Now, a staple of the superhero mythology is, there’s the superhero and there’s the alter ego. Batman is actually Bruce Wayne, Spider-Man is actually Peter Parker. When that character wakes up in the morning, he’s Peter Parker. He has to put on a costume to become Spider-Man. And it is in that characteristic Superman stands alone. Superman didn’t become Superman. Superman was born Superman. When Superman wakes up in the morning, he’s Superman. His alter ego is Clark Kent. His outfit with the big red “S”, that’s the blanket he was wrapped in as a baby when the Kents found him. Those are his clothes. What Kent wears – the glasses, the business suit – that’s the costume. That’s the costume Superman wears to blend in with us. Clark Kent is how Superman views us. And what are the characteristics of Clark Kent. He’s weak… he’s unsure of himself… he’s a coward. Clark Kent is Superman’s critique on the whole human race.
Such were Quentin Tarantino’s words. Is that how he sees Superman and Clark Kent? Maybe. One shouldn’t make the mistake of assuming that what a writer creates is what he actually believes. Still I find it an interesting statement and at times I like to ponder the very thought expressed by the character Bill in the Kill Bill movies.
Nothing profound, per se. Superman and Kill Bill are fiction after all. The writers of Superman probably picked characteristics that were the opposite of those that Superman possessed. But take a look at the Clark Kent character more closely and what do I see? Kent is the average frustrated chump of the comic book world. Apropos for a lot of the readers of comic books (no not all, I’m not talking about you…or maybe I am). Whether readers of Superman will admit it or not, most of them wish to be Superman even if they are actually Kent.
Kent is the guy who fades into the background. He works hard, he pines for the girl who is in love with someone else (granted that someone else is also his alter ego). The face he shows the world is that of a man who’s not that masculine. Whether the writers intentionally wanted Kent to be the type of guy who’s always on the periphery and never the center of attention, I can’t say. But that is exactly the type of guy he is. Kent is the fictional personification of the average guy, the solid, dependable beta male. The guy that in today’s sexual marketplace wouldn’t get two looks from any woman.
