I don't like how people don't understand Batman & Superman

Batman is the shit

 

You are absolutely right.

But... I imagine you made this thread because of the underrated characters thread? I'm just wondering... Why didn't you post this there instead?

 

Batman has been my number 1 since I was like 5. I don't really like Superman, although I get what you're saying, my interpretation of him is he's a boy scout.

And that's the thing, we all read these characters differently and identify to them in different ways. You see Superman as constantly fighting with himself, I see him as overcompensating. We could argue about it, in the end we'd probably both be right and wrong in many ways. This is the beauty of literature (and comics are literature), it's about how you read the story. 1 story is 100 different stories to 100 different people.

 

Fair enough.

But, yeah, I did used to think Superman was boring for the reasons stated there. Until I watched Smallville, haha. Then I watched some of the animated series and animated movies and thought wow. He is actually pretty cool.

When I watched the 90s batman show, (long after the 90s, lol) I was surprised at how complex he was too, lol.

I barely read much of the comics... Actually I think the only Batman comic I read was Killing Joke. That was a very deep and psychological story. Loved it.

 

Superman can be somewhat boring, in comparison to the other members of the Justice League. This doesn't make him a bad character, to me, but for much of his life, he was overpowered and overrated. Not so much for what he could be, but what those handling the character made him out as.

The 90s were a good time for Superman, because he started to display a more humanistic aura. The 1990s Superman animated series really helped, as did the Justice League animated series, in really driving home the point: Superman only comes off as a boy scout, because he has the self-control not to give in, to his abundance of abilities. What people perceive as a goody-two-shoes, is actually a conflicted individual. That's part of what the character became. He's seen as squeaky clean and 'less cool', which only adds to the character, because if any of us had Superman's powers and were considered boring, or by the book, we probably wouldn't handle that too well. All that power, which we could so easily with, change the opinions of others.

Besides, Superman has one of the best moments, in any DC Universe medium, here:

[YOUTUBE]etPYl1OQoqk[/YOUTUBE]

 

I love batman, but I personally think that the hero in superman comic books is Lex Luther.

 

I think no one in other thread, including me said anything about Batman's personality. Just like Wolverine he became over-rated because of over exposure.

An example: New 52, Justice League International team is forming and those in charge put Batman into team for credibility... We learn on JLA: Origins Batman is hunted by GothamPD... what kind of credibility is that other than very open attempt to boost book sales by adding Batman? In DC Universe credibility = Superman, no matter what you think about the guy.

Also with over exposure comes ever increasing levels of power. Did you notice no one complained about probably most over exposed character in the history: Spider-man? Because no matter where Spidey is the Spidey we love.

Superman's struggle might come from his mental struggle or whatnot... thanks to John Byrne he is more reasonable now. Like I said if you had to invent a villain (without giving any reasonable explanation at the time) to kill a character which is more unbelieveable than the hero, yeah that character design is flawed. I am with you on Icon status. Whenever I see Superman in JLA or similar work I know everything will be alright.

Probably that negative status comes from how DC treated their super heroes... they are like over the top characters without any human touch... expect Batman and his family... including villains. In Marvel you feel every character is human so over exposure, adding new powers doesn't put them into over-rated cat... like Magneto, Spider-man or Hulk.

For me Silver Surfer is Marvel equelant of Superman. However he is usually handled by clever writing teams.

In comics writing is essential. Check Ultimate universe comics and see how writing can turn a good thing into a horrible nightmare. Cap kicking fallen enemies, hulk being horny, distacting hulk with nothing but boobs, Quicksilver banging the Witch, Blob eating Wasp, Magneto's human eating habit, Wolverine's attempt to bang MJ, a high school student in Peter's body... list goes on. Tho that was past over-rated and into over-disgusting for me.

 

i always thought it was more about the mental struggles then the actual fighting in the dc universe. Justice League Wars and Doom is a great example of that.

 

I feel like an unloyal fanboy when I say I absolutely loved Man of Steel. I felt like that movie portrayed Superman in such a raw and human way, and they did so much justice to the character (despite the backstory being completely off from the comics). @OP, I want to hug you right now. You really hit the nail on the head on this subject matter. The point of Superman isn't just to marvel (pun intended) at his kickass powers (although a lot of folks do), it's to show that even the best struggle with emotions and feelings, and that no one is invincible to that. It really shows why Superman and Batman are arguably the most popular superheroes of all time. They're still human, they still have feelings, theyre still vulnerable emotionally even though they aren't so much physically. We are able to empathize with them so much because they are so much like normal people.

 

I echo what The Virgo said. Batman is the shit. While it's awesome how much ass he kicks, that's not what makes Batman Batman. Plus, I have my fair share of psychological issues, which is probably why Batman is my favorite super hero. He's a character I can relate to. Like Batman, I don't see failure as an option, and I hide my issues underneath my perfect shell.

 

Never cared for comics, but only because it's a particular type of fantasy that doesn't appeal to me. Nobody could ever accuse either character of being childishly simple.

 

I think it's up to preference in the end, people tend to be drawn to characters they can relate with and for many of us Superman just isn't a very relateable character afterall he is an indestructible space alien and it's mostly his contrast against normal people and other heroes and villians that make him interesting. Batman comes off as more human and I think that's why he's probably the more popular of the 2. While I agree it's in the psychology and moral conflicts of these characters that the real value in them lies i still like to pick out the little aspects of them that don't make sense or just come off as unbelievable just for fun if nothing else. For example i never understood how batman is supposedly proficient in every form of martial arts known to man. I'm pretty sure it takes, like, a lifetime to achieve proficiency in 1 branch of martial arts but I guess he just taught himself everything in 2 years while living in a cave somewhere. Also in that time he taught himself criminology and forensics and became the worlds best detective because anyone can just do that with right motivation apparently. Also because hes batman