Beique-Simmons 1

Henri Béïque-Simmons

603-102-MQ sect. 00010

Stéphane Paquet

Monday, March 18th, 2019

Traditional Superhero stories are typically more conservative in nature.

Moreover, the Superhero genre follows the conservative ideal of the status quo. This

can be seen through the battle that ensues between the villain, who is an agent of

change, and the Hero, who is fighting against the perceived evil. Demonstrating that

change, according to the conservative view, is undesirable. Additionally, this

narrative is to the benefit of the upper class, as the impediment to change

socio-economical brackets means they get to stay in power and surrounded by

wealth. In fact, Superman Earth One appears to be a conservative story which

espouses certain ideals, such as the promotion of selfless actions, social stability,

and individual skills for the benefit of the state. However, it also identifies problematic

situations that allow for exemptions from the conservative code of conduct.

First of all Superhero stories, like Superman Earth One, promote conservative

ideology through the depiction of characters that display selfless actions for the

benefit of the community. Conservatism is by definition, being more cautious to

change. Ideologically speaking, it tends to want to preserve the status quo,

self-similarity, repeatability, and organization. Selfish behaviours are by nature

chaotic and unpredictable. That is to say that do not lead to the same result, as their

motives are individualistic and not for the greater good. Ergo it does not encourage
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social stability. In regards to a community, selfless behaviours are conservative and

predictable as their outcome is beneficial to the community; consequently promoting

social stability. This entices readers to first think of societal benefits over their own

needs. Furthermore, this serves the upper class, as peoples desire to rise to the top

of the social arrangement are ignored. In the case of Superman Earth One, it

promotes selfless attitudes as well as limitations to them. For instance, after the end

of the battle with Parasite, Major lee who is in a military operations centre proposes a

large sum of money to the Luther’s in exchange for ways to kill Superman. In this

scene, Major Lee can be seen as being worried that Superman’s selflessness is

finite. When in fact, this is in disagreement with the Major’s background, as an

assortment of monitors depicts snippets of Superman’s endless dedication to save

Metropolis, which is anything but selfish. This does speak to an overarching belief

that human’s do not possess altruistic desires and that everything one does is driven

by selfish motives. However, Lee’s plan is not presented in Superman Earth One as

being something to imitate. This is reflected through Lex Luther's lack of

understanding of the reasoning behind the Army’s desire to kill a man who has “only

tried to help people since the day he showed up.”. Lex Luther, a man that engages in

corporate manslaughter, a man that puts greed and currency over life is puzzled by

the idea that the Army would want a self-sacrificing man like Superman dead. If an

individual as repugnant as Lex cannot justify the murder of Superman, how can

Major Lee. In reality, Lee is preparing to punish an individual that is selfless and this

is seen in a negative light as it goes against conservative ideology. Nevertheless,

selfish behaviour is not always being implied in Superman Earth One as a deadly

sin. For example, when Clark is trying to find a job as a reporter at the Daily Planet,
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he is first rejected because he is not an extraordinary writer. But Clark is able to

“steal” the position after he presents a supposed interview with Superman, which

could be the “chance of a lifetime for the Planet”. Clark knowingly cheats and

deceives a hardworking man in order to further his own career: the embodiment of

selfishness. Even though the implications of Clark's dishonesty are negative, they

are not presented as such in Superman Earth One. For the simple manufacturing of

a “truth”, Clark is rewarded with the Planet’s praise, a salary, a desk, and a job he

has desired. This scene presents a limiting view on selflessness, as being selfish

can also lead to positive outcomes in one’s life. Superman Earth One tells us that

individuals can be selfish and have associated positive outcomes as long as they are

to the benefit of the community. In short, Superman Earth One promotes

conservative aspects of selfishness as they are portrayed positively, however it also

acknowledges certain limitations to selfless acts.

Second of all, Superhero stories like Superman Earth One promote

conservative ideology through the depiction of characters who do not encourage

social change that could hinder the community. Social change means that there are

revisions to the social order of a given society. For there to be stability in a society,

socioeconomic brackets cannot be moving and changing when someone different is

in power. Which also implies that individuals who have power in the current system

benefit the most from the stability of people who will not cause social change. This

practice tries to persuade readers that idleness is more beneficial than social

disruption. In fact, Superman Earth One does present society similar to the

conservative ideology, however, it also presents limitations. For instance, when

Raymond goes to protect his sister and violently assaults the boys responsible. In
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the scene, the principle expels Raymond from the school, while his mother argues

that he is being punished for protecting his sister. In reality, he is not being chastised

for the defence of his sister but rather because through the use of violence he

caused social disruption. There is usually a predetermined path: the student asks for

help from an adult to solve the problem. Whereas in this scenario, he decides to take

law and order into his own hand. This is a warning and presents the idea that people

who cause chaos and change should be excluded from society - as their presence is

a risk (like Raymond’s,) to people’s lives. In fact, Superman Earth One also identifies

specific situations where the community's benefit outweighs any social disruption.

During Superman’s second trip to Borada, Clark becomes an agent of change and

causes social disruption. He guides the population to fight back and to take control of

the country, removing it from the hands of an oppressive and abusive general.

Superman was conceived as a character that fights against “evil” and this is exactly

what he does when he goes against the general. This leads readers to see that the

conditions behind Superman’s social disruptions as positive and justified as they

benefit the community. Conservatism promotes the status quo, and the only way that

this can stay true is if the population is pleased by their social standing and

conditions. If they are not, then reforms have to be made. In sum, Earth One

promotes the conservative ideals of stability through the absence of social change,

as they are portrayed positively, yet it also acknowledges certain limitations to social

continuity and the community’s interests.

Finally, Superhero stories like Superman Earth One promote conservative

ideology through the depiction of the character’s use of individual skills for the benefit

of the community. In fact, when people decide not to use their skills appropriately,
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they threaten social stability. They do not fall into established programs and are

exempt from those sets of social boundaries. Individuals will tend to stay in their

respective socio-economical brackets if they know where they stand in relation to

their institutionalized taught skills. For that reason, the use of skills for the benefit of

the community leads to social stability. This incites the reader to use their skills to

serve the community’s interests which often mirrors the upper classes and then

reflects back as their own. In fact, Earth One does promote the use of skills in order

to benefit the community, while, it also presents limitations to it. For instance, at the

same time Tyrell is attacking Earth, Superman has to make a crucial decision about

his place and responsibilities to the world, for fear of social rejection. In this scene,

he has a flashback of his mother explaining to him why she made him the suit. At

which point the reader can see Superman strapping on his boots. Illustrating the

common idea that in order to get out of the house, to go work, and be a productive

man in society, you must first have to put on your shoes. It is also significant,

because of the mother's accompanying statement with this image. A man who uses

his skills is “not just any man”, referring to the concept of serving the community (to

work), is “more than just a man...”, “A Superman...”. Furthermore, supporting this

conviction that in order to be a great man, to be super, socially accepted, he or she

has to put aside doubts and fears and fulfill their duties to the community through the

use of their skills. Despite being a powerful conservative message, where the hero is

someone to imitate; Earth One also acknowledges problematic situations about

social acceptance through the use of skills. For example, after Clark discovers that

Eddie, a dysfunctional addict, took his own life in his apartment, he decides to write a

piece on Eddie’s life and to present it to Mr. Perry White. In this scene, the reader
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can see Perry place the memorial Clark wrote about Eddie’s life amongst

unorganized books while saying it only has a place in the newspaper “between”

features. Thus demonstrating the insignificance allocated to stories about a

“nobody”: those who are excluded from society because of their perceived

“defectiveness”. Moreover, Perry correlates human worth - “good men [...] or

celebrities” - to the newsworthiness of a story. This scene can be pretty unsettling to

the reader seeing that there is no confrontation between Clark and Perry. When in

fact it demonstrates the concept that no one should be excluded, as Eddie was.

There is value behind every single life, but this worthiness in terms of one’s role in

society is not inherently equal to everyone. Notably, Clark presents the importance

behind the revision to the conservative code of conduct through his piece on Eddie.

Eddie had a talent for music but his skill was not able to flourish because he was

flawed and in turn did not receive any support from society. Rather than helping

those in need, conservative society dictates their removal and rejection. To sum up,

Earth One promotes conservative elements of social acceptance through individual

skills but acknowledges built-in limitations.

In conclusion, traditional superhero stories, like Superman Earth One,

advocate the adoption of the conservative code of conduct by positively portraying

specific practices. These include selfless actions, discouraging social change and

applying individual skills to better society. The narrative behind Earth One further

identifies limitations present in the conservative code. Characters in the superhero

genre often challenge certain aspects of the conservative view, in order to promote

other ones. Which leads one to query if the conservative code and anti-conservative

code have more elements in common than not.

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Word Count: 1631`

Works Cited:

Shane, Davis, and J. Michael Straczynski. Superman: Earth One Volume

One. DC Comics, 2010.

Shane, Davis, and J. Michael Straczynski. Superman: Earth One Volume

Two. DC Comics, 2012.