While he's capable of solving the world's problems, that doesn't mean that Superman is willing to. The Man of Steel spelled out the fine line he has to walk in order to prevent himself from negatively affecting humanity.
When baby Kal-El was rocketed to Earth to avoid the destruction of Krypton, his father knew that the boy would one day grow up to possess amazing powers that would practically make him a god among the population. While he's far from the only hero on Earth, there's enough evidence to argue that Superman is the most powerful DC hero around. Clark has come a long way from his days of being able to run faster than a speeding bullet or leap tall buildings in a single bound. Superman's powers have advanced to the point where, if he so desired, he could solve all of Earth's problems for good.
And yet, despite knowing that he could, Clark actually refuses to eliminate every problem on Earth, though he isn't without his reasons. He was forced to admit this to Kyle Rayner after the hero received a power boost thanks to wielding the power of Ion. In Judd Winnick and Doug Eaglesham’s Green Lantern #149, Kyle Rayner has become more powerful than ever before and effortlessly shows off his new power to the JLA. The Green Lantern effortlessly stops an alien invasion all on his own before the League can even form a response. Superman takes it upon himself to talk to the young hero, letting him know that Green Lantern is actually doing too good a job with his new powers. Clark explains to Kyle that their power is meant to stop evil forces too powerful for regular people. Anything more than that robs humanity of its independence.
To prove his point, Superman shows Green Lantern how, in just a small period of time, Kyle already has people worshipping him as a god online. To be fair, even Superman admits there are a number of churches who worship him, though he credits that more to the time he's spent working as a hero. Still, Clark shed an interesting light on how he operates. As much as he may want to, Superman has to let humanity work things out for themselves.
He may just be one hero among many, but there is little to no doubt that the most beloved hero in the DC Universe is Superman. But for all the people who look up to him, Clark knows that he has to do what's best for them. As easy as it would be for him to solve society's ills, it would rob the people he cares for of their purpose and growth. Clark loves the Earth and its cultures more than anything. The last thing he would want to do is change it. It's a hard line to walk and no doubt difficult to accept sometimes, but Superman can't solve the problems of the world if it thinks it deserves its own identity.
No comments:
Post a Comment