KryptonianElf

@heavenlydarkdragon: And to be truthful, if Koriand'r (aka Starfire) wasn't so the opposite of Superman, in almost every aspect. I'd much prefer her as an alternative.

Yes, I've often had the same thought.

I really wouldn't mind Superman dating teenagers, but Yankee culture has a weird fixation on segregating children from reality and responsibility, so I doubt it will happen.

@heavenlydarkdragon: Very good addition to the discussion, and it highlights the difference between space fantasy and science fiction; combined with the fact that Superman is in an intrinsically incoherent Universe which refuses to maintain consistency or developed narrative.

I mean, let's face it, the modern world is unthinkable with beings of that power. It would RAPIDLY devolve into a singularity, and there would be nothing the Justice League could do that wouldn't accelerate it. What we have here is a combination of Humanist conservatism and lack of vision. People want to have their Gods and Ipods, too. These things don't go together, and it's for reasons that can be found in transhumanism as well as theology.

Making Superman invincible is the point of Superman. Does Krishna shrink from arrows?

Superman is much more 'protagonist of religious literature' than 'mythical hero', and the more God-like the better, I say.

Superman is [positive attribute] more than [other people]. It's not consistently portrayed that way, but I take Kryptonians to be vastly superior on all levels to even the greatest human being. Silver Age Superboy/-man is consistently depicted as a scientific genius and all-around wunderkind, who possessed infinite willpower (better than any Lantern), and was an example of eugenic perfection of a transhuman species (see Elliot S. Maggin comics, especially).

The Ubermensch line has some support in New 52, with their genepairing and super-model Krypton.

Batman is his own thing and, really, they two don't quite fit in the same Universe. Or genre.

As I said in a similar post elsewhere, I like the Clark/Superman dynamic best when there isn't much distinction drawn between them (to the readers), though his different behavior modes and aims do make him seem like a 'different person' in the sense that you wouldn't guess that they're the same guy even when they evince the same opinions.

Neither Superman nor Clark are the 'real' person, anymore than a race car professional is a different man when he puts on a jumpsuit and drives 200mph. He may have a different appearance and do very different things, but nobody would suppose that one is a facade for the other.

I also believe Clark isn't lying when he tells people he's not Superman, but simply obscuring by answering the question in context. Think of that racecar driver again, being asked "Are you driver 57?" at a cocktail party; to answer regarding his present occupation, "I'm Sophi's husband" is not exactly to answer what the person was asking but what the person was asking was something they had no right to know. Telling the truth and being forthcoming are different things.

Maxima! Superman can play house all he wants (he has plenty of time), but he's a god who needs a goddess. Wonder-Di is also a good candidate, and has the right ancestry papers to get their kid into De Jure deityhood.

Tall (6'4-6'6"), a thick V-shape, square-jawed, thick shoulders and neck, large hands, long limbs. Mature adult (as opposed to young adult).

To me Superman is like the perfect man, not just the perfect human, so I prefer him in his ultra-masculine phases, which allows him to pass Clark off as doughy rather than svelt.

Artist-wise, Curt Swan or Alex Ross.

I am OK with the less-ripped Superman Ross draws, but truth be told I like the bodybuilder look (albiet a bodybuilder with Adonis-like proportions to match his Zeus-like triceps.)

I like some of Jim Lee's depictions. Kenneth Rocafort is one of my favorite artists on Superman; I like how handsome he makes Superman, like a 1950s catalogue model.

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I don't know if Hollywood tropes are any more original.

My favorite comic book films and cartoons are the ones that cleave very closely to the comics, both in storylines, character designs and general theme. X-Men TAS, Justice League Unlimited, and the like. Every time they deviate it ends up like a silly action movie with bad SyFy overtones, I'd rather have niche products over 'big budget' stuff, anyway. Blockbuster movies almost invariably suck if you're not a 12yo with ADD.

Yes, pretty much this. Superman indulges his powers and enjoys showing off, which he tries to avoid as Clark for social reasons (and because it's really too easy to impress people with his powers). He presents himself differently, but other than the legal separation of identity it's not that different from how people behave around their parents v. around their boyfriend.

Superman basically defies the laws of thermodynamics, so there's not really a way to gauge his power. I mean, physics sort of loses coherence without that, so mass/energy etc. cease to have meaning. To the extent that Superman makes any sense it's as something like antimass and a high temperature superconductor, which would mean he really can't be 'destroyed' in any conventional sense, because the harder you hit him the more he resists.

Superheroes violate the laws of physics in practice all the time, but Superman does so in principle. Superman feats are kind of like God/Boulder Lifting competition theology.