Top 5 Myths About Superman

#5: He's Always Been Super Likeable

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Superman, despite being an alien from a distant planet, has a whole lot of faith in humanity. And in many ways, he’s also a reflection of the very best of what humanity has to offer. Though it might come as surprise to many, he hasn’t always been such an upstanding citizen. In his early days of publication, he was written as being a much more aggressive, antagonistic and downright careless character. Like… when he destroyed a low-income area to “solve” petty crime at its root, or went on a car-wrecking rampage after a friend got hurt in a car accident. How about the time that he nearly got Batman killed by framing him for witchcraft?

#4: His Disguise is "Just a Pair of Glasses"

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Thankfully, Superman has outgrown much of the overly simplistic and short-sighted thinking that characterized his early comics. He kept the glasses though! While people often scoff at Clark Kent’s disguise and the absurdity of this being the only thing separating his face from Superman’s, research has actually proven that glasses do affect our ability to recognize a face. But that misses the more important point. His disguise isn’t just a pair of glasses, but rather the entire Clark Kent persona. His anonymity relies on the fact that, despite the facial similarities, people are incapable of associating the powerful Superman with such a mild-mannered, unremarkable journalist. It’s an interesting commentary on human perception, and actually… a kinda brilliant disguise.

Yes… Superman’s abilities mean that he can do the impossible. Add to that his unflinching moral compass (ignoring those messy early years), and you don’t just have an agent of change, but a potential bringer of world peace. Superman hasn’t failed to solve the world’s problems because of a failure to assert himself though. He’s a source of hope and a physical force, but hope and action can only do so much - he doesn’t have the power to change minds. Short of him seizing control of the world and becoming a dictator, his ability to change the world is actually pretty limited. For further proof, see “Superman: Peace on Earth”, or “Red Son”.

#2: He's the Strongest DC Character

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It’s easy to understand where this misconception comes from. Superman is a nearly invulnerable being who can catch bullets, fly and survive getting nuked. Really… where else is there left to go from there? Though Superman’s power level may seem unsurpassable, that is far from being true. Apart from Kryptonite, he’s also very vulnerable to magic, which kind of operates on a scale of its own in the DC universe. As such, numerous magic-based characters are arguably stronger, including Dr. Fate, The Spectre, Phantom Stranger, and of course, Shazam. Then you’ve got matter manipulating heroes like Captain Atom and Dr. Manhattan. Don’t even get us started on cosmic beings and gods in the DC universe. Superman is powerful, but not unparalleled.

#1: Superman Doesn’t Kill

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When Superman took Zod at his word and killed his fellow Kryptonian under threat that Zod would never stop his rampage, there were gasps heard in theaters around the world. Many fans took angrily took to social media, expressing feelings of betrayal that Superman had broken his cardinal rule and taken a life. We get where they were coming from - Superman, as a general rule… does not kill. But this wasn’t the first time he’d taken a life. Heck, it wasn’t even the first time he’d taken General Zod’s life! In 1988 he killed a depowered Zod and two cohorts via Kryptonite execution - it was an action that weighed heavily on him afterward, but one he took nonetheless.