Something I don't understand

[james_davis_nicoll]

Why the change from having Jonathan Kent support Superman's career as a hero to opposing it?

Supergirl, as I recall, has always had someone trying to discourage her. In the old days it was Superman. And I cannot recall if the Danvers had any idea she was Supergirl; they may not have had the option to support or discourage her.

Not that comic book characters age in real time but if she was 16 in her first 1959 appearance, Supergirl would have become an adult at a very interesting time for women's rights in the US...

Comments

[sean o'hara (from livejournal.com)]

Nonetheless, the message of Superman, like all non-deconstructive superhero stories, is "Hooray for vigilantes! They can catch criminals that our law enforcement system can't handle," which has roots in white supremacy and ties to fascism. Superman's just a cleancut version of Dirty Harry.

[ian wright (from livejournal.com)]

No, that's a simplistic interpretation. Superman started by fighting the wealthy and powerful and getting into fights with the National Guard. Batman started at a time when minorities had even better reason to distrust the cops than they do now, and many city officials in New York were either flat-out racist and classist or openly corrupt. Captain America was a premature anti-fascist who punched Nazis back when a lot of Americans thought the Nazis had the right idea. These are progressive revolutionaries, not fascists.

[sean o'hara (from livejournal.com)]

Vigilantes are vigilantes even if they wear spiffy suits. The idea of extra-legal law enforcement to either reinforce impotent police or enforce societal rules beyond the bounds of actual laws is inherently fascist.

[ian wright (from livejournal.com)]

They weren't "extra-legal law enforcement". They were revolutionaries who attacked governors, cops, and the military. If striking back against the power structure of the day is inherently fascist, what does that make Idle No More or environmental protestors?

[keithmm.livejournal.com]

I'm sorry, but that is so out of touch with the origin of Superman that it's funny. The character was created by two leftish Jewish men. The first people he fought were corrupt businessmen and politicians.

[alexx-kay.livejournal.com]

I think much of this disagreement is confusion of tenses. One side is correct about what Superman WAS, when created. The other is (IMO) correct about what Superman IS, and has mostly been since the 1950s.