IS SUPERMAN STILL RELEVANT?

HENRY CAVILL AS SUPERMAN


"Is Superman still cool?" That's the question that Chris Connelly posed to Henry Cavill in an interview on Nightline last week. I'll get to Cavill's answer later but that question got me thinking and over the last 60 years or so how Superman has lost his "cool' factor to the general public.





From 1950-1983, when George Reeves and Christopher Reeve portrayed the character the cool thing was that Superman had powers that everybody wanted like invulnerability, flight, and superspeed. Also as a country the United States felt as if we were the best country in the world especially after our victory in World War Two.



Now with more restive and charismatic heroes like Batman and Iron Man that do amazing things but have decidedly human traits, audiences think of Superman as a hero who represents an ideal that has long since faded. This is also due to a change in the way Americans see this country as the American dream is getting harder to attain because of crooked politicians and a slumping economy.

Even as a longtime Superman fan sometimes I find it hard to relate to him. There are days  I'd rather be rich and charismatic like Tony Stark than be the ultimate good guy like Clark Kent.

"Man of Steel" will attempt to update Superman for a new audience but there's only so much you can do. You won't see Superman have a drink like Wolverine or take a beautiful woman to bed like Tony Stark does. That's just not Superman. These are the traits that people love in these characters and what have elevated them above Superman.

"Man of Steel" will make millions of dollars because people will be curious about the changes that Christopher Nolan and Zack Snyder have made to the character. A different suit, A slight change on his origin story, and emotional conflict will hopefully be enough to draw audiences in and keep them.

Back to the original question that started this article that Chris Connelly posed to Henry Cavill, "Is Superman still cool?" Cavill's response, "Superman's about doing good, what's not cool about that?"

I think the question is not whether Superman is cool. I think the question will be: Is Superman relevant? We'll find out how relevant he is after June 14th.

If you like this article let me know @SEMSCORPIO.

Class Dismissed,
The Professor