Powers & Physics. One of the biggest problems with many writers is that they don’t research enough Science to make it believable and thus create tension. For example, if a bad guy attacks a commercial airplane from the outside and a few stewardess are blown outside, Superman needs to re-seal the pressure on the cockpit, so his super-breath could do that. But the fallen stewardess need rescue, however the human body can only withstand so much pressure from G-force that Superman would have to bring them inside the plane rather than accelerated downwards to the ground landing each to safety. Superman can fly fast, but at some point human ribcages collapse if we fly too fast. Then, if he wants to steer the damaged plane, he can’t just lift or push into it because his power would just puncture the haul because the energy would be distributed only to the point of pressure. Steering could be a major problem, the wings could cause the plane to nose dive or spin out of control; he could remove the wings but risks further maneuverability issues. One way to ’safely’ land, is to remove the combustible airplane wings that often house the fuel, then below 10,000 where the oxygen is more prominent he could create an ice cocoon from his super-breath to create a protective structure for an emergency landing; he could even add more ice at the bottom-center to make it more manageable.
Personality. As a legal-Alien myself, I can tell you I can identify myself to Superman, but not sure many people want to. He’s an Alien, rural-farmer country folk, and a nerdy reporter uncomfortable in the big city. That doesn’t appeal to the spoiled bitchy selfish ironic pop-culture savvy characters that seems to be the standard of cool to many hard-core nerds, it seems any deviation of this is too much work for the reader and therefore lame; which is no surprise most act like this regardless of coming off immature. Superman needs more observational narrative the way Rorschach had in Watchmen (only observational narrative - not the tone, violence, or messed up views), Inner Thought Bubbles can leads us into the mind of Superman. “Why do the fat humans order non-fat lattes but keep gaining weight?” or “This hotdog meat, I saw it running on the subway last Monday along with it’s fellow rodents” or “why is that nerd wearing a superman shirt yet he contradicts the logo by being a homophobe troll online?” or “this city smells like pee, but no one suggests more public bathrooms”. Yes for the most part he is a do-gooder, but that hasn’t stopped our Troops from conveying interesting stories, nor our local police or fire-fighters and coming off relatable. And the best time I’ve spent talking to all these three groups come from their everyday observations. So a man who can fly and see through walls, would have some pretty damn good stories to tell.
The Journalist. You know how all that news stuff thingie is like totally boring, lame, and like omg annoying? Actually no. Maybe to someone who lives in a bubble, any news from outside said bubble is a downer. But with Wiki-Leaks, the Arab spring, the collapse of printed papers in the developed world, and the newfound liberation of the internet in 3rd world countries…there has never been a better time to be a journalist in a fictionalized manner. 45 killed and 35 missing journalists in Mexico alone last year, 140 since 2003 in Iraq, and that’s just two places to write about. This is the brilliant part of Superman, it’s creators made him a Reporter for a reason, to divulge the injustice of the age and to make kids aware of it. Concealing said evil results in a man-child society that seldom feels worth, and asks why the terrorist hate us without ever giving a damn outside of their pop-culture bubble. How can we demand Superman to be realistic and relatable if we shy away from the real gritty reports Journalist Clark Kent might give us?
Enemies. Superman can just beat anybody right? Sure, just like we can put a bullet into the skull of every person we don’t like, but that doesn’t make it right or solves all problems. In the classic Novel (Movie) Star Ship Troopers we’re given a glimpse into a pseudo-fascist regime thinking violence and superiority being better for solving problems -“force my friends is violence. The supreme authority from which all other authorities are derived”. The book is mocking this, just like 1984 mocked the concept of Big-Brother. Superman was created against this view that physical superiority expressed in violence automatically makes the individual a better person. Superman can prevent a suicidal bomber from going off, but he can’t stop the hate. He can prevent Lex from his plans, but without proof no court system will jail Luthor. He can destroy Brainiac, but is unable to stop us humans from wiping out species that we’ve made extinct and are only viewable on the internet. Superman has the great villains, the problem is, many writers can’t attach a villain to a great concept and execute it properly because they have to dumb down the stories; which results in fan-favorite brawls. I grew up with the Columbine Generation, so being a nerd and somewhat being picked on, I was disgusted that those two would shoot up a school out of frustration. Superman is a nerd like us, and yeah he could punch out a guy into the sky as we can shoot anyone, but the point is being better than using violence to overcome problems.
Iconography. When Grant Morrison showcased All-Star Superman, he was able to showcase an Icon with groundbreaking ability as a writer, he showed the why of Superman. Everyday writers need to take the Icon and use it for social commentary. For instance, with the salary of a Journalist Clark Kent would live in a crappy apartment. Sure, that is obvious. But what if instead he broke into Condominiums, Lofts, Luxury Townhouses when their yuppie or wealthy elite owners were away on business? It’s not like he’d steal anything, he’d just use the bed to sleep, the bathroom to brush his teeth, etc. With his Super-Man abilities, he could listen into conversations and figure out a schedule to be able to live comfortably in the 1% houses within Metropolis, a sort of Robin Hood nod to the Social Crusader origins of Superman. The story could get out, and the Media might try to make Superman a bad guy, but the support of the people might give them an excuse to place a red piece of cloth outside their Metropolis run down blue-collar apartment when the 99%ers not using it so Superman can crash at said place when the owners are away. No one would rob your place if you did that in Metropolis, they might think “oh man, Superman might be there”. And for little kids reading this in the real world everywhere, leaving a red cloth hanging from their window could be like leaving Santa Cookies on Christmas. For us adult readers, it’s like, Superman can live with us, we welcome him because he is one of us.
that last paragraph of yours is something Dc writers need to think about great idea
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