Superman Vs. Lobo #3 is the latest DC comic to utilize the problematic trope of the Man of Steel going rogue after losing a loved one.
WARNING: The following contains spoilers for Superman Vs. Lobo #3, on sale now from DC Comics.
Although Superman is arguably DC’s greatest superhero, plenty of creators have produced stories in which the Man of Steel is depicted as evil. Popular stories such as Injustice and Red Son have very simple themes that drive the hero to villainous lengths. These type of stories frequently suggest that if the Last Son of Krypton lost the ones he loved, he would lose his humanity and turn into a merciless villain. But is this truly the case?
Superman Vs. Lobo #3 (by Tim Seeley, Sarah Beattie, Mirka Andolfo, Arif Prianto and Fabio Amelia) added more fuel to the fire by debuting a new twisted version of the Man of Steel. In this case, it was Lex Luthor killing Jimmy Olsen that set him down a path of terror. Lois Lane explains the situation by positing that Jimmy helped Superman understand humanity and, therefore, without him, he no longer understood how to be human. This led him to become, as it does in many evil Superman stories, a ruthless dictator.
Although this trope has been used with alarming frequency, there exists the question of whether or not it really stays true to the character. First and foremost, Superman wouldn’t be who is without the Kents. They’re the key to why the deaths of Jimmy Olsen or Lois Lane shouldn’t turn him towards villainy. Perhaps the most powerful death in any Superman story (which has been repeated time and time again) is the death of his father, Jonathan Kent. In most cases, it was impossible for the Last Son of Krypton to save his adoptive parent because he died of a heart attack. It could be argued that these cases didn’t drive him to villainy because there was nothing he could have done, unlike with Jimmy here. In the film Man of Steel, however, Clark Kent could have saved his father but was encouraged not to in order to protect his identity. Still, this turn of events did not transform him into a villain.
In his initial Golden Age origin, Clark Kent lost both of his adoptive parents before even becoming Superman. Back then, there was no question of his humanity. If anything, their deaths made him even more committed to truth and justice. If he wasn’t raised by the Kents there is little doubt that he would have turned out quite different. Still, that doesn’t necessarily mean that he would be evil. In Superman: Red Son (by Mark Millar and Dave Johnson) the Man of Steel grew up evil but did not in Flashpoint, although neither of those versions ever met the Kents. The same can be said of the bizarre Colin Clark version of the character that landed in Britain, from Superman: True Brit (by John Cleese and John Byrne). This version actually became a hero in spite of his parents wishes.
This idea about the deaths of Superman’s loved ones is disproved by the latest version of the story. The reality in which Jimmy died was an outlandish fantasy world created by Lobo – and it shows. This indicates that this bent toward evil was more than anything orchestrated by the anti-hero, who conveniently used the death of Olsen as a catalyst. This is confirmed towards the end of the issue when the “true” Superman returns after overcoming the reality that was forced on him. Lois Lane aptly describes the situation as part of a “badly written story authored by an Edgelord.”
Unfortunately, this assessment fails to explain stories such as the previously mentioned Injustice, in which Superman turned evil after the Joker tricked him into accidentally killing his wife and unborn child. Although the incident was unfortunate and heartbreaking to say the least, this still should not necessarily corrupt DC’s Greatest Hero. In the CW’s Crisis on Infinite Earths crossover, Brandon Routh’s older Superman faced a similar situation. On his world, the Joker blew up the Daily Planet, killing both Lois and Jimmy. Regardless, this Superman’s convictions never wavered, and he was so pure of heart that he became the multiverse’s Paragon of Truth.
In short, Superman losing a loved one shouldn’t automatically turn him into a villain. Facing death is part of being human and Clark Kent has endured it many times before. Because of who he is and what he stands for, Superman should be the least likely hero to be corrupted in the face of suffering and loss.
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