History YMMV / Superman

* CriticalBacklash: An eternal trope when it comes to Superma. Cynical, edgy fans will always dismiss the character as a "boring overpowered boyscout," only to turn audiences against them with the extremity of their views, especially when they start RunningTheAsylum and trying to make stories about ''so'' cynical and edgy that audiences quickly become exhausted and begin to appreciate the idea of a lovably-wholesome everyman with godlike powers who just wants to help people and make the world a better place.

** It's commonly said of the Silver Age Superman that he had NewPowersAsThePlotDemands, and that all he had to do was add "super" onto a given word and that was something he could do, while his ComicBook/PostCrisis incarnation removed all of that and codified his powers while removing a bunch of others. In point of fact, Superman's powerset was pretty much set in stone by the mid-50s, and the only powers he really "lost" after the Crisis were hypnosis, ventriloquism, and altering his facial structure[[note]]That last one may actually not be a power at all; back in old '30s pulp, the hero being able to change the shape of his face through muscle control was a common trope, usually as a way for him to be a MasterOfDisguise without needing to wear makeup.[[/note]] (SuperBreath and high intelligence were initially removed, but came back), all of which had been shown pretty consistently. Powers like "super-weaving" were just him being flowery about saying "I will use my super speed to weave very fast." The closest thing to NewPowersAsThePlotDemands he had was using HollywoodScience to ''apply'' his powers--for instance, using SuperSpeed to "[[TimeTravel break the time barrier]]" or [[SpectacularSpinning spin or vibrate objects]]--or various gadgets he'd invented with the aforementioned intelligence. In point of fact, the Silver Age Superman was more of a ScienceHero than anything, and usually defeated his opponents with his intellect. The main change the Post-Crisis series made was limiting the ''[[SuperWeight scope]]'' of his power, attempting to restrict him to city-scale battles rather than cosmic-scale ones and focusing more on the straightforward physical aspects of his abilities--and even then, being StrongAsTheyNeedToBe, he often fought on a cosmic scale anyway (albeit a noticeably lower one).

* IncestYayShipping: A number of ComicBook/{{Superman}} and Comicbook/{{Supergirl}} fans ship both characters together despite them being first cousins, either because they think there's no getting around the "Kryptonian of Steel, Human of Kleenex" trouble or because they genuinely think Clark/Kal and Linda/Kara make a good couple. To be fair, Silver and Bronze stories provide plenty fuel, accidental innuendo and subtext if you know where look ([[http://www.orgamesmic.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/07/superman-supergirl-kiss.jpg Action Comics #260]], [[https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/actioncomics270_page027.jpg Action Comics #270]], [[http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_pScx8BN4h3s/SMkfbsSeQCI/AAAAAAAAA_c/_XIlCBhpesg/s1600-h/action+289+pan+5.jpg the infamous Action Comics #289]], [[https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-42hj4CP59UU/TW0EOjbIjyI/AAAAAAAALSk/MyJ0VPlDuGo/s1600/sm+309-04.jpg Superman #309]] during the ''Comicbook/KryptonNoMore'' story arc, [[http://30.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lvzhjklUch1r2ntbyo1_500.png this panel]] from ''Literature/TheSuperdictionary''). Fanfic writers such as [[https://archiveofourown.org/users/megamatt09/pseuds/megamatt09 Megamatt09]] have penned long tales featuring them together.

** In ''Literature/TheSuperdictionary'' [[http://knowyourmeme.com/memes/lex-luthor-took-forty-cakes Lex Luthor stole forty cakes]]. AndThatsTerrible.

* EvilIsSexy: Livewire, Mercy Graves, and Silver Banshee.

** Superman fans vs. Franchise/{{Batman}} fans. The latter thinks Superman is an overpowered, boring one-dimensional goody two shoes and his fans are children with a lack of understanding of the world. The former thinks that Batman is an overrated, wangsty, ineffective man-child of a CreatorsPet and that most of his fans are biased, overly-cynical jackasses that don't actually read comics and think cynicism equals realism, and whose combination of absurd wealth and CharlesAtlasSuperpower is no more or less realistic than a FlyingBrick who works a day job as a reporter.

** With almost every other DC Comics fandom! Especially ComicBook/{{Shazam}}, Franchise/WonderWoman, Comicbook/{{Supergirl}} and, for the less militant of either fandom, Comicbook/{{Batman}} fans.
** ComicBook/SpiderMan fans and Superman fans tend to get along well, despite the whole DC vs Marvel thing, perhaps because Clark and Peter share many traits in common, being TheDeterminator and GeniusBruiser {{Nice Guy}}s with similar HappilyAdopted backstories and EscapistCharacter elements, so it's difficult to just like one and hate the other. Doesn't hurt that the two have had three crossovers to themselves and two company-wide crossovers where they both appeared. There's also the fact that both are prominent examples of married superheroes, whose marriages have been plagued by writers and editors who wanted to restore a status-quo, with one idea proposed in 2000 more or less foreshadowing what ''ComicBook/OneMoreDay'' ultimately did to Spider-Man[[note]] In 2000, a number of writers for ''Franchise/{{Superman}}'' including Creator/GrantMorrison, Creator/MarkMillar, and Creator/MarkWaid, pitched an idea for a Superman reboot that would return the character to what [[RunningTheAsylum the writers believed]] [[https://medium.com/@bobproehl/men-of-steel-the-superman-2000-proposal-9044a49ba521 was its roots]]. Their solution - Mr. Mxyzsptlk forces them to bargain their marriage in exchange for saving the world, and Clark and Lois would accept and this would lead to a reboot. It's probably not a coincidence that Mark Waid went on to serve as one of the consulting writers to Creator/JoeQuesada when he planned the reboot in 2005 and went on to write early issues in ''ComicBook/BrandNewDay''. In any case, Superman did get rebooted to single status in the New 52 relaunch but this was a ContinuityReboot that didn't nullify and erase an existing relationship and love story as opposed to the ContinuitySnarl caused by the CosmicRetcon of OMD.[[/note]]. The two fandoms became the other's sole confidant when the two franchises started facing similar problems behind the scenes. Seems like [[TheCape capes]] gotta look out for each other.

* IncestYayShipping: A number of Franchise/{{Superman}} and Comicbook/{{Supergirl}} fans ship both characters together despite them being first cousins, either because they think there's no getting around the "Kryptonian of Steel, Human of Kleenex" trouble or because they genuinely think Clark/Kal and Linda/Kara make a good couple. To be fair, Silver and Bronze stories provide plenty fuel, accidental innuendo and subtext if you know where look ([[http://www.orgamesmic.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/07/superman-supergirl-kiss.jpg Action Comics #260]], [[https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/actioncomics270_page027.jpg Action Comics #270]], [[http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_pScx8BN4h3s/SMkfbsSeQCI/AAAAAAAAA_c/_XIlCBhpesg/s1600-h/action+289+pan+5.jpg the infamous Action Comics #289]], [[https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-42hj4CP59UU/TW0EOjbIjyI/AAAAAAAALSk/MyJ0VPlDuGo/s1600/sm+309-04.jpg Superman #309]] during the ''Comicbook/KryptonNoMore'' story arc, [[http://30.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lvzhjklUch1r2ntbyo1_500.png this panel]] from ''Literature/TheSuperdictionary''). Fanfic writers such as [[https://archiveofourown.org/users/megamatt09/pseuds/megamatt09 Megamatt09]] have penned long tales featuring them together.

* MainstreamObscurity: [[ZigZaggedTrope A complicated case]]. Superman is an extremely well-known character, being the [[TropeCodifier superhero's superhero]]. His relationship with Lois, Jimmy, Perry, and the Daily Planet along with his ClarkKenting persona are well known elements. His feud against Lex Luthor is one of the most iconic hero/villain stories of all time. And at any given time, he's probably the third most popular superhero of all time, trailing closely behind ''Franchise/SpiderMan'' and ''Franchise/{{Batman}}''. But despite being such a renowned hero, the majority of Superman's central RoguesGallery has lagged behind in recognition and simply being relatable to a more general audience. Everyone knows about Lex (and secondarily Zod, Doomsday, and Darkseid) but for people like Metallo, Parasite, Brainiac, Toyman, and Mr. Mxyzptlk? Some of them may be at the tips of some peoples' tongues due to past cartoons and TV shows but the severe lack of live cinematic representation for those villains has left them in a strange spot where their level of memorability with general audiences isn't at the same level as Superman. If you go up to any random person on the streets, you could probably have an serious discussion about the iconic Luthor or Batman's Arkham villains or Spider-Man's rogues but couldn't get people to talk about Parasite or Toyman with the same breadth, much less have them understand why these villains are so important to the Superman mythos or name any important storylines they've been in.

** Naturally, the changes made to Superman in the New 52 have divided fans, from the changes to his costume to some differences in his personality to the fact that he's dating Franchise/WonderWoman instead of his usual default love interest ComicBook/LoisLane.

* DamselScrappy: This is the characteristic once strongly associated with Lois Lane. Ironically, it can be argued that Lois' role as a DamselInDistress was far more important to the Franchise/{{Superman}} plot than her role as a love interest, DependingOnTheWriter. In the 1940's, she did need to be rescued a lot (usually while pursuing a news story), but was fairly intelligent and could sometimes [[DamselOutOfDistress get herself out of scrapes by kicking ass and taking names]]. Once the 50's, 60's and early 70's came around though... Yeesh. She was an empty headed twerp who was constantly putting herself in danger for no reason, and whose sole goal in life was to trick Superman into marrying her. She took TooDumbToLive to uncharted levels. In recent comics and other media she's a much more well rounded and developed character, who is extremely competent and able to take care of herself. She still needs to be rescued sometimes, and the trope may pop up occasionally, but for the most part she's a very independent, intrepid and intelligent reporter who just needs a little help against super powered aggressors from time to time.

--->''While it would take them a while to finally acquire [[ComicBook/{{Shazam}} Captain Marvel]], they got something more important out of it than the character. They got Otto Binder, the writer of those classic Captain Marvel Adventures stories, who would go on to be the definitive Franchise/{{Superman}} writer of the ’50s, and certainly one of the most influential of all time. His tenure at DC saw the creation of some of the most popular elements of Superman, the stuff that’s still in use today. Supergirl, Kandor, Bizarro, the Legion, the concept of the out-of-continuity “imaginary story,” — those are Binder stories. He didn’t create Jimmy Olsen (Jimmy, the Harley Quinn of his day, was an import from the radio show), but he certainly defined his character and with it, the feel of the Silver Age. And he did it by just continuing the style he and CC Beck had been honing on CMA...The irony of DC suing Captain Marvel [[LostInImitation because he was too similar to Superman, and then hiring a writer to make Superman more like Captain Marvel is staggering]].''

** Creator/ElliotSMaggin invented a character named Superwoman who had a lot of potential. Kristin Wells was a time traveler from the distant future who used then-commonplace technologies to be a superhero in the present day (she actually first appeared in non-superhero form in Maggin's Franchise/{{Superman}} novel ''Literature/MiracleMonday.)'' Superwoman only received a handful of appearances before Comicbook/CrisisOnInfiniteEarths erased her from history. She's probably best known these days for having a non-speaking cameo in ''Comicbook/WhateverHappenedToTheManOfTomorrow'' Half her shtick, meanwhile, got appropriated by the Comicbook/PostCrisis character Comicbook/BoosterGold (a time traveler who uses his era's tech to be a superhero).

** In the 2009 ''ComicBook/AdventureComics'' arc "Superboy: The Boy of Steel", Luthor, after curing his sister of a disease, made her ill again [[MadScientist just to prove he could.]] As if that wasn't cruel enough, he only agreed to cure his sister in the first place after forcing Superboy to follow his instructions while holding his own niece hostage. Superboy certainly felt that Luthor crossed the line then, as detailed in his TheReasonYouSuckSpeech.

** In ''Adventure Comics'', Luthor, after curing his sister of a disease, made her ill again [[MadScientist just to prove he could.]]

** Conduit, due to being an EvilFormerFriend of Clark, who could have been a recurring enemy with a personal history. But then gets killed in his single appearance.

** Lana Lang was Supes' love interest back when he lived in Smallville... aaand when he lived in Metropolis, too. People tend to forget Superman had a long-lasting BettyAndVeronica situation with the two of them that lasted decades, not unlike ComicBook/SpiderMan and GwenStacy/Mary Jane Watson. And it was only resolved in "ComicBook/WhateverHappenedToTheManOfTomorrow", the ''epilogue'' to the Silver Age Superman's story. So it's not as though Lana wasn't a part of Clark's life following his ComicBook/{{Superboy}} days.

* CommonKnowledge: Everyone "knows" that Clark Kent's only disguise is his glasses that inexplicably fool everyone. In actuality, Clark slouches and acts awkward in his civilian persona, making it harder to believe someone like him could be Superman and, most infamously, in some continuities Clark's glasses have special kryptonian lenses that hypnotize people and keeps them from adding 2 and 2. Other reasons don't really work on the comic page: altering the pitch, tone, and accent of his voice and the way he talks, Clark's suits hiding Superman's HeroicBuild, differences in facial expression and body language. ClarkKenting has a full accounting of how the disguise can really work, if Clark is a good actor.

** In the same vein, Lois Lane and her role in the Superman mytho. Any adaptation, even the ones that focus on Clark's life before Metropolis, will instantly get flak for not having Lois as his love interest or as a major part of the mytho. Given that she appeared the very same chapter as Clark as well as being the most consistently enduring love interest and supporting character of the mytho, her role, characterization and prominence in the story is usually served as an indicator by fans if this will be a good adaptation or story.

* SacredCow: Superman himself, as the originator of the superhero genre and one of the world's biggest icons of fiction. While some people dismiss him as a boring and unrelatable InvincibleHero, many of his fans strongly believe that his powers don't make him any less of a compelling and lovable character, and will adamantly defend him from any criticism. Some have noted that this making of Superman as a sacred cow, either as a folk hero or as a quasi-religious allegory to Jesus and/or Moses, has come at the detriment of making him a rounded relatable character. It's been noted that a major problem with Superman's live action films and its constant [[LostInImitation repetition of elements]] from Creator/RichardDonner's films is that the movies treat Superman less as a character and more as a cultural icon and folk hero, and it often leads to Superman being the VanillaProtagonist in his own movies. (''Man of Steel'' went out of its way to not imitate the Donner/Reeve movies much, though [[TheyChangedItNowItSucks that didn't make it free from criticism]]).

* TheyWastedAPerfectlyGoodPlot: Despite the horde of interaction that can result from being the clone of Superman, Connor Kent's relationship with Clark's supporting cast (primary Lois, the Kents, Supergirl, Krypto and later Clark's son Jon) are never focused upon.

* TheyWastedAPerfectlyGoodPlot: Despite the horde of interaction that can result from being the clone of Superman, Connor Kent's relationship with Clark's supporting (primary Lois, the Kents and later Clark's son Jon) are never focused upon.

* CommonKnowledge: Everyone "knows" that Clark Kent's only disguise is his glasses that inexplicably fool everyone. In actuality, Clark slouches and acts awkward in his civilian persona, making it harder to believe someone like him could be Superman and, most infamously, in some continuities Clark's glasses have special kryptonian lenses that hypnotize people and keeps them from adding 2 and 2.

* EvilIsSexy: Livewire,Mercy Graves,and Silver Banshee.

* EvilIsCool: Most of Superman’s enemies get this such as Lex Luthor,Brainiac,Zod,Metallo,Parasite,Lobo,Doomsday,and More

** One comic from 1945 showed Lex Luthor creating an "atomic bomb" in order to instigate chaos in Metropolis. The issue in question was actually ordered embargoed by the US Government so that the issue wouldn't accidentally hint towards the Manhattan Project.

** In 1963, during Superman's 25th Anniversary Special, Superman and Clark must appear at the same event in Washington DC, and none of his usual tricks will work. But lo and behold, they do both show up, and Superman even flies 'Clark' home - to 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, the other Clark being none other than JFK himself, who Superman confided his secret in. Sadly, this comics was published very close to the November assassination.

** One comic from 1945 showed Lex Luthor creating an "atomic bomb" in order to instigate chaos in Metropolis. Months later, Hiroshima and Nagasaki were bombed.

* StockParodyJokes:
** Superman is every bit the smug Superdick that Lex Luthor thought he was.
** His disguise never fooled anybody, and Clark's really bad at hiding his powers. Either that, or his Superman personality keeps bleeding into his work at the Daily Planet.
** Lois Lane deliberately getting into danger just so that Superman will have to come and save her.
** Jimmy Olsen only exists for weird things to happen to him.
** Supergirl's weird dating habits include horses and even her own cousin.
** Lex Luthor getting into feuds with real-world business magnates. Either that, or comparing his resemblance (and other similarities) to Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos.
** Brainiac being a stereotypical nerd or geek.

** Creator/JohnByrne's run on the various Superman books in the late 1980s was a dark age for the character in the eyes of certain readers, due to the removal of popular elements like the Fortress of Solitude and the Bottled City of Kandor, dramatic changes to classic characters like Brainiac and Supergirl, the divisive way Byrne wrote Supes himself, and his ''very'' unorthodox depiction of Kryptonian culture. It's worth noting that once Byrne was off the series, other writers quickly started re-introducing the elements he had cut and got Superman back to a characterization closer to the Silver & Bronze ages, and the books from this period generally sold better and are more fondly remembered than the Byrne era.

* CantUnhearIt: It's hard not to read Superman's lines using the voice of Creator/GeorgeNewbern, who is the '''very definitive''' voice of Superman since the ''WesternAnimation/JusticeLeague'' cartoon.

* CantUnhearIt: It's hard not to read Superman's lines using the voice of Creator/GeorgeNewbern, who is the '''very definitive''' voice of Superman for cartoon and game fans alike.

** In terms of inter-company rivalries, Superman vs. Thor and Superman vs. Hulk are the two biggest rivalries where debates by fans have not died down even today. One big reason for this is what both Marvel heroes take turns being TheBigGuy of the Avengers and are considered ''the'' strongest Marvel heroes on Earth. In terms of character, Superman fans consider him to be the ideal hero and a moral paragon while Marvel fans consider Thor and/or Hulk more interesting than Clark for being more flawed, imperfect heroes with more character. And in terms of who would win in a fight, the debate between DC and Marvel fans has raged on non-stop over the years based on whose recent feats stack up against whose, whether or not Hulk's latest lifting feat is superior to Superman's, if Thor could beat Superman without Mjolnir, if Superman beating the World Forger makes him able to one-shot Hulk or Thor, whether Hulk or Thor's latest SuperForm can crush Superman, whether Thor surviving Gorr's godbomb or Superman surviving Anti-Life during ''ComicBook/DarkNightsDeathMetal'' is the greater durability feat, and much more.