Over the years, a lot of theories have been floated about superheroes, but one of the most polarizing is the one about which face is the TRUE face. Most of the time, this argument is about Batman (FYI: Bruce Wayne is the real face, Batman is the mask, but Bruce himself thinks differently), but it’s more interesting when applied to the character of Superman. Is the real hero Clark Kent, the nice young man from Kansas whose parents instilled in him a sense of justice and truth? Or Kal-El, the alien whose people now live only through his example? Or is Superman, the two-fisted embodiment of goodness and the prototypical superhero, the most important facet? It’s a hard question to answer, with no real wrong response, leading to today’s rocketed-from-a-dead-planet query…
The MS-QOTD (pronounced, as always, “misquoted”) is in the camp that says Clark is the driving force of his heroism, asking:: Which aspect is the REAL hero: Clark Kent, Kal-El or Superman?
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If we have to splinter his personality in some nature vs. nurture argument, I suppose I’ll go with Clark Kent. Without the alien heritage or sun-fueled super powers, Clark would still try to help his neighbors in their time of crisis. Without his Kent-fed upbringing of empathy and responsibility, those powers would easily be directed in less giving ways. As way too many ‘jerk versions’ (insert plug for today’s Top 10 list) revel in showing us.
Sooooo tired of jerk/evil/whatever Superman. I feel like there’s no real Superman anymore because everyone has to be Batman.
Wait ….. are you really asking which is the true god – the father , the son, or the holy ghost? Wow That’s gonna open a big can of worms.
Why can’t they all be “Real Heroes” , they are just different facets of the same personality. just as with most people we/they have a different face to put on in every situation we are in… It is rare to find a person that is the same at work as they are at home, at a restaurant, on a date, in the comic store, driving in heavy traffic….etc. but they are all real and just different facets of the whole. the combination of all those facets makes the “real hero”, and without any one part they would be a different person.
PS: Superman is the “real Hero” simply because he is the most ….hmmmm….. artificial of the three facets , and there is no such thing as a “Real” hero. He is an Icon rather than a real person….. real people can do heroic things but only an Icon can BE a “Hero”
I’d say Clark is the real hero, the humble farm kid who was raised by Ma and Pa Kent to be a good boy who should always do the right thing. Even if he were just a normal human man, Jonathan and Martha’s biological son, he’d still have that same core of goodness and helpfulness.
Maybe he still would’ve become a reporter, maybe he never would’ve left Smallville and just gotten a job at the gas station down on Main, but he would’ve stayed a nice guy who’s always willing to help. The DC Universe just lucked out that Clark also had superpowers.
Clark is the hero, Superman powers enable him to be the kind of hero he is. Its what writers always miss in their ableist, ubermensch power fantasies, Superman is human and hero because he was raised to be empathetic and kind person by the Kents.