Juniata Professor's Thoughts on Superman More Powerful than a Locomotive
The legend of the Man of Steel continues June 28 as Superman returns to movie theatres in the aptly titled "Superman Returns." The new film follows Superman, played by Brandon Routh, as he returns to Earth after a long absence to fight for the love of Lois Lane. Juniata biology professor Jay Hosler, a celebrated comic book artist/author in his own right (His award-winning comics are "Clan Apis" and "The Sandwalk Adventures"), has been a lifelong comics fan and has some thoughts on man and Superman.
Question
Why do people love Superman? After all, there were three previous "Superman" movies.
Answer
He's a real good guy and a hero who doesn't have feet of clay. We have a lot of deeply flawed heroes today, and I think it's good to imagine someone who always does the right thing for the right reasons, responsibly and ethically.
Q
What makes Superman's superpowers so intriguing for those of us who cannot leap tall buildings in a single bound?
A
Superman is interesting to us because at heart he stands in for us. The Clark Kent side of Superman is an important component of the character and taken together the message is "There is more to me than you can see." Who can't identify with the feeling "You're kicking sand in my face now, but just you wait.'?
Q
What is your favorite Superman superpower?
A
I'd love to be able to fly. Flying is an important part of the mystique of Superman. It's a transcendent quality -- he literally rises above it all.
Q
Clark Kent and Lois Lane may be the most famous love story in American popular culture, why do we care about this fine romance?
A
The first layer of their relationship is unrequited love, in which the theme, again, is there's more to me than you can see. The thing that makes it interesting on a psychological level is that Lois is obviously in love with Superman, so Clark Kent's greatest rival for her love is himself.
Q
Is Superman's uniform too old-fashioned? Do we need to update it?
A
In the '90s Superman was given longer hair, a new uniform, he was turned into an energy being for a while. He's back in the classic cape and tights because that works as an emblematic vision for Superman on the page. For the movie, which people watch differently, the uniform looks less impressive. On the silver screen it looks like he's wearing his underwear outside of his pants.
Q
Which "Superman" movie was your favorite?
A
I liked 'Superman II." The three Kryptonian villains made this the only movie that had a convincing threat.