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Superman Celebrates 80th Birthday

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19 April 2018

By Alex Khalil

While Superman may have debuted in May 1938, DC Comics is celebrating the 80-year-old hero with Action Comics #1000, a bumper collection of tales which reminds us why we love the last son of Krypton so much.

Yes, in the film he was maybe slightly less desirable than his comic counterpart, it has to be said, no other hero has had such an impact on the world. There is nowhere on Earth you wouldn’t recognise the big red and yellow symbol, standing for hope.

Batman and Supes have always disagreed on the fundamentals of crime fighting. But deep down, there’s a brotherhood there. One that will entertain and we will enjoy for years to come.

Superman is incredibly overlooked as a hero. People would prefer to look at the grittier side of DC like Batman or Dark Horse’s Hellboy. In the films, very recently, DC tried to rough up the tights-wearing alien, to a detrimental effect. They made him gritty and broody. That’s not what he his.

He is often at odds with a majority of heroes like Batman or Wonder Woman due to his compassion for all human life. Regardless who they harmed or what wrong they may have done. (Just ignore the entire Injustice series.) But this is what makes him so…admirable. He loves his friends, he loves Lois Lane and would give himself for his home.

He’s also remarkably funny sometimes.

If you want some decent Superman reads, we’d suggest The Death of Superman, Red Son and the renowned series, All-Star Superman, which has been recognised as a poignant group of stories. It shows the effect of the hero. How just being there brings people hope.

We could all do with a bit of that.

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