Superman Reveals Why He Doesn’t Shut Off His Super Hearing

Superman has many abilities, but few connect him to the plights of humanity like his super hearing, and there’s one key reason he never shuts it off.

Spoilers incoming for Superman #2 so if you haven’t read the issue yet you’ve been warned.

In the new issue of Superman Clark ponders a question from Green Arrow, who asked Clark if his “life was hell.” When Clark asked why Arrow said “Actual Hell! Because you can never turn off your super-hearing. You can’t not see the madness of the world with your super-vision. You can’t stop seeing and hearing all the horrors of the world.”

It’s here that Clark dispels that theory, saying “First of all…yes, I can. I can turn it off anytime I want. I don’t. I never have and I never will. But I can. We all can.”

Clark says he could “leave the planet and never come back”, and even admits it gets to be a lot some days, as “the screams for help never stop.” He also says the hate and the ignorance never stops, and at times it “just breaks my heart”.

The thing is, there’s one very good reason he doesn’t just shut it all off, and that’s the wonderful part of humanity that also cares about others.

“But what a lot of people don’t get to see or hear is what I get to see or hear…what happens after the scream,” Clark says. “People help. People reach out. More times than not, a scream–and someone nearby helps before I can even lift a finger. People do their jobs. It’s stunning to see. Beautiful, really. The police, firemen, EMTs, politicians, even. Nothing is perfect, and it never will be, but…the world works.”

It’s not everyone that springs to help, sure, but it is a significant amount, with Clark adding “not all the time, and not everyone, but billions and billions of times a day, the world works. Billions and billions! I explained it to Ollie: that’s what I get to see and hear every day. The sight and sounds of billions of people trying.”

Sounds like a pretty compelling reason to us. You can check out the spoiler images above and our full review of Superman #2 can be found here.

Superman #2 is written by Brian Michael Bendis and drawn by Joe Prado and Ivan Reis. Prado and Reis provide the issue’s cover with variant covers by David Mack and Adam Hughes. You can check out the official description below.

“The world quakes and shakes as it begins to succumb to the effects of the entire planet being moved into the lifeless realm known as the Phantom Zone. As Superman works with the World’s Greatest Heroes, an old enemy trapped in the same prison returns to stop the Man of Steel and escape.”

Superman #2 is in comic stores now.

So what did you think of the issue? Let us know in the comments!