# The Thing about the character Superman is **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** movies\ **Created:** [February 28, 2025, 5:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-thing-about-the-character-superman-is/1014932 "2025-02-28T17:18:05Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2025, 10:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-thing-about-the-character-superman-is/1014932/61 "2025-03-22T22:12:24Z")
That’s literally what I was saying. ---
**Author:** ![digs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/digs/32/14889_2.png) [@digs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/digs)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2025, 11:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-thing-about-the-character-superman-is/1014932/62 "2025-03-22T23:10:30Z")
> [@hogarth](#): > > I was a kid in the early '80s and I don’t want the comic book Superman from back then. Ah, yes, the “awkward middle years”… I just organized all my comics and discovered that over half of them were Supey. BUT they were from the early days where he was up against mobsters and mad scientists (and he needed to strategize; the fact that he could slap a mountain into dust didn’t help). Or they were recent, where clever writers were using clever plotting and character studies to investigate what it’s like to be a “resident alien” who’s trying to understand his past and fit in with humans… while getting their cats out of trees. ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2025, 12:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-thing-about-the-character-superman-is/1014932/63 "2025-03-23T00:08:45Z")
Superman, to me, has always felt a lot like Mickey Mouse - he works better as an icon than as a character. Like Mickey, I respect what he symbolizes, but I’d much rather watch a Donald Duck cartoon (with Donald Duck, in this case, representing Batman). ---
**Author:** ![markn\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f9ae1b/32.png) [@markn\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/markn_1)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2025, 5:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-thing-about-the-character-superman-is/1014932/64 "2025-03-23T05:29:14Z")
Oh, if we’re recasting, I’ll vote for Bugs Bunny as The Joker. ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2025, 9:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-thing-about-the-character-superman-is/1014932/65 "2025-03-23T09:46:25Z")
No, Bugs Bunny is Spider-Man. Corporate ownerships aside, Disney is to Loony Tunes as DC is to Marvel. Bugs Bunny is the Spider-Man of Loony Tunes, meaning both the most iconic character and the most popular one. ---
**Author:** ![Love\_Rhombus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/love_rhombus/32/10694_2.png) [@Love\_Rhombus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Love_Rhombus)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2025, 2:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-thing-about-the-character-superman-is/1014932/66 "2025-03-23T14:34:23Z")
So, you want Superman to be a dick? There’s a website for that, of course. ---
**Author:** ![Cartooniverse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cartooniverse/32/3084_2.png) [@Cartooniverse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cartooniverse)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2025, 1:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-thing-about-the-character-superman-is/1014932/67 "2025-03-27T01:25:20Z")
> [@Miller](#): > > That’s literally what I was saying. Then why didn’t you say so? 😛 ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2025, 6:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-thing-about-the-character-superman-is/1014932/68 "2025-03-27T06:37:32Z")
> [@Alessan](#): > > . Like Mickey, I respect what he symbolizes, but I’d much rather watch a Donald Duck cartoon Gonna have to disagree. Mickey-starring cartoons are awesome, Donald works better as a sidekick or companion (or antagonist, as to the Chipmunks). ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2025, 12:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-thing-about-the-character-superman-is/1014932/69 "2025-03-27T12:52:14Z")
Pretty sure Superdickery is defunct. ---
**Author:** ![Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/elmer_j.fudd/32/1211_2.png) [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elmer_J.Fudd)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2025, 12:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-thing-about-the-character-superman-is/1014932/70 "2025-03-27T12:52:28Z")
> [@MrDibble](#): > > Donald works better as a sidekick or companion (or antagonist, as to the Chipmunks). There’s nothing funny about an incompetent cartoon antagonist with a speech impediment. ---
**Author:** ![Jasmine](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jasmine/32/2964_2.png) [@Jasmine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jasmine)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2025, 1:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-thing-about-the-character-superman-is/1014932/71 "2025-03-27T13:04:25Z")
> [@Cartooniverse](#): > > …is that he still needs to be relatable to humans to be a success on screen. I’ve always felt that what makes him relatable is his desire to protect the innocent and do good. They say the movie “Black Adam” wasn’t well received in many quarters. Perhaps the underlying reason is that the character showed in no uncertain terms that he didn’t give a damn about people or their problems. ---
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2025, 1:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-thing-about-the-character-superman-is/1014932/72 "2025-03-27T13:07:42Z")
Last night my wife told me a charming idea: do sheep see sheepdogs as Clark Kent? Like, a sheepdog is shaggy and four-legged and trots around doing the same things as them most of the time. But when the herd is threatened, suddenly the sheepdog springs into action, revealing powers that a sheep can only dream of, powers used in the protection of the herd. It’s a great idea, I told her, but it suggests that Clark Kent, given the opportunity, will happily sup on human flesh and gnaw human bones. I don’t think I’ll see Superman the same way again. ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2025, 1:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-thing-about-the-character-superman-is/1014932/73 "2025-03-27T13:09:45Z")
Personally, I find it hiwawious. But seriously, _does_ Donald have an actual speech impediment? I know it _resembles_ buccal speech, but the creator of the voice has said that’s not how it’s done. ---
**Author:** ![Love\_Rhombus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/love_rhombus/32/10694_2.png) [@Love\_Rhombus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Love_Rhombus)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2025, 1:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-thing-about-the-character-superman-is/1014932/74 "2025-03-27T13:21:36Z")
> [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](#): > > Last night my wife told me a charming idea: do sheep see sheepdogs as Clark Kent? Like, a sheepdog is shaggy and four-legged and trots around doing the same things as them most of the time. But when the herd is threatened, suddenly the sheepdog springs into action, revealing powers that a sheep can only dream of, powers used in the protection of the herd. > > It’s a great idea, I told her, but it suggests that Clark Kent, given the opportunity, will happily sup on human flesh and gnaw human bones. > > I don’t think I’ll see Superman the same way again. Now I have the short “Lambert The Sheepish Lion” in my head. ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2025, 5:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-thing-about-the-character-superman-is/1014932/75 "2025-03-27T17:19:57Z")
> [@MrDibble](#): > > Gonna have to disagree. Mickey-starring cartoons are awesome, Donald works better as a sidekick or companion (or antagonist, as to the Chipmunks). Chip and Dale? Donald singing the Christmas song with Alvin would be pretty cool, though. ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2025, 5:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-thing-about-the-character-superman-is/1014932/76 "2025-03-27T17:21:17Z")
> [@Voyager](#): > > Chip and Dale? Yes, those chipmunks. > **[Chip an' Dale](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chip_an%27_Dale)** > > Chip an' Dale is a 1947 animated short film produced in Technicolor by Walt Disney Productions and released to theaters by RKO Radio Pictures. The film depicts Donald Duck's first encounter with the two chipmunks Chip 'n' Dale when he unknowingly chops down their tree for firewood. The title of the film is the first appearance of the names of the two chipmunk characters who previously appeared without names in Private Pluto (1943) and Squatter's Rights (1946). The film Chip an' Dale is also th... ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2025, 5:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-thing-about-the-character-superman-is/1014932/77 "2025-03-27T17:58:55Z")
I think sheep are more likely to interpret a dog, any dog, as a wolf. When the dog herds them all into a corral, what the sheep are doing is trying to get away. ---
**Author:** ![Tzigone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/839c29/32.png) [@Tzigone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tzigone)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2025, 6:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-thing-about-the-character-superman-is/1014932/78 "2025-03-27T18:38:13Z")
I’d like to see an _optimistic_ Superman movie (and character) again. To see him do good things and save the world (or at least a small chunk of it) and have an un-mixed happy ending. I don’t care about realism - I want good heroes that have flat-out victories. And, please, please, no more Space-Jesus. So much comes from the first movie (I think) and I didn’t mind it when I saw it, but am so tired of the repetition. Kal-El was sent away to save him, not to save earth or humans. And I’m also really tired of how the farm-boy thing has been transformed into the “rural/smalltown people are more moral people than city people and Superman having those values is what makes him better” which has been used too often since then. I’m not really all that optimistic given the bloodied Superman opening shot and the Superman flags and the like. But maybe it’ll play out well. Here’s hoping. ---
**Author:** ![Cartooniverse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cartooniverse/32/3084_2.png) [@Cartooniverse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cartooniverse)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2025, 7:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-thing-about-the-character-superman-is/1014932/79 "2025-03-27T19:50:58Z")
May I just say that your wife rocks. ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2025, 8:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-thing-about-the-character-superman-is/1014932/80 "2025-03-27T20:07:55Z")
> [@Tzigone](#): > > And, please, please, no more Space-Jesus. Superman isn’t a Space-Jesus, he’s Space-Moses. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-thing-about-the-character-superman-is/1014932.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-thing-about-the-character-superman-is/1014932.md?page=5)