:: Captain's Personal Blog ::

Stardate: Monday, November 22, 2004

RANT NUMBER 2

OK, so I finished reading BIRTHRIGHT, and read the presentation which MARK WAID made to DC COMICS regarding the project. I can’t even put into words how distressing I found it, probably because it cuts to the very heart of what I disagree with when it comes to that huge SUPERMAN site (for further details, see my last post.)

One of the things which Waid cites as being fundamental about the character is that he is constantly asking himself “am I a human or a Kryptonian?” In addition, he constantly makes allusions to the Kryptonian flag (in this case the red and yellow S on the blue banner) to be as if Kal-El is wearing tribal colors.

This kinda urks me. The simple fact of the matter is that SUPERMAN fans have long felt that he should represent the ideal. The one thing that we should all strive for. In this case, I feel like we’ve SORELY missed the boat on that one.

The all-important question of “am I human or am I Kryptonian” should be moot. The simple fact of the matter is that he is neither. What he is is a MAN.

Let’s be clear on a bit of history here. I don’t care who you are. If you are 24 years old, and for those 24 years you were raised as CLARK KENT, you’re not going to be all that willing and ready to dump all that so you can be KAL-EL. Sure, you will learn all that you can about who KAL-EL was and what his culture was like, but odds are you’re going to still think of yourself as Clark. “Clark Kent” is not his ‘slave name’ or anything. It’s simply who he was raised to be. In Waid’s version of the origin, Kal-El was not old enough to really know what it meant to be Kryptonian. If he did, he’d remember a lot more than Clark seems to about it.

I see no problem is wanting to pay tribute to your heritage. My real qualm with the “tribal colors” issue can be found in my previous post regarding the reduced significance of the S. And just because Waid takes two sentences at the end of BIRTHRIGHT to say that the S will have all sorts of symbolic meaning, doesn’t make it so to everyone. Besides, didn’t it have a meaning of terror through a lot of that story? For a lot of people, it would be like asking them to change, in their minds, the significance of the swastika to a meaning of hope. Some things can not be erased, no matter how hard you try. And for every person who realizes that the Kryptonian invasion was all concocted by Lex Luthor, there are at least as many who say, ‘well, that may be the case now, but how do we know it still won’t happen?’

Back to the issue at hand, though. The ideal is not to constantly find ways to categorize eachother that make us different from other people. The simple fact of the matter is that we are all living things, and that is the most important fact of all. An ideal SUPERMAN would not say, “I am a Kryptonian, earth man!” He would say, “I am a man, just like you.” He would not attempt tirelessly to find a place to fit in, simply because he DOES fit it. He is a person, like any one of us. If he feels the need to recognize that he is indeed Kryptonian, fine. If he feels the need to explore that part of his culture, fine. He should NEVER allow that to define who he is. He can use the teachings of Krypton to inform who he is, but never decide who he is.

To me, the only reason why Clark would want to abandon thinking as a human was if he was dissatisfied with what that has meant to him. If you’d like to cite that he is unhappy because he has had to hide his powers and that he wouldn’t have to if he was surrounded by Kryptonians, you’d be mistaken. Under those circumstances, he would be as a human among humans. Placed in the same circumstances, they might be no less understanding or fearful.

Let’s not forget that Kryptonian society wasn’t quite idyllic either. Lest we forget the Phantom Zone? And what of the arrogance of the council which decided that the planet wasn’t going to be destroyed. This was not an idyllic society. Possibly by human standards it was close, but again, it looks, at first glance, to have the same frailties and problems that our society has. So to embrace that one over ours, seems to be a bit of faulty thinking.

The fact of the matter is that not being RAISED as a Kryptonian, he can never truly be Kryptonian. And not actually being a human, he can’t actually be one of us either (unless you want to get wacky and count Gold Kryptonite.) Simply, he can never be either, and is therefore what we all want to be. A man. Simply a man, who lives his life as the best of any of us. Better than any Kryptonian, better than any human. He has these great gifts that no Kryptonian has had, and he uses them for the betterment of humanity.

He was raised with HUMAN morals, by HUMAN parents, and ultimately has the knowledge of KRYPTONIAN society. He is the best melding of the two. He is a hero. He does not ask “am I Kryptonian or am I human?” because he knows in his heart that he is one of us. He is a man. A living being like any of us, who is just trying to do his best for everyone else. He has his home. He has his parents. He has his friends.

FOOTNOTE: Let me say this again – It is very important where you came from, and to never forget it. But you should never let it rule who you are, only inform you who are. You are ultimately left to make the choice of how you lead your life based on that. If you came from a long line of tyrannical kings, you should not automatically decide that that is what you want to be. You should look at that rich history and lineage and decide what you want to do from there. Let that information inform who you are going to be, without being the only factor. If you come from a long line of wealthy philanthropists, it does not stand that you will automatically be one, no matter what environment you grow up in. If you come from a poor family, it does not follow that you will automatically either be poor, or wise with money. However, every decision that you make going forward will be made with some small consideration to your past. It is inevitable.

:: J 11:32 AM [+] ::
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