes because of some tragedy in their lives. superman is a hero...........because he chooses to be.

The first and the best Superhero...SUPERMAN

Superman was always at heart an ordinary midwestern farmboy from Smallville, Kansas. The fact that people view him as a distant powerful alien just because he was born on another planet is contrary to his core and fundamental beliefs. He cares about Earth and the people inhabiting it because he empathizes with their emotions and dreams not because they are weak and need someone to teach them. Krypton gave him his powers, but Earth gave him a medium to make connections with his farmer parents and his close friends in order to be a hero. He aims for a better future for Earth, he aims for people to be optimistic, especially in the horrific of obstacles, and it’s hard because it’s easy to fall and get lost in your own internal problems. He may not have to worry about dying himself, but he does have to worry about those who do want to die.

"If tests were easy, there wouldn't be a need for tests" - Jonathan Kent Man, I love the idea of a couple just managing to raise up an alien stranger baby due to their kindness and then it ends up being a decent person. More than decent, actually.

Yup amen that’s why superman is call the man of tomorrow because he’s represents the good we inspire to be

This is why Superman is an awesome example for every generation.

What also makes Superman an interesting character is that he also brings the theme of being the bigger man in any situation. What's the adult, mature, and smart thing to do in any given situation. If you ask me, this world needs a Superman now more than ever...

Superman, "Man of Hope!"

Nailed it. I keep seeing all these articles about how Superman is impossible to relate to. They miss the point by a mile. We all have a piece of him that pushes us to do better than the culture of mediocrity tells us is totally acceptable. Aspiring to be the very best that we can be, to commit to make the impossible a memory, and to tell society to blow it out of their ass when we’re accused of making everyone else look bad, that’s what Superman is. Break the record, train harder, ASPIRE to be the best at what you do. Encourage others by your own example. Remember that failure is part of learning, so get back up, push harder, and commit to excellence.

Aside from his obvious super powers, Superman is quite a personable character one could actually hang out with. + An incredible birth and legacy, yet has an everyday and humble upbringing. + Has a typical job and relationship the average person can relate to. + Half his life is ordinary or mundane like everyone else, while the other is something many people dream off. We can try and grasp the impossibilities of his powers, or achieve the possibilities of the character's ideals. Hence 'Super'

This is what makes Superman a great character.

Superman is a simple person he just wants to be nice and helpful as he lives his own life. Favourite comic of superman is All star Superman

Which is why I am loving the current dc rebirth comics of superman because now he gets all of these lessons he learned to his own son his own fresh and blood Jon aka superboy and it’s amazing ;)

This was such a great video, I am not an american, and everytime I see superman, I relate to him more than any other superhero, he is humble, decent, caring, perhaps too much, which his villains exploit all the time, he is also very positive, and even in the most dire of situations, he will always believe there is a way to solve this problem. He will risk his own life without hesitation to save even the crappiest human being, because that’s how he is. He is more than a superhero, he is the embodiment of the potential of every human being in this planet. Superman is my favorite fictional character of all time , and it’s amazing and sad how many people bash the character without a clear valid reason, as soon as they start stating why they hate him, I just ignore them, because they truly don’t understand (or read) the character at all. I think in a way is kind of like in the real world, people at first don’t see you for who you are , they won’t trust you, they will misjudge you., and even hate you because they fear what they don’t understand, only at the end realizing how great you are, and how wrong they were initially.

This is the kind of message we should all hear about the character. I admit, I wonder if the fact people forget this about Superman nowadays and relate more to Luthor isn't just a sign of mentalities evolving and people being generally more... selfish, or cynical. If that's the case, then paradoxically we might need more characters like Superman.

Honestly I don’t have a problem with overpowered character that’s one of the reasons why I’m a big fan of Hyperion, The Sentry, Hercules,Captain Planet, Danny Phantom, Ben 10,Freakazoid(Dexter Douglas),Adam Warlock and Silver Surfer!I just want them to be written correctly and not just make them brute who just punched into situations declaring that it over!

Superman The man of steel The man of tomorrow The god of strength The savior of hope

"A true man of tomorrow living today" Killed it.!!!

Yes this is Superman. Man of Steel had some elements in it but not enough.

I simply cannot describe how SPOT ON this video is. Liked, subscribed and overall praised. This video describes perfectly why Superman is relevant, probably now more than ever. Superman is a call to arms for all those who posess remarkable gifts and skills into putting them to work for the greater good. Superman was never truly about his power set or his alien heritage. Those elements are very distinctive and colorful world-building aspects, but they aren't the REAL message the character tries to convey. Superman is a good old tale of power and responsibility. Whenever you have the power to act, you must act. If you willingly don't, any bad situation happens because you didn't act. On the beautiful book "Peace on Earth", he says that "my powers aren't gifts for me alone, but for everyone else". Whenever you are in position to do good, to "stand for those who can't stand for themselves", you must jump into action. Lex is there to show the exact opposite of that. He is self-made for sure, but all he amounted to only benefits himself. Everything he ever achieved is a testament to his ever-growing ego. Luthor could be a "Superman" if he wanted. With his brilliant mind and his science expertise, he could have already cured cancer! But his dillusions of grandeur and his narcissism and superiority complex prevent him from achieving true greatness. If you are not in the position to save the whole World, then at least save YOUR World. Your family. Your loved ones. Be the Superman they need you to be in their lives. If we all do that - if we follow Superman's example -, then we are all Superman. I loved Superman as a little kid. But as I grew up, I let him go. I favoured edgy, "relatable" heroes with a superimposed shadow self, or very flawed individuals who are constantly on the brink of breaking bad. Batman, Punisher, Wolverine, Iron Man. But recently, life made me understand that you need, at all times, a Superman within you. You must erect a stable, impenetrable, steel-made, Wall of Ethics and Moral. Impervious to egocentric desires, to instinct, to private agendas. You must refuse mediocrity. You must refuse averageness. You must not envy others. You must not focus on stopping others from achieving success. You must build not only your success, but also the success of others around you. And you must do all this with confidence and with a smile. To a certain degree, it was from watching "Batman v Superman", and from finding so strange and odd that Superman could ever doubt himself and actually believe that "no one stays good in this world" that I realized the exact opposite. YOU CAN STAY GOOD IN THIS WORLD. ALL IT TAKES IS FOR YOU TO NEVER COMPROMISE. NEVER. (That is why I like Henry Cavill's Superman a lot, by the way.) You must do the right thing JUST BECAUSE it is the right thing to do. That is what you must gravitate towards AT ALL TIMES. I know this is all too cheesy and cringeworthy. But it is RIGHT. And I learned it from Superman.

I would wish to see the Story of how Superman became a Hero and not a villain. His experiences and Ideas, how he started to value every life and not seeing us as Ants. I want to see Superman looking up to the Stars and reflect in his life. How he was as an inexperienced Hero, afraid to destroy everyone He loves by not beeing carefull, tempted to just use his power to force peace, shooked by the fact that not everyone had a childhood like his, instilled with values, learning that His values aren't the only ones as different societies developed different interpretations of this unbeleivable big and confusing universe. And Most importantly, how he discoverred the impossibility to make everything right, but instead of giving Up on humanity, accepting his and everyone weaknesses and encourages them and himself to grow out of them. So that everyone if super or not, can become a proper Hu-man!

The thing that makes me angry about most writers portrayal of Superman is they treat Clark as the mask and Superman as the real person. He is always Clark pretending to be Superman...after growing up in Kansas you can’t just stop being who you are because someone gives you a red and blue suit. Clark is the real personality, he was raised in middle America and has all those values and morals. Currently Brian Michael Bendis wants Superman to lose his secret identity ( Clark ) but how do you lose who you really are and pretend your Superman all day?! He is just as human as all of us he just has powers and a level head on his shoulders. To me he has always been the most relatable character in comics because like him I like to have Hope and Believe we can all be better than we currently are one day.

This is also why everytime he overcomes a character like Darkseid it is such a huge deal as well. Because the type of evil that Darkseid represents is even uglier than Lex.

This guy gets it.

The original personality of Superman was more akin to Tarzan and John Carter (ERB characters), and John Wayne. He had utter confidence in his moral code and abilities, and a certain swagger when it came to confronting bad guys. That's been missing from most portrayals of him.

Superman aka Man of steel I have to say this, in my view, superman is two personalities in one person. First is superman, the optimistic and a moral hero, who struggles with the world's cynicism and can't afford to do mistakes as people's livelihood is on the line. And yeah he is super strong. Second is Clark Kent, who people can relate to, timid yet good hearted dork from kansas. Who alway struggles with his identity and can make mistakes sometimes. I think balancing these two sides has been challenging to many writers. But there are writers who can do this.

Superman... The BEST! ❤

Something I find annoying is people always say "but he is overpowered and everything is easy" but that's because they think the only characters in DC are Batman villain level characters, not realising that Superman's villains are often far more powerful compared to him than Batman's are to Batman. Brainiac is a 12th level intellect with a giant ship that can steal cities, Doomsday is a bloodthirsty monster that even IF you can kill it it'll just come back stronger and angrier, Lex Luthor the smartest and richest man on Earth with an ego and ambition that dwarf both, Metallo is a robot with a Kryptonite heart(and he is probably Superman's weakest regular), Lobo is the main man, Mongul is a tyrant that has conquered hundreds of worlds, and the list goes on. All of them can kill Superman, most with their bare hands, he doesn't beat them by being better than them, he beats them by being *better* than them.

Superman Secret Origin and All Stars Superman. They’ve helped me understand Superman better than anything.

Love this video, it's the reason I love this character. Felt like we were heading towards why he does during Man of Steel but didn't capitalize on in yet.

Luke, this video was really great, and the video doesn't even have footage of Christopher Reeves as Superman.

A very eloquent, articulate and accurate video. I 100% agree with everything you said here.

His lack of progress? Nani? Superheroes dont progress much overall and thats not a bad thing.

I'm so tired of seeing people shit on Superman just because he's big and powerful. Every superhero is overpowered, and that's not Superman's main character qualities. You got his motive exactly right, he's just a good man before the alien.

He does not disguise himself as Clark Kent, Clark Kent disguise himself as Superman as a way to use his gifts to help the world take away all the powers he is just Clark Kent a farm boy from Kansas who move to a big city and became a reporter

I never grow tired of seeing this video. And this video will be more resonant with what Bendis is doing to Clark. in case you haven't heard Bendis is having Superman no longer be Cark Kent. he writing him outing himself in this Decembers issue of Superman.

Love this video and agree with most of it. The only slight part that I disagree with is when you say that making him more realistic focuses too much on him being an alien and losing the human quality of him. Well, like it or not, he's still an alien and that's an important part of who he is. And it's another important reason why he's a superhero. He himself would never forget his alien origins. I would say if you enjoy a character, you can't just like part of them, or even half of them. You have to enjoy ALL of them. When you focus too much on his heroism or his humanity and not so much anything else then you turn him more into an idea instead of a character. In fact, other videos have pointed out that the alien origins could be a clear allegory for being an immigrant and establishing yourself in a strange place that is your new home. I think in making him more realistic and focusing on WHAT he is it makes it all the more impactful when he chooses to be a hero and inspiration for mankind. Also, one thing we can't forget is execution is everything. If you make it like a "Day The Earth Stood Still" kind of story then yes that might be the case where we focus too much on the alien part. But if you make it more like a Moses story (which was a big inspiration for Superman when he was first created) then it could be really good and focus more on his connection with the people he is saving and his origins matter all the more too.

The only on target comment about superman in the recent films, was in .justice League where Bruce Wayne tells Wonder Woman the Clark was the most human of any of them. He grew up in a normal family, has a job, fell in love. He is part of the real world in a way none of the rest of them are.

My favorite line ever said by Superman comes from the Animated Series episode that introduced Volcana, where Superman is looking at the lair of the episode's villains and dryly laments, "My tax dollars at work."

He is the first comic book superhero who inspired them all

Man of Steel has been the only true superman story that really resonates with who and what the character is in movies. It's the best superman film to date, not the reeves version. The reeves version really just creates the image people have in their heads about who they think superman is instead of who he actually is. Superman's nature as an alien is important, it's his heritage and apart of him. Superman is an immigrant, and like most immigrants he has his own culture and home. Krypton is his home world and his culture is kryptonian. This is shown in the comics, Superman learns about his people and even learns his native language. Nothing is lost by giving that aspect of the character some focus, it also makes him more relatable because there are people who are immigrants and know what it's like to grow up in a whole new world and be different. Just like his creators. Man of Steel gave us the perfect superman story, because it showed us who superman is. Just a genuinely good person trying to do the right thing. That's who superman is. He starts off like he always does, lost and unsure of himself and of what he should do. He eventually learns what he can do for the world, the same thing he's been doing; helping people, which the movie does show.

Hi hybrid network

That's the main difference between Donner's Superman and Snyder's Man of Steel. Donner understood that it was all about the "Why Superman does the things that he does" and showed it in his film. Whereas Snyder clearly doesn't understand this and instead focused on the how Superman does his feats

WELL DONE!!! This is the best video on this channel until today.

This needs more views!

Love this video, made my day better. Thank you !!!

I thought Kingdom Come encapsulates this pretty well. It’s a nice response to grim dark comics like Watchmen and The Dark Knight Returns. It’s the Anti-Grim Dark comic book.

3:54 Da fuqs goin on with Supes NECK :O

I love superman and I always will and I’m glad that you highlighted the point that superman doesn’t stand above anyone but he’s himself as an equal. Superman is a great inspiration of mine and i believe in his example very much.

This was great ! 👍👍👍

I just loved your video ... thanks for making it .. superman forever 👍

SUPERMAN FOREVER.

Wish I could fly like Superman

Bro, you got me balling. Great perspective

I Love Superman love and ideas, i don't even live on usa. But he's Heart is amazing.

When it comes a hero I always remembered Superman

It's sad what modern comic book writers have done to Superman I bet Shuster and Siegel are rolling in their graves. Superman was created invincible with a shit load of abilities but was later reduced and nerfed many times over to push whatever characters the writers wished to push notably Batman. The Injustice arc is the worst coz no way in hell can Superman turn bad no matter what due to his strong moral compass. Batman is the most likely to turn bad but the problem with him is that he has no powers.

Spider-Man wouldn’t exist without Superman.

I think that my problem with superman isn't the idea behind him In fact that is my favorite part. My thing is Clark (Kal) (superman without being super) himself. I feel like his personality is boring. There is nothing that makes him pop or standout in the crowd other than his blue and red suit. I know people say that he is mild mannered but it tends to come off as bland, dull, boring. Like God left his personality on "Default". It feels like using the term "mild manned" is a cop out. (its not but sometimes it feels like it.) Think characters like ALL-Might (MHA) Saitama (OPM) Captain America, Spider-Man. They have a similar moral standing to Clark (always aiming to be better and do the right thing) but they have more definable personalities that can set them a part from those around them as people. They are not just inspiring, but they are fun to watch as they go about there lives, make decisions, and interact with people. Like if you had to spend a day with or hang out with , I'll say Kal (clark but not the bumbling idiot version) , so no powers no crime (God made a day with no crime), is that time FUN? Could his personality carry a fun conversation. I feel like id come home from that outing saying "eh, i guess he's cool" That's what I mean by Superman is boring. Not him as a hero and character, but as dude. He feels boring in his interactions with the people around him. Haven't read a whole lot but from what i have, that's what i get. From the little that I've seen/read, my favorite version is the version from the kids cartoon justice league action. Hes a cool dude but he can come off as real corny sometimes and I think that adds a bit of humor to him. Is adds another layer to the integrations and conversations he has wit the people around him. Especially between him and Batman.

“Ba-Dah-Dum-Da-Dum-DUM-SUPERMAN!”

All Might took notes :V

well said

And yet people say that All Might is a superior hero just because of the smile

when i was a child i used to think Batman is the best superhero. What happened that made me change my mind? well, i grew up.

We need a Clark Kent movie

Superman isnt just a character, he is an archetype.

I love how Dr. Manhattan is a deconstruction of who Superman is

GREATEST EVER

hes not better than us but the best of us and what we should aspire to be

A godly man who just wants to fit in

Superman is the GOAT: The Greatest Of All Time!

7:46 what comic is this from ? Please help 🙏

I love Superman is amazing.

When people say Superman is boring or unrelatable, I point to Superman Vs. The Elite.

Clark is Superman in the physical and moral sense, Luthor is Superman in the philosophical (Nietzschean) sense

In a way, Superman is more like Cap. While the character has grown and matured in some ways, the core of his stories is about how much he STAYS the same. It's about his resolve, that despite how much the world slips into darkness, he REMAINS to be a beacon of hope, by overcoming those bleak odds. That to me is the most human lesson ever. Yes, how he approaches things can change and mature, but WHY he does it must never change. He does it simply because it's a good thing to do. Also, how damaged do you have to be to think that you can't just do good for the sake of good.

In Superman#705 Superman finds out a guy has been abusing his son and wife so he takes them to the police. When the policewoman says "Thank you Superman. You saved the mother and son. This needed you to get to the bottom of it." and Superman replies with "No it just needed someone with eyes and 10 cents worth of compassion." And I think that just sums up Superman perfectly. He isn’t a god or anything of the sort. He is just a guy with compassion for others

The first Superhero and the best always

A story as old as time itself thatwasalsofirstpublishedin1938 BUT STILL AS OLD AS TIME!

Superman for the blue lantern corpse. Who's down?

I don’t think Superman has been turned into a villain lately because people are just so compelled by his powers and he has to be turned villainous to fully display them. I think Superman has been consistently turned into a villain because since the 1980s, superhero comics have mostly been focused on postmodernist deconstruction of optimistic and “heroic” characters. Ironically, the postmodern deconstruction became played out and boring within the span of just a few years whereas other genre movements of superhero comics lasted longer before they got old and played out, because by definition, “deconstruction” isn’t building anything that’s meant to be sustainable - it exists solely as a reaction to an established precedent. It fails to impress whenever it BECOMES the established precedent and all of a sudden it’s punching down. There’s nothing more boring or annoying than someone who is clearly fake, corporate, and lacking self-awareness that are trying to come off as subversive or anti-establishment, and that’s where comics and superhero media have gotten. This is the same reason why Joker gets his own solo movies where he’s an oppressed incel and Harley Quinn is being consistently pushed into your face as an anti-hero too. We’re blurring the line between good guys and bad guys, implying that there are none and it’s all material circumstance that drives the world. This isn’t a sustainable way to tell stories. The straw that breaks the camel’s back for me is that they turned down Rocksteady’s pitch for a Superman game in favor of a Harley Quinn/Suicide Squad starred looter-shooter where the goal is literally to kill the evil good guys. It’s like okay, you’ve stopped producing Superman movies after you failed because you tried to make him an edgy anti-hero, but you’re continuing with a steady stream of Suicide Squad sequels/spin-offs even though that movie was by no means successful either, and now you’re literalizing your agenda against heroes in this ironically trendy type of game where you have to kill them. I know the comics aren’t quite the same sort of situation, but that’s not what the mainstream sees and that’s not any young child’s first introduction to these characters. This generation of kids isn’t going to be introduced to Superman by Bruce Timm or Richard Donner or even Brian Michael Bendis, they’re going to be introduced to him by Zack Snyder and Netherrealm. If that isn’t alarming to Superman fans, I don’t know what would be

this is why superman/clark/kal is the most human super hero

From what I'm smelling, We're getting that Superman in jl Snyder cut.

I can fly too Helicopter

Hey i didn't realize this was hybrid network..hi man

A superhero who has been wasted in the dceu he needs redemption

*reads title Me: "suffering from success"

this guy sayed that superman can destroy meteors and hear across the planet? the guy who casually beats multiversal beings and can hear across universes or planes of existances that dwarf infinite complex multiversal structures? nice

Superman the King like Elvis 😉

Superman is a DC Jesus

Congratulations. You just described The Entire Democrat Party through Lex Luthor.

I think Zod is better villain than lex but don't mistake me I love superman and hope he has great role in justice league

"Masked crusaders who sought to create a better world." By fighting against people who threaten the status quo, sending a message that trying to make a better world is wrong and keeping the world the exact same and not challenging those in power. Where exactly were those masked crusaders who sought to create a better world you were talking about again?