There truly is nothing more American than the superhero comic book. Sure, some may contend against that bit of supposition, citing the American flag or apple pie, but while these elements are undeniable sources of Americana, there is no denying the romantically subversive nature of the comic book. It is a medium that is without a doubt the personification of the American dream, a form of entertainment whose meager origins failed to foreshadow the immense popularity they would attain.
In his book "Comic Book Nation: The Transformation of Youth Culture in America," Bradford W. Wright contends that the earliest comic books were “derived directly from the [unusual] pulp magazines,” magazines that delivered “cheap thrills and made few intellectual demands [on their] audiences." It was a fertile environment from which a plethora of characters emerged, none more engaging or enduring than Superman," an alien created by Jewish Americans Jerry Seigel and Joe Shuster. Since 1938, Superman has represented the dominant male power fantasy in its truest form; and despite being envisioned with the origins of an immigrant Superman has unfortunately come to represent a form of latently discriminatory xenophobia, a fact that became blatantly evident by the early 1970s. This however was not the intention of DC comics or the Superman writers. In her untitled 1993 essay, Brown University’s Tricia Rose explored the contradictory nature of hip-hop in terms of cultural expression in a fashion that can be applied to all forms of cultural representation including Superman. Rose posits, “A quest for a seamless web of resistant or oppositional popular practice is a misguided journey fraught with romantic and problematic notions of resistance and opposition." The implication being that any cultural expression, regardless of the source and intention, carries contradictory phrases or themes and that any attempts to find perfect, politically correct representations, are a fruitless endeavor.
When judging Superman through the critical lens of Tricia Rose it is important to note that the contradictory nature of the character is in fact symptomatic of the super hero genre as a whole. Just as the “insulated stretch face mask” in the Hot Sex music video creates “a [series] of complicated and contradictory responses” for black audiences, so to does the image of Superman says Rose. Superman is the idealization of Nietchze’s “Ubermensch,” a being of insurmountable strength who uses his gifts to protect and defend the marginalized denizens on the cusp of society. That being said, Superman was not a hero designed to protect or represent black audiences. Despite his role as a guardian to the worlds people, Superman’s physical and social characterization are contradicting in terms of the latent bigotry and racism they represent. The purpose of this article however is not to bash a storied pop culture icon, it is to confront the contradictions of Superman as a character to understand why he has remained relevant. The goal is, as Rose puts it, “[to] not simply dismiss [the character] because [he doesn’t] measure up to an imaginary standard of politically consistent expression."
Racism in comic books is nothing new, nor has it ever been a matter of subtlety. In his essay “Black Skins and White Masks," Dr. Marc Singer observes that “Comic books, [particularly superhero comic books] have proven fertile ground for stereotyped depictions of race,” a result he claims to be based in the medium’s reliance on the physical “appearance” of its characters. In the Golden Age of comic books there were few representations of African Americans and those that were present were portrayed in horribly racist caricature. While Superman himself never descended into the overt racism that was Captain Marvel’s sidekick Steamboat, his very physical appearance has always been a matter of contention. He has always appeared as a large muscular white man, a character with which a black audience may find difficult to self identify. The Clark Kent identity and his monochromatic supporting cast make the notion of relating to a wider audience almost impossible. Lois Lane, the enigmatic love interest of the Man of Steel has been the subject of a variety of physical transformations throughout her literary history, however none are as offensive as her change in a 1970 issue of Superman’s Girlfriend Lois Lane. In issue #106 Lois Lane, in an attempt to better understand the African Americans of Metropolis, decides to dress in blackface to better understand the racial divide between whites and blacks. In her blatant disregard of racial politics, Lois discovers that African Americans are just as bigoted as Whites, a conclusion also learned by her new black militant friend Dave Stevens, whose life is saved via a blood transfusion from Lois. In "Confronting Racism, Configuring African American Presence" Christopher B. Zeichmann confronts the issue of blackface by positing that the “ideological criticisms that Superman’s creative teams put forth were ultimately marred in their [white] conception of African Americans as bigoted and their failure to reflect the opinions and worldview of real-world blacks." In an attempt to better instruct audiences on the finer points of bigotry and racism, the writing staff working on the story revealed more about the warped perception of racism carried by whites in a post-civil rights environment than they did about the subject of race relations. Their definition of “racism” as a form of individual prejudice amongst all races ignores the historical and social implications behind racism in the United States.
The character of Superman, notwithstanding these gaffes in authorial craft, is still an entity of positive influence for all children. He is a refugee of a dying world, a misfit whose existence has always been on the threshold of civilization. He may not bear the explicit markings of racial antagonism, but the very nature of the character has always been that of the oppressed, a character whose upbringing was marred by the cruel nature of his peers. Superman, despite all of his hardships, becomes a force for good on his adopted planet, going out of his way to help those in need. For every Lois Lane #106, there is a Superman: Peace on Earth, wherein the big blue boy scout attempts to feed the impoverished people of the world after having a sobering experience in Metropolis. Judging Superman in terms of black and white isn’t fair to the history of such a storied icon. The crux of Rose’s essay is that “non-progressive elements” found within all forms of popular cultural or expression is inescapable. Within the confines of the Superman canon there are both elements of enlightened and regressive ideas, an element with which Rose’s hip-hop focused essay coincides.
