Superman birthed the superhero, and has been going strong for close to a hundred years. There was a time with Superman was the bestselling superhero of them all, but that faded as the years have gone on. Superman has had some pretty big ups and downs over the years, but the fans have always come back. There’s just something about the Superman mythos that has grabbed fans for years, but if we’re being honest we all know that it’s not Superman himself. Look, Superman is a great hero with a long history under his yellow belt. He’s an icon that has stood the test of time. However, he’s definitely not the most interesting character most of the time.
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That’s not a knock against Superman; Superman has starred in some amazing stories. There’s something about the character that keeps us coming back, but Superman can be as interesting as toast at times. However, there’s a cure for that in every single issue, episode, or movie — Superman’s supporting cast, the civilians and villains that form the spine of every Superman story. They’re the real MVPs of Superman’s stories, and there’s actually proof of that found by looking back through Superman comics. Superman is great, but everyone else is actually better.
Superman’s Supporting Cast Make Him More Interesting
So, I’m not going to sit here and tell you that Superman’s a boring character; I’m not one of those people. The thing about Superman is that he’s simple. He’s the good guy who will always do the right thing. He still has emotions, obviously, but Superman isn’t the most complicated character around. Basically, figure out what the best person you know would do, and that’s Superman. There’s not a lot of drama that you can get from just working with Superman as a character. That’s why the rest of his cast is so important. The most important component is Lois Lane. Lois Lane has always been the best source of drama for Superman comics, whether it be romantic drama or her being kidnapped because she’s always sticking her nose where it doesn’t belong or the way her morals differ from Superman’s. Lois Lane has starred in some amazing stories, both with and without Superman, and it’s impossible to find a page that she doesn’t light up immediately. I’m just going to come out and say it — the New 52 Superman failed because of the paucity of Lois. Lois is an integral part of the Superman equation. The same could be said of Jimmy and Perry. Jimmy is the luckiest man on Earth; he gets to be friends with coolest person ever and do amazing things. Jimmy is the reader, his wonder matching our own, and his successes showing us how we would react to being a part of Superman’s world. Perry is the father figure of the whole thing, an old newspaperman who has seen it all. Each of these character give Clark Kent people to play off. They’re the ones with all of the energy.
Then we get to Lex Luthor. Lex Luthor is one of DC’s greatest characters, and that’s all there is to it. Lex is the most human character in the Superman mythos, his anger at the world defining him. One of the reasons Superman works so well is that he’s a very simple character — he’s a good person who constantly does his best in every situation. Lex is the only one who can make Superman truly angry, and the tension between the two of them is always one of the best parts of any story with the two of them. Lex Luthor is also a simple character — he’s built around his hatred of Superman — however, there’s a complexity to Lex that allows him to be used in just about anyway. This is one of the biggest reasons that Superman’s supporting cast is more interesting than him. Each of the characters are simple, but look at the directions they can be taken. Lois, Jimmy, Lex, and to a lesser extent Perry can all be used in a multitudes of ways, and Superman plays off of them. One of the best parts of the Superman books over the last decade is the active role that Lois has taken in the adventures of her husband. Seeing her react to the world of Superman in a new way has given readers a look at Superman’s world that we never had before. Superman’s supporting cast keeps everything from getting boring.
Superman Needs His Supporting Cast to Shine
The New 52 was one of the worst eras for Superman and the reason is simple — his supporting cast was basically taken away from him. Instead of Lois, he was put into a relationship with Wonder Woman (the worst ship ever as long as Lois exists), and this took him out of The Daily Planet. There weren’t even that many Lex Luthor stories. New 52 Superman died on the vine because he didn’t have his supporting cast to play off of. Right after they brought back the married Superman and Lois, things got better because Superman had his most interesting character back. The current run of Superman has been so great because it brought back Superman’s entire supporting cast and gave us little glimpses of their lives. Lois, Lex, Jimmy, Perry, and Mercy gave Superman so many characters to play off, and it made the stories that much better.
Superman is an icon, and that can be as much of a chain as anything else. Superman is by no means a bad character, but we all know how he’s going to react to any given situation. That’s why his supporting cast is so important. Readers need the more unpredictable characters to see just how good Superman is. They are the ones that push Superman out of his comfort zone, and make the whole thing work.
What do you think about Superman’s supporting cast? Sound off in the comments below.
