The first “Superman” movie I ever watched starred Christopher Reeve as the iconic hero who, despite literally being an alien who entered Earth without an invitation, took on the mission of protecting people who would not always accept him for who he was but for what he could do for them.
Frankly, I wish Superman was real today. I wish he was real to save the 100-plus people who perished in flooding in central Texas.
I wish he were real to help the dozen or so people who suffered injuries from two boat explosions on Lake Lanier over Fourth of July weekend.
Perhaps Superman would have stopped innocent people , including American citizens, from being detained by federal officials just for their legal status or for their disagreements with the federal government.
That 1978 movie seems so innocent, but the film set the stage for the politics of today in one scene:
“Why are you here?” asks Daily Planet newspaper reporter and future love interest Lois Lane (played by Margot Kidder).
“I’m here to fight for truth and justice and the American way,” answers Superman (played by Reeve).
“You’re going to end up fighting every elected official in this country,” Lane retorts.
That movie felt like pure escapism, but the latest movie version of “Superman,” out Thursday and starring David Corenswet as the hero, embraces its politics head-on.
Comic heroes taught me three core lessons
Credit: Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP
Credit: Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP
In an interview for The Times of London, 2025 “Superman” director James Gunn holds nothing back about the moral of the story, according to TNS/Variety Entertainment News Service.
“I mean, ‘Superman’ is the story of America,” Gunn said. “An immigrant that came from other places and populated the country, but for me it is mostly a story that says basic human kindness is a value and is something we have lost.”
Even Superman of the comic books of the 1930s or the movies of the 1970s and 1980s acknowledged that America needed a hero like him precisely because something was missing in society.
Superman was the anti-bully, the anti-villain and the ultimate anti-racist.
As a shy, sensitive son of immigrants who enjoyed buying and reading comic books, fictional heroes — whether they were Superman, Wonder Woman or the X-Men (sorry to DC and Marvel purists) — inspired me and taught me three core lessons:
- You could be different and still be valued.
- You might not be accepted for your differences, but you could overcome that hurdle.
- You had talents you could offer others with the hopes of bettering the world.
Comic books might offer escapism and the occasional dark story line, but they could also offer hope, especially in trying times.
Then, there are the real heroes.
In 2016, when I saw the late Atlanta District 5 U.S. Rep. John Lewis speak in Nashville — where he was educated at Fisk University and American Baptist College — I bought his graphic novel “March: Book One.”
It was truly a superhero narrative about a humble man from Troy, Alabama who began his ministry preaching to chickens and eventually changed the world through his nonviolent advocacy and his example that someone like him — a descendant of enslaved Black people — could represent diverse Americans in Congress.
Lewis did not wear a cape, but he stood up for the least of these — in other words, for truth, justice and the American way.
Credit: Alyssa Pointer/AJC
Credit: Alyssa Pointer/AJC
Who gets to ‘own’ the American ideal?
“The” American way seems to be lost in the polarization of the United States today.
Who represents it best? The blue states? The red states? Georgia?
Superman wears red and blue, which is purely coincidental, but his sartorial choices speak to a need for all Americans to rise above their self-interest and seek a broader community with a unified purpose.
The American ideal embraces equality, fairness and integrity — even if history has shown that Americans do not always practice what we preach.
The American ideal welcomes the immigrant and the refugee even when our policies seek to round up and deport them.
The American ideal is about soaring above adversity even when our own tribal instincts lock us into toxic squabbles.
Americans, in order to build and restore community, should embrace their own inner Superman — or Superwoman — even though it sometimes means confronting mockery and loathing.
We ordinary humans may not be men or women of steel, but we can be people of steely resolve who seek to emulate a powerful hero who is loyal to an ideal that transcends politics.
David Plazas is the opinion editor of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution and serves on the editorial board. Email him at david.plazas@ajc.com.
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