 Superman is one of the most iconic characters of all time, since his inception in the 1930s he has existed in many different forms, on the page, on television, and of course on the big screen. I don't think that there is a definitive example of Superman. At this point his character represents something bigger than any specific incarnation of the hero. In his article titled The Philosophy of Superman, AC Grayling writes, America is an earnest need of a savior, for everything from the minor inconveniences to the major horrors of world catastrophe, and here he is, the down home, clean cut boy in the blue tights and the red cape. And I think we can spend all day discussing and debating what Superman stands for, but today I want to focus on why it can be difficult for writing a character like Superman. The first thing that I want to stress is that I don't think that Superman is a bad character, quite the opposite in fact. He has a strong set of morals that he sticks to no matter what, and is willing to do anything to ensure that his code isn't broken. I want to begin by looking at the central conflict of Superman, not within a specific narrative, but instead the overarching conflict that the character must face. This is something that is found within every well-written character. For example in the Lord of the Rings trilogy, the narrative central conflict is everyone trying to destroy the ring or rid the world of evil, but each character also must face an internal struggle. The hero chooses to sacrifice his own well-being for the betterment of all of Middle-earth, while Aragorn needs to accept the responsibility of King. Superman doesn't have a central conflict, or at least not one that can be tested easily. He's a savior of the people of Earth and always does his best to do as much good as possible. There is no moral ambiguity, nothing to question, so the most common way that writers are able to get around this is through making his character fail, putting him in a situation to make a choice. Much is the case in Richard Donner's 1978 Superman. Clark Kent is haunted by his inability to save his father. All those powers, I couldn't even save him. His central conflict is that he can do incredible feats, but he can't do everything. This reemerges at the end of the film, he's able to save the town, but unable to save Lois, he can only do so much. The inherent problem with this is that he fails. It isn't a good way to end the story, and yes, in this case the writers were able to pull themselves out of that corner. But turning back time isn't a good plot device that can be used again and again. In order to have a good story there needs to be conflict, and Superman is able to eliminate that conflict before it even begins. But the problems don't stop there, and to illustrate the next point I want to look to Sid Field's four essential qualities that every good character needs. A dramatic need, a point of view, an attitude, and finally to change. The first three can be easily found within the character, in fact they're his defining traits. But the fourth element is what I view as the most important aspect. How does our character change from the beginning of the story to the end? Superman never changes. His morals never waver. He starts out in the story in one position and ends it in the same exact one. This isn't a problem exclusive to Superman, it's one that plagued the Matrix sequels. Superman has no room for growth as a child who is raised with a proper set of morals. He has everything right, unfortunately this creates an inherent problem with storytelling. With no room for personal growth, the harder it becomes to relate to and care for him as a character. Yet another problem exists when creating an antagonist force that is strong enough to rival him. He is all-powerful, stronger than any human could ever hope to be. The people he faces need to find a way to put him in a position where he can't save everyone. Meanwhile, the writers need to find a way for him to be able to do just that. The most compelling villains he faces are the ones that outthink him. Those who understand his moral beliefs and challenge them. Hours of watching indestructible figures fly around beating one another up doesn't work when we know that they actually can't die. His struggle is a moral one, not at all a physical one, so the writers and directors need to find a way to show off that moral struggle visually. Before writing begins, the writers are already back into a corner, but that doesn't mean there is no way out. With all these restrictions and limitations, I want to look at what I consider to be the best Superman story in a motion picture. Brad Bird's the Iron Giant. It isn't exactly a one-to-one retelling of the Superman story. Brad Bird and co-writer Tim McAnley's took certain elements of the story and reimagined others to create a near-perfect story. Much like Superman, the Iron Giant is about something that people cannot understand, something that we are afraid of. Despite that, it takes just one person to see the good in him. Hogarth teaches the Iron Giant the principles of morality, that there is right and there is wrong in the world, and everyone has the choice to be either. I want to examine three of the elements that help make this telling of the story successful. First of all is the scale. The film stays grounded, it focuses entirely on a small town, not some giant plot of world domination. Because of this, we know what the stakes are. We know the characters of the town, so when there is trouble, we actually care for it. In addition, the story is not seen through Superman's eyes. Our protagonist is Hogarth, not the Iron Giant, somebody who as a child has very little power and is extremely vulnerable. Despite that, he is determined to do good. When he does something dangerous, he is risking serious harm to himself, unlike Superman. It also is a much more relatable position to the audience, and just like the audience, Hogarth makes the choice to see the Iron Giant for what he truly is. He doesn't pass preconceived judgments, the Iron Giant is just as misunderstood as he is. He instead sees right from wrong. Finally, there is emotional growth from the Iron Giant. Early on, he is naive, almost childlike, but he has taught the importance of doing good in the face of adversity. Later in the film, his pre-programming takes over, and he unleashes his true nature, his violent side. But then, he realizes that he was wrong. The world doesn't need more violence, in fact, quite the opposite. He chooses to be good. He chooses to be Superman. And I think this reveals the main message about Superman. And that is, we don't care about him because he can fly or shoot lasers from his eyes. We care about him because he always does the right thing. He puts others in front of himself, and that's not a superhuman trait. One of my favorite parts of Man of Steel is watching other characters do this. Jonathan Kent in this scene, Lois Lane later, and Perry White all choose to put themselves at risk to save others. That isn't something that comes from Krypton. That is something that is found within each of us. All we have to do is choose to be super. Hey everyone, I hope you enjoyed. Superman has always fascinated me as a character. When I was younger, I loved everything Superman. And to this day, I still enjoy some of the films he is in, although it's hard to deny that at times they can oftentimes be problematic. Still, I'm glad characters like Superman are being written. In full honesty, I'm not a big comic book reader at all. So I really can't speak for how well he is handled in that medium. But I am interested. So for you comic book buffs out there, please let me know if a lot of what I brought up here has been addressed. And if so, how they do it. Anyway, if you're new here, make sure you hit that subscribe button. I'm working on a couple of pretty big videos so there won't be a new one next weekend, but there will be a couple of good ones coming soon. In case you missed it, I put a link to my last video on a brother where art, though, in which I explored the hero's journey towards redemption. Be sure to check that video out if you missed it. I will see you next week.