{"version": "1.0", "type": "rich", "title": "So people agree that the character of Superman is kind of worn, the movies aren\u2019t working bcuz not enough internal conflict in...", "author_name": "kontextmaschine", "author_url": "https://kontextmaschine.com", "provider_name": "kontextmaschine", "provider_url": "https://kontextmaschine.com", "url": "https://kontextmaschine.com/post/179536078673/", "html": "<p>So people agree that the character of Superman is kind of worn, the movies aren\u2019t working bcuz not enough internal conflict in Blue Boy Scout mode and attempts to bring it back (Superman kills people!) run too against the character</p><p>What he needs is a reinvention that draws from the core of his character, like how in the \u201880s Frank Miller distilled Batman to \u201cemotionally damaged vigilante\u201d in a way that had clearly been there all along, eclipsing all the \u201cBiff! Pow!\u201d and Bat-Mite stuff</p><p>So here\u2019s a thought: </p><p>take his commitment to doing the super-savior thing, ducking out on social obligations for the greater obligation of saving a crashing plane on the other side of the country; the \u201c<a href=\"http://www.superdickery.com/tag/superman-is-a-dick/\" target=\"_blank\">Superman is a dick!</a>\u201d of the old Lois Lane &amp; Jimmy Olsen titles, where he subjects his friends to great annoyance in the name of obscure and persnickety codes of living; take the whole Clark Kent pretending to be human and looking like an awkward dork bit and:</p><p>Superman is a <i>high-functioning autist</i></p><p>Like, the core of his character is he looks human but he isn\u2019t like other people but he\u2019s consciously trying to be a good paragon anyway, and even where he succeeds at this he\u2019s still <i>distanced</i> from others, and only achieves any human intimacy w/Lois <b>with his constructed perfect-man persona</b> and w/Jimmy over the fact they\u2019re <b>both awkward dorks</b></p><p>There\u2019s potential there</p>"}