Something I've found really interesting about this story is some of the self-reflection that Superman undertakes as he's facing the Hollow Men. In an earlier part of the story, he is caught in their energies, which start to siphon off not only his physical colour, but also "all hope. The very emotion that has fueled his entire life." For Superman, there is something strangely alluring to this idea, that the very thing that makes him who he is can be taken away. Clark becomes fascinated by the idea, and curious as to how well his conviction, his super-conviction, perhaps, could stand up to this draining. He even puts himself at their mercy, banking on the idea that his hope is stronger than their homogenizing.
I often hear people coming down on Superman because he's just so powerful. How can anything defeat him when he is pretty much a secular Saviour figure, unbeatable and immortal? My answer never changes. It's not about what he can do, but what he chooses to do. Or not to do. It's about getting inside the head of this powerful creature who is also very simple a good person, and about his struggles with what he should do to follow his creed, and what he shouldn't, in order to keep from becoming, in a very real sense, an incarnated god. In today's issue, he sees the power of the Hollow Men as a way of testing his convictions. Perhaps this is the greatest part of the Superman story. Not how hard he can hit, or how fast he can fly, but how strong his convictions are. And, even more interestingly, Clark's own questioning of those convictions.
Told you this was a great run of Superman comics.
"Even in death, he never felt such emptiness...He can't go on like this...not with so many lingering questions..."
No comments:
Post a Comment