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Superman Shrugged? Man Of Steel Re-Examined By The Internet

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jc3Superman kills. Especially Zod, he seems to always kill him. In the comics, in the films (including Superman II, that's totally a death throw-and-fall to any unpowered mortal). But it was a Forbes article that kicked it off this time, defending criticism of Man of Steel with the writer pointing out that Superman has killed a number of times in the comics throughout his history up until the modern day, citing the work of Siegel & Schuster, Alan Moore, John Byrne, Dan Jurgens and more. So those who argue that Superman never kills are only arguing that their specific version of him doesn't kill.

Mark Waid began the assault.

Then the writer of the article got involved.

And others were just eating popcorn.

But there was another interesting twist. Because Zack Snyder had talked about his next project being a adaptation of Ayn Rand's The Fountainhead.

And if Snyder does have Randian sympathies, then a few other things fall into place. His appreciation of the work of Frank Miller and 300. His increasing the audience engagement with Rorschach in Watchmen. And, for Man Of Steel...

Not once does Jonathan Kent teach Clark about the value of public service or helping people. And Superman in the end is only really acting in his own self interest.

 

Physically he certainly fits the model of the Randian hero, as do his morals. Stephen Newman compared the Randian hero to the concept of Friedrich Nietzsche's "Superman" saying that "the Randian hero is really Nietzsche's superman in the guise of the entrepreneur".

Is this the Superman we have now? An Ayn Rand Superman? In that case why is he going up against free market businessman Bruce Wayne in the new film…?

So many questions. Does Mark Millar have the answer, from Jupiter's Circle?

jc2 

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Rich JohnstonAbout Rich Johnston

Founder of Bleeding Cool. The longest-serving digital news reporter in the world, since 1992. Author of The Flying Friar, Holed Up, The Avengefuls, Doctor Who: Room With A Deja Vu, The Many Murders Of Miss Cranbourne, Chase Variant. Lives in South-West London, works from Blacks on Dean Street, shops at Piranha Comics. Father of two. Political cartoonist.
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