American superheroes and action figures follow a distinct history and background to their origin and existence. Also, that background is chosen to be American in nature, and mostly the work and actions of that chosen superhero revolve around an American backdrop. Superman is an age-old superhero who has gained immense popularity amongst the American as well as worldwide audience due to his saving-the-world way of life, and the various stories that circulate in his life are in one way or the other pertinent to American culture and lifestyle. Different critics have responded to the existence of Superman differently. For example, Engle believes that Superman is the perfect manifestation of the American immigrant and orphan, and his life is a depiction of the trials and tribulations that any particular American might go through. On the other hand, there is Waid, who believes that it is a false perception that Superman manifests in himself, and he is an alien, who doesn’t belong on the American land. (Motes). However, regarding all that Superman does and the metaphorical depiction of his existence in America, I believe that Superman is in fact very American and a cultural icon of the American life and history. Raised as a loyal patriot by farmers in Kansas, he is shown an immigrant and orphan who is a supporter of humanity and provides justice to every American. He lives as a normal human being while he is a superhero when people need his help. His changing avatar is only for the good of his people. It would be incorrect to denote him as ‘un-American.’ There are various reasons that support my proposition in this respect.
If one takes a look at the origin of superman and how he came into being, it can be seen that he arrives from the planet Krypton onto Earth and specifically lands in America. Moments before his planet is about to be destroyed; his scientist father rockets him onto Earth where he is to stay for a long time after he begins his new life. (SuperHeroStuff). The story begins where Superman is discovered and taken in by a Kansas farmer and his wife who adopt him and plan to raise him as their own child. They rename him Clark Kent. (SuperHeroStuff). However making him live among humans and given a human name does not take away what he originally possesses after he comes from a foreign land. Superman is imbued with superhuman abilities and capabilities, and he is virtually different from everyone else around him. His strong moral sense is also a feature he possesses out of his superhuman abilities. (SuperHeroStuff). Superman is destined to do good for the better of the world and for that he is determined and strong, in spite of being sent to live on another planet amongst people he is not familiar with. (SuperHeroStuff).
What typically surrounds Superman are several features that typify him as the American superhero. He has an archenemy named Lex Luthor, and he also has a love interest named Lois Lane. (SuperHeroStuff). He has a rough and belligerent personality. He is against any kind of atrocity, violence, terrorism and injustice. Seen throughout his life and experiences, Superman is seen battling men in lynch mobs, gangsters, thieves, crooks, wife beaters and women harassers, profiteers and any other people who are a threat to the American society and its well-being. (SuperHeroStuff). He is furthermore a superhero, so he is unaware of the harm his own strength might be causing to other human beings. He causes fatalities and deaths of the villains he knows are a threat to the security and comfort of the society, and he never regrets killing them either. (SuperHeroStuff).
Coming from a family of farmers who adopted him, Superman is raised with good morals and a strong character. In the very earliest of versions of the hero’s life, he is shown fighting against the government so that he can help the poor in the society. But then, he also helps the police who are busy serving the people of the society he lives in. (SuperHeroStuff).
As far as the Americanism in Superman is concerned, it is vivid from many facts and representations of his character. America is a land of the immigrants. It is known to be the home of the Pilgrims, who landed in the State of Massachusetts in the year 1620, who came to the land seeking spiritual and material freedom for themselves. (Chambon-Pernet). Therefore, the earliest versions of the perception of America by the world and those of Americans themselves is people who live in peace and freedom, free from any kind of atrocity and threat. (Chambon-Pernet). Their lives are free, and their actions are free, and they can choose to belong to any place they want, without any kind of interference or fear.
The painters and writers of the time depicted America as a land where anything was possible, and it was considered a virgin land where the soil had to begin its course of fertilizing the inhabitants from a fresh start. (Chambon-Pernet). This strong symbolic representation of America had to do with the mindset of the people who came to America that it was a land of pure freedom and that strength and power of being free belonged to the people of America. (Chambon-Pernet).
Another aspect was that of immigration. (Chambon-Pernet). Superman relates to the American society and land because of his status as an immigrant. America had been a land of the immigrants since no one inhabited this area before they came and the perception of all coming to America is that of an immigrant and a traveler. (Chambon-Pernet). Therefore, it is not new knowledge that Americans have embraced the idea that their land is full of people coming in from nearby inhabited areas and that America is a country that is open to accepting and warmly welcoming anyone who wished to live there as a means of their comfort and security provided by this very land. (Chambon-Pernet). Being American means that a person should accept others who come from different lands and accept them as their own and to mark themselves as immigrants settling in this country. (Chambon-Pernet ).
Moreover, as Engle remarks, being physically dislocated and socially at a no-where point is a psychological and social movement in America, and it is nothing new for the average American. (Engle). The entire concept of American freedom and sustainability is to move away from one’s past and to step into the world of competition and struggle for survival. (Engle). In this case, the orphans are not left behind, and they cannot stand there waiting around for help, rather they are under the obligation to step forward and make their own way in the world. In the same way, Superman is the image of the American from the inside, strong resilient and bold, as compared to his worldly alter-ego Clark Kent, who is physically weak and not as resilient as his own, real self, Superman.(Engle).
Another aspect that relates to being American is that of being an orphan. (Engle). Not universally true of Americans but American literature and stories, fictional and non-fictional all relate to the hero being an orphan. Coming to a free land after running away from disaster, getting lost on the way from another land or losing one’s parents to a calamity or accident is one way or another that Americans are shown to be strong, resilient and being able to survive all by themselves in America. There are many modern Americans as well who are doing fine on their own. (Engle).
They have sustained themselves in foster homes and lived alone all their lives while earning a living and being safe at the same time as well. (Engle). They have faced a hard time, but they have resurfaced and begun lives anew. This can be said truly of Superman because he too, is sent by his real parents on Earth where he lives as an orphan until he is adopted by the farmers. (Engle). Even though it is never the same to not have ones, real parents, around, Superman still survives because it is America that gives him the strength to live the way wishes and he are able to cope with his surroundings in spite of his peculiar features from the rest of humanity. (Engle).
Being orphaned is nothing new for the American neither is it considered a tragedy. (Truitt). Huck Finn is a character of much importance in American literature, and he too survives with the same resilient sense of judgment and survival that Superman has, expect for the fact that Huck is a normal human while Superman is superhuman in nature. (Truitt). This, however, does not change the fact that the true American is represented in the form of the freedom-craving Hick Finn and the freedom-supportive Superman. (Truitt). The typical American is a freedom enthusiast, and he will do anything to reclaim and spread freedom and in the light of this very statement, Superman’s life is a statute of freedom and providing freedom to the oppressed and needy. (Truitt).
The myth of Superman being un-American has a lot to do with his alien existence. (Elfring). It is true, as far as the argument goes in the favor of this point, that Superman was indeed an alien who had to land on Earth because of an accident and were it not for the explosion of the planet Krypton, he would have never landed on Earth. (Elfring). Thus, his existence here is a mere coincidence, and he is here only because of a lucky chance. As far as saving the world goes, he does so only because he is obliged by his parents, who are farmers and they take him in, in his time of need. (Elfring). It could be said that whatever he about morality and justice, is from the people of the Earth and the love for America is what his parents teach him. Thus, to quote him as the ‘quintessentially American’ is a fallacy.
On the other hand, what should be seen is the origin that is given to him. Even though he is an alien, he is still living on Earth as a normal human being. He has feelings, emotions, instinctive sense, and he loves those who are good to him. He has a good moral understanding, and he is respectful of the country he lives in. His sense of defense for America is just as deeply rooted as any other normal American living in the country since their birth and feels deeply for the welfare and protection of their nation.
Moreover, what makes him even more American is that fact that he lands amongst farmers. (SuperHeroStuff). Farming is one of the most primitive activities taken up by Americans as soon as the landed in America and ever since then, farmers have always cast a particular image regarding the American icon. (SuperHeroStuff). American farmers in their typical attire, love for the country and patriotic zeal and hard work have greatly impacted the way people look at America, and it is true that to a large extent, that is the image that Americans have portrayed to the world. Superman becomes a typical American because he does the same and he is dropped off in Kansas, a typical American State where he is raised by typical American farmers and parents who treat him like their American child. (Engle).
Furthermore, the American media is an important part of the American culture because reporting and journalism make an important aspect of the typical American. Hence, instead of becoming anything else, Superman aka Clark Kent becomes a reporter and later a TV newsman and nothing is strange to him. (Engle).He is a superhero but that forms another part of his personality, and he does that too in the spirit of his Americanism. (Engle). Saving others, spreading justice, being generous and working hard are just some of the other stereotypes that revolve around Americans. (Engle). If this is looked at from a present-day perspective, Superman would help the immigrants from the Middle East settle in America or perhaps provide a place for them because he is himself an immigrant and realizes the plea of these people. He would also ensure that they follow the law of the country, like he does and that the country reciprocates to their demands. So overall, he might create a peaceful and friendly environment for earth.
Conclusively, the myth is proven true that Superman is indeed the typical American figurehead that displays all the important features and traits of the typical American. His is an immigrant, an orphan and he is chosen to live with farmers in Kansas. He is raised to be a loyal, a patriot and a savior of humanity. He loves to provide justice and to help the ones who need his help, and he is always present at the time when someone is being oppressed and forced into submission. He also lives as a normal, journalist when he is not saving the day, and that makes him nothing less than an average American.
Work Cited
Chambon-Pernet, Mirelle. The cultural perception of the American land- a short history.
Cle.ens. 2012. Web. 4 April 2016.
Elfring, Mat. Is Superman ‘Un-American?’ ComicVine. 2011. Web. 4 April 2016.
Engle, Gary. What makes Superman so darned American? 2011. Web. 4 April 2016.
Motes, Jason. Mark Waid addresses his negative reaction to ‘Man of Steel.’ Science Fiction.
2014. Web. 4 April 2016.
SuperHeroStuff. Superman Biography and Superman Facts. N.d Web. 4 April 2016.
Truitt, Brian. Why Superman is the greatest American hero. USA TODAY. 2013. Web. 4 April,
2016.
