Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Superman is one of the most well-known characters in the United States. Since his
creation in 1938, he has been in continuous publication, yet he has changed throughout his
existence in various ways. When he was first published Supermans powers consisted of only
superhuman strength, superhuman speed, superhuman senses, and invulnerability. Then other
powers were added like heat vision, flight, and the ability to break the time barrier. He was
eventually to the point where he was so powerful that writers had a very difficult time creating
stories that would be able to challenge Superman. This caused him to seem God-like and very
unrelatable to readers, which is why stories like Superman for All Seasons were used to revise
the character. Superman for All Seasons by Jeph Loeb and Tim Sale, illustrated by Bjarne
Hansen, reinvents Superman into a more human character that is more relatable to readers than
the God-like being he previously was. Superman embodies many different values that are
embedded in American culture and as a God-like figure he began to lose what made people like
Superman has reached the level of being a myth that is deeply rooted in American
culture. As Gary Engle wrote in his analysis of Superman called What Makes Superman So
Damned American he points out that Superman achieves truly mythic stature, interweaving a
pattern of beliefs, literary conventions, and cultural traditions of the American people (Engle).
Superman reflects the current beliefs of the society of the time period and changes alongside
American society. When Superman was first created his virtue and morality coincided with
Franklin Roosevelts New Deal. Superman prevented the United States from becoming
embroiled in European conflict, destroyed slums to force the government to build better
housingtore down a car factory because its shoddy products caused deaths, and fought a
corrupt police force (Gordon 181). All of these things reflected the hardships that the American
people experienced on a daily basis during that time period. However, as the United States
started to get close to getting involved in World War II, the writers of Superman added in the
idea that Superman fought for the American way. In doing so, Superman was transformed
into a symbol of more general American cultural values in that his individualism was tied to
consumerist values (Gordon 181). American ideals were at risk because of a rise in fascist and
communist governments during the time that this change was made and Superman was right
there to figuratively protect these ideals. Superman is a cultural icon that always possesses the
values that American society does because Superman fights for truth, justice, and the American
Superman for All Seasons also modifies the character to match society. When it was
written, society had become nostalgic for better, more simple time. Technological growth had
become rapid, issues that were hard for some to understand like global warming became a
pressing topics, and Americans couldnt even trust their own president because of his sex
scandal. Changes such as these caused Americans to have a feeling of nostalgia for a simpler
time and Loeb, Sale, and the illustrator, Bjarne Hansen, reflect that in this book. One way that
they instill a sense of nostalgia into this book is through the artistry and illustrations of
Smallville. Smallville is drawn in a style that is similar to the Americana paintings of Norman
Rockwell. In fact, they even dedicate this book in part to Norman Rockwell. Loeb writes, For
Norman Rockwell and his love of a vision that resonates through its limitations (Loeb, Sale 5).
Reading the name Norman Rockwell and then seeing frames in the book that were modeled after
his Americana paintings were meant to make the reader feel a sense of nostalgia that is
commonly associated with Superman. Supermans sense of nostalgia comes from the idea that
nostalgia looks to the past as a stable source of value and meaning but not necessarily with
the desire for a stable, traditional, and hierarchized society (Gordon 179). This is precisely why
Superman must be continually reconstructed. Superman has always embodied the values and
morals of American society, yet the encounters he faces are not the same because society always
changes. When Lex Luthor infects Metropolis with the virus he created, Superman is unable to
understand precisely what is going on so he has to ask for help. Superman shows the desire to
help those in need from evil, which is an American value that is embedded in his ethos, but it
also reflects how society also has difficulty in understanding these complex scientific issues that
Superman has undergone many revisions because the opinions and attitudes of society
has changed in the 78 years that Superman has been in print, but he is not the only well-known
character that has been revised. Batman also went through a period of revision; however, Loeb
and Sale modify Superman in a very different manner. The difference comes from the method in
which the two superheroes were revised. Batman was modified in The Dark Knight Returns
the goal is to break down the traditional aspects of the character and rebuild them in a new way.
Prior to The Dark Knight Returns, Batman was portrayed as a campy, light-hearted, and
somewhat silly character. However, this is not the Batman that is found in The Dark Knight
Returns. Author Frank Miller first rejected the things that were commonly accepted about
previous versions of Batman and then reconstructed the character in a new way. For example,
Miller rejects prior conventions of Batman by setting the tone of the book to be very dark. On the
second page of the book, the reader learns that Gotham is in a state of absolute peril. There has
been an incredibly long and miserable heat wave, crime rates are higher than ever, and three nuns
had just been murdered, which is a direct rejection of the much more positive depiction of
Gotham that came before it. Batmans deconstruction happens most prominently a little bit later
in the book. It was previously thought that Batman followed a rigid moral code that was he
would break the law in order to stop crimes, but he would never go as far as to kill anyone in the
process. Miller breaks this accepted idea down by having Batman actually kill someone to save a
young child. After rejecting notions about Batman that were accepted by people, Miller was then
able to reconstruct Batman into a character that is dark, serious, and will do whatever it takes to
Supermans revisions come in a much different style than Batmans. Loeb doesnt break
down or reject anything that is conventional about Superman. Superman is still an alien from the
planet Krypton; he is raised by Jonathan and Martha Kent in Smallville, Kansas; and he rivals
Lex Luthor in the city of Metropolis, where Clark Kent works as a journalist for the Daily Planet.
All of this holds true for the traditional Superman myth, as well as Superman for All Seasons.
Rather than breaking down these aspects of Superman, Loeb magnifies certain aspects of
Superman while downplaying others. The small-town Americana upbringing of Superman, the
imperfections and limitations of Superman, and empathy for humanity are all magnified to
reintroduce the character as a more human figure than the God-like one that Superman
previously was. The aspects of Superman that are downplayed are his alien nature and violence
are downplayed. This serves to take the emphasis off of the tremendous power that Superman
has because it is unrelatable to the reader. Instead, it place the emphasis on the internal conflicts
that Superman has such as how he has to cope with realizing that he has limitations and how his
superhero writing is when the traditional aspects of superheroes are questioned and sometimes
even rejected. Alan Moores Watchmen is a prime example of this. Traditionally when reading a
superhero comic, the reader expects there to be a moral hero that is trying to preserve the status
quo of the city that they inhabit. Watchmen rejects this on the very first page when the hero,
Rorschach, who is completely immoral, says, The accumulated filth of all their sex and murder
will foam up about their waists and all the whores and politicians will look up and shout Save
us!... and I'll look down and whisper No.. This shows that the heroes in this story are not like
a typical superhero in terms of morality and empathy. Superman for All Seasons does not
question the traditional sense of morality that superheroes have like Watchmen does. In fact,
Loeb does the opposite. He magnifies it. Superman is depicted as a very empathetic character.
One example of this occurs after the tornado hits Smallville. Clark Kent was able to save a mans
life, yet he still felt bad. He says, I cant help thinking I could have done more (Loeb, Sale 39).
Superman feels terrible for what happened even though he saved a mans life. Loeb shows us
that Supermans empathy for other people extends to far greater lengths than other heroes.
Furthermore, Alan Moore deconstructs traditional superhero characters through the use of
analogous characters. The most notable analogy is between Dr. Manhattan and Superman. Both
are the most powerful beings on the planet in their respective universes that basically have no
limit to their power. The deconstruction is shown through Dr. Manhattans lack of humanity and
lack of involvement. Dr. Manhattan is so powerful that he cannot relate to human beings at all
and Moore does this to show that if there was someone as powerful as Dr. Manhattan or
Superman, they wouldnt be able to maintain their humanity because they are too distant from it.
Moore further deconstructs the all-powerful hero because Dr. Manhattan doesnt step in to
save the day like Superman always does. In the end, Dr. Manhattan believes that the status quo
of the world isnt worth saving so he simply does nothing and feels no remorse for it. Superman
is depicted very different. When all of Metropolis is infected by Luthors virus, there is a close
up scene where Supermans face looks dejected and it even appears that his eyes are tearing up
(Loeb, Sale 140). He is distraught that all of Metropolis is dying and his face shows his
emotions. He knows that he has to do something to save them and ends up having to swallow his
pride by asking his arch nemesis for help acting completely unselfish, which once again
Immigration is a cultural staple in the United States because at some point in time a member of
every Americans family had immigrated to United States and in the traditional Superman
mythos, he is no different. In fact, he is the ultimate immigrant since he came from another
planet entirely, yet he still has an opportunity to succeed in the Land of Opportunity just like
everybody else. However, Joseph Loeb and Tim Sale downplay this aspect of Superman and
magnify the idea that Superman is similar to normal Americans, not just immigrants. The book
starts off by showing a series of photographs of Clark Kents childhood. It shows his baby
pictures, him sleeping with his dog, playing catch with his father, swimming with friends, and
even prom night. A major function of these pictures is to show that Superman isnt simply an all-
powerful alien, he is actually just like everybody else. For example, one picture shows that even
though Clark was able to throw a baseball so hard he hurt his fathers hand, he was still just like
everybody else because he played catch with his dad (Loeb, Sale 3). Downplaying his alien
nature takes away from that aspect of the mythos of Superman, but by magnifying the idealistic
American childhood that Superman had still shows that Superman embodies American values.
Loeb downplaying the fact that Superman is an immigrant and magnifying his small town
upbringing actually makes Superman more relatable to Americans. According to Engle, the
importance of Superman being an immigrant was that it gave him a dual identity. These
identities, one based on where he comes from in lifes journey, one where he is going reflect
the same identities that immigrants have (Engle). Although this book downplays Superman as an
immigrant, it accomplishes the same goal of showing how a persons past affects their present.
Every person in the United States has some sort of cultural background that serves the same
purpose that Clark Kent serves to Superman whether they are from a big city, a small town, the
east coast, the west coast, or even a different country. Clark has his set of moral standards
instilled in him by his parents to always use his powers for good and these standards influence
everything that Superman does moving forward in life. This is exemplified when Superman
returns home to Smallville after he was unable to save the city from Lex Luthors poison.
Superman returns to his hometown dejected because he had learned that he had limitations. Then
Pa Kent comes to talk to him and tells him a story about his experiences as a farmer. Pa Kent
explains to him, Its not nearly as hard learning you have limitations as it is learning how to
work with them (Loeb, Sale 180). Pa Kent uses a metaphor about farming, something that Clark
Kent grew up doing, to give him advice that translates to his life as Superman moving forward.
Superman is able to save the town from the flood and eventually goes back to Metropolis, which
shows that Superman is affected by Clark Kent just like the average American is affected by
their past and immigrants are affected by their home country after coming to America.
Furthermore, Engle points out that Superman came as an orphan which meant that he had
to make a name for himself just like everyone pursuing the American Dream, but Superman for
All Seasons downplays the fact that Clark Kent is actually an orphan. Superman is able to pursue
the American Dream just like everybody else, but he is given a set of morals and values to do so
from his loving parents. The first section of the book is told from the perspective of Pa Kent
which is significant because it downplays Superman being an orphan while also making
Superman more relatable to the reader. Pa Kent sees him as his son, Clark, rather than Superman.
He teaches Clark to be a good person and that translates to Superman always trying to help
people. When Clark saves the man from the tornado Pa Kent even says, There are so few things
a person can be really sure of. But, I believe, in the wild trouble of that momentour
sonbecame a man (33-34). He doesnt say that is the moment where Clark became Superman,
Superman is also revised to be more human than before is through the magnification of
Supermans imperfection. Superman isnt all-powerful like he was previously depicted in earlier
comics. Granted that he still has super strength, the ability to fly, super speed, and many other
powers he still has no control over nature and Lex Luthor proves this. By infecting the entire
population of Metropolis with a deadly virus and hoarding the cure for himself there is nothing
Superman can do to save everyone. He is powerless in this situation and he has to ask his
nemesis for help to save the day. Clark Kent even reflects upon the situation and says I began to
think that I could do anything. And I cant (Loeb, Sale 180). Loeb and Sale show that Superman
isnt as powerful as he was once depicted and do so to make him more relatable. Another
example of Superman not being all-powerful in the book comes when Smallville is flooding.
Again, Superman cannot control nature and stop the flood from happening, but he does the best
that he can. As the town pastor notes, many people lost their homes and almost all of them had
property damage, but he did save all of the people from being harmed physically. He got them all
to safety, but he didnt do a perfect job. Despite a magnification on his imperfection, Loeb still
holds intact what the reader knows to be true of Superman which is that Superman is always able
to save the day in the end. He doesnt always do it perfectly, but he is still able to succeed in
saving a man from a tornado, saving a woman from a burning building, saving all the people
(and his dog) in Smallville from the flood, and Superman still plays a role in saving the day after
Lex Luthor poisoned the city. In all of his forms, Superman finds a way to save the day because
he embodies the value of hope that is fixed into American society. No matter the situation
Americans believe that there is hope that someone will find a way to make things right just like
Superman does which shows just how American Superman really is.
Superman for All Seasons reintroduces the character of Superman by humanizing him
and making him more relatable. At the peak of Supermans power, he was able to use the moon
as a weapon, reverse the rotation of the Earth and turn back time, and basically was as powerful
as one could imagine. This caused him to be seen as a God and unrelatable to readers. This story
brings Superman back to being a more relatable character while holding intact everything that
Engle, Gary. "What Makes Superman So Damned American?" Xavier School IB English 2012.
Gordon, Ian. "Nostalgia, Myth, and Ideology of Superman at the End of the "American
Century"" Comics and Ideology (2001): 177-93. Academia. Web. 1 May 2016.
Loeb, Jeph, and Tim Sale. Superman for All Seasons. New York, NY: DC Comics, 1999. Print.
Miller, Frank, Klaus Janson, and Lynn Varley. Batman: The Dark Knight Returns. New York:
Moore, Alan, and Dave Gibbons. Watchmen. New York: DC Comics, 1987. Print.