Superman: Difference between revisions

{{quote|''[[Super Speed|Faster than a speeding bullet!]] [[Super Strength|More powerful than a locomotive!]] Able to leap tall buildings [[In a Single Bound|in a single bound!]] This amazing stranger from the planet Krypton! [[Red Baron|The man of steel]] --(gong ring)-- Superman!''|The opening to the [[Superman Theatrical Cartoons (Animation)|Superman Theatrical Cartoons]]}}

 

 

[[Older Than They Think|While not quite the first]] superhero, he is certainly the [[Trope Codifier]]. Has been published continuously by [[DC Comics]] [[Long Runner|for over 70 years]]. He first appeared in ''[[Action Comics]]'' #1 (June, 1938).

On the technologically advanced planet of Krypton, scientist [[Ignored Expert|Jor-El]] discovers that his planet will soon be destroyed by natural disasters. No one will believe him, however, and in a desperate attempt to save what can be saved, Jor-El builds a small rocket vessel to carry his infant son, Kal-El, to a different planet -- Earth. Because Kryptonians physically resemble humans in every way, the boy can blend in without being seen as alien.

 

 

However, Clark turns out to be different from humans after all. Kryptonians had evolved to absorb and store solar energy. While on Krypton, which orbited a relatively low-heat Red Giant (or in some versions Red Dwarf), their physical abilities were about identical to humans. When exposed to the rays of Earth's much younger, brighter yellow Sun, Clark learns that the surplus of energy gives him incredible powers, which increase as he grows up. Deciding to use his power for good, Clark puts on some spandex (or indestructible Kryptonian uber-cloth, [[Depending On the Writer]]) and fights crime as Superman! (Or at first as [[Superboy]], in [[The Silver Age of Comic Books|the Silver Age]] version of his origin). When not fighting evil, he masquerades as a mild-mannered reporter for a great metropolitan newspaper, ''The Daily Planet'', which helps him find disasters and emergencies that much sooner.

* ''[[Main/The Living Legends Of Superman|The Living Legends Of Superman]]'': An anthology of stories based on the premise on how future history would view Superman when he is gone.

* ''[[For the Man Who Has Everything]]''

* ''[[The Man of Steel (Comic Book)|The Man of Steel]]'': Contains Superman's revised origin, due to the [[Continuity Reboot]] brought about by the ''[[Crisis On Infinite Earths]]'' storyline.

* ''[[Superman for All Seasons]]''

*** [[Did Not Do the Research]] either, since lead essentially does not radiate. Poisonous as hell, but not radioactive. That's why it's good rad shielding.

*** The "lead radiation" aspect seems to have been retconned out (or at least not mentioned out loud). Daxamites' weakness now more resembles an exceptionally severe allergy to lead.

* [[Superman Stays Out of Gotham]] (co-[[Trope Namer]] along with [[Batman (Franchise)|that other guy)]]

* [[World of Cardboard Speech]]

* [[X-Ray Vision]]

* [[Alternate Continuity]]: Between the various media adaptations and the "[[Elseworld|Imaginary Stories]]", arguably more than any other fictional character.

* [[Ambiguously Jewish]]: Superman's background story is a pastiche of [[Moses in The Bulrushes|Moses]] and the immigrant Jewish experience, with a bit of [[Take That]] towards the Nazi idea of the Ubermensch.

* [[Arch Enemy]]: Lex Luthor, always. Depending on the continuity, [[Brainiac]], General Zod, and [[Darkseid]] may be up there as well.

* [[Armor-Piercing Question]]: Lex Luthor [[And Then What?|asks Superman one]] in the [[Elseworld]] of ''Red Son.''

* [[Beat Still My Heart]]: A variation, in one story. See that trope page.

* [[Beware the Nice Ones]]: Superman's one word response to being mindraped in "For the Man Who Has Everything".

** It's generally a good idea to keep this trope in mind when dealing with The Man of Steel. He may be the quintessential nice-guy, but he's also generally considred to be ''the most powerful being on the planet''. The rare occasions that his (rather immense) self-control slips are pretty damn terrifying.

* [[Big Good]]: Leader of the Justice League, on top of being the [[Captain Obvious|most powerful superhero of all time]].

{{quote| ''I feel like I live in a world made of... cardboard, always taking constant care not to break something, to break someone. Never allowing myself to lose control even for a moment, or someone could die. But you can take it, can't you, big man? What we have here is a rare opportunity for me to cut loose and show you just how powerful I really am.'' }}

* [[Brainwashed and Crazy]]: Given how long running his series has been it's inevitable that this trope has come up a few times. Perhaps the most famous recent event to feature this is during the [[Justice League of America|OMAC Project]] storyline, where Max Lord is controlling him to demonstrate why superheroes can't be trusted (since they can be turned against Earth by [[Mind Control]], and the next guy might not be him and have more sinister plans in mind) and tells [[Wonder Woman]] that the only way to stop him is to kill him- and to the horror of Supes and the rest of the League, [[Thou Shall Not Kill|she does just that.]]

* [[Bus Full of Innocents]]

* [[Canon Immigrant]]

* [[Expansion Pack World]]

* [[Expy]]: Of [[Classical Mythology|Heracles/Hercules]].

* [[Face Heel Turn]]: In some continuities, Lex used to be a pretty nice guy and Clark's good friend, but it was a long time ago.

** More recently, there's Ruin, a.k.a. {{spoiler|Professor Emil Hamilton}}

* [[Friend to All Living Things]]

* [[From a Single Cell]]: Several. Often Brainiac.

* [[Galactic Conqueror]]: Mongul

* [[The Glasses Come Off]]: Just when Clark does it, it's a different reason than the trope usually has.

** And Kryptonite, of course.

* [[Minnesota Nice]]: Raised in Kansas, but the idea still applies. Supes is one of the [[The Messiah|nicest]] of all superheroes.

* [[Modesty Bedsheet|Modesty Cape]]: [[Real Life]] example: This has become a staple for the actresses who play Lois. Margot Kidder originated the pose, followed by Teri Hatcher and Erica Durance.

* [[Moses in The Bulrushes]]

* [[Nigh Invulnerability]]: Not ''very'' "nigh," actually.

* [[No Gravity for You]]: One classic story has a depowered Clark Kent using an [[Anti Gravity]] device to battle villains. It works because he knows how to fly and the [[Mook|Mooks]] don't.

{{quote| '''Superman''': That man [Batman] won't quit so long as he can draw breath. ''None'' of my teammates will. Me? I've got a ''different'' problem. I feel like I live in [[World of Cardboard Speech|a world made of]] ''[[World of Cardboard Speech|cardboard]]''. ''Always'' taking care not to ''break'' something, to break some ''one''. ''Never'' allowing myself to ''lose control'', even for a moment. Someone could die. But ''you'' can take it, can't you, big man? What we have here is a ''rare opportunity'' for me to ''cut loose'', and ''show'' you '''''just how powerful I really am'''''. [Lets loose with a punch that distorts with a sonic boom and sends Darkseid flying... ''real far''.]}}

* [[No Man Should Have This Power]]: In "The Day the Cheering Stopped", Superman gets a magical sword which was apparently created at the dawn of time. It gives him incredible power (even for pre-Crisis Superman) and helps him defeat the villian. In the end he realizes the incredible power the sword will give him and feels that it will make him an all powerful protector. He decides he doesn't want this power and throws it into space.

* [[The Reveal Prompts Romance]]: With Lois Lane.

* [[Retcon]]: Many. That trope's page lists eight separate issues on which the character's history has changed, and some of those have gone back and forth more than once. And that's just counting retcons, not changes to the status quo going forward.

* [[Rival Turned Evil]]: Conduit

* [[Robot Master]]: Toyman

* [[Robot Me]]: The Superman robots

* [[Rogues Gallery]]: Lex Luthor, Darkseid, Brainiac, Bizarro, Mr Mxyzptlk, Metallo, Toyman, Mongul, the Parasite, General Zod, etc.

* [[Samaritan Syndrome]]

* [[Scout Out]]: One Justice League comic involved a situation where the heroes had to tie something off with a rope. Superman effortlessly makes an impressive knot. Someone compliments him on it, and he says, "Well, I was in the Boy Scouts," earning the comment, "Of ''course'' you were..."

* [[Strong As They Need to Be]]: Supes' strenght seems to be all over the place sometimes, writers differentiated it by making scales of power between the other earths, in which the Superman from that universe isn't as strong as the Superman from the other one; [[Crisis On Infinite Earths]] came and mostly made the presence and worth of other earths useless, with this Supes was (in theory) given a consistent power level; still it's common to see writters making notes about how Superman ''can destroy Earth'' with his [[One-Hit Kill|strongest punch]] and run at the [[Super Speed|Speed of Light]], things that only the ridiculously overpowered Silver Age (Pre-Crisis) Superman could do.

* [[Superheroes Wear Capes]]

** ''[[All Star Superman]]'' got it down to eight words.

{{quote| Doomed planet. Desperate scientists. Last hope. Kindly couple.}}

* [[Where the Hell Is Springfield?]]: Both Smallville (see above) and Metropolis-- though the "Big Apricot" is almost universally on the East Coast somewhere, and 90% of writers make it a [[Captain Ersatz]] of New York City. In the Fleischer cartoons, in fact, it was specifically stated that Clark & co. lived in ''Manhattan''; it was a plot point in the "Electric Earthquake" short.

** Eventually, it was settled that Smallville's location would be in rural Kansas. As for Metropolis, it's often hinted that it's at the bottom of upstate New York, somewhere on the state's small coastline.

* [[Will Not Tell a Lie]]: Superman himself, mostly. Except for those related to his [[Secret Identity]].

** And not even then. It isn't ''technically'' a lie if he says his name is Kal-El when asked, after all...