Personally, Superman is my least favorite superhero ever. I'll tell you why.
He thinks we're weak.
Almost every other superhero there's ever been started as a regular old human, and they were given super powers later in life somehow. Their secret identity is their super powers.
But Superman was BORN with "super powers." He has always been Superman, even if he didn't know it for awhile. His secret identity is Clark Kent. He hides among us, thinking the best way to hide is to act weak, skittish, shy, and clumsy - because thats how he sees us compared to him. It's degrading.
Personally I take Superman as an insult to our species, calling us weak and that we cannot help ourselves.
Hmm. This sounds familiar. Oh yeah ...
Bill: An essential characteristic of the superhero mythology is, there's the superhero, and there's the alter ego. Batman is actually Bruce Wayne, Spider-Man is actually Peter Parker. When he wakes up in the morning, he's Peter Parker. He has to put on a costume to become Spider-Man. And it is in that characteristic that Superman stands alone. Superman did not become Superman, Superman was born Superman. When Superman wakes up in the morning, he's Superman. His alter ego is Clark Kent. His outfit with the big red "S", that's the blanket he was wrapped in as a baby when the Kents found him. Those are his clothes. What Kent wears, the glasses, the business suit, that's the costume. That's the costume Superman wears to blend in with us. Clark Kent is how Superman views us. And what are the characteristics of Clark Kent? He's weak, he's unsure of himself... he's a coward. Clark Kent is Superman's critique on the whole human race.
-- Kill Bill 2, written by Quentin Tarantino
If you were referencing it, it's at least courtesy to say you were; if you weren't, that's cool. No biggie. But just because some murdering freak like Bill says it doesn't make it so. In each character's case -- Spider-Man and Batman -- he does things when he's being 'himself' that aren't necessary. Peter Parker still wears glasses. Does he need them? No. He still appears flawed and easy to victimize. Is he? No. Same goes for Batman: By his own design, he has made people believe that Bruce Wayne is a playboy that sleeps indiscriminantly with supermodels and parties from dusk till dawn. What's consistent in
all cases is that the hero tries to position his alter-ego as someone exactly the opposite of what and who he truly is.
Which is what Superman does. Clark Kent bumbles around, not because he's saying that every human does, but because it makes any concept of Clark Kent being Superman fly right out of your head. Superman doesn't bumble; he is commanding and powerful beyond belief. And if Bruce Wayne truly showcased his technical brilliance and angst-filled attitude, the concept of him being Batman would be far easier to expose.
