IT MEANS HOPE... HOPE FOR RELEVANCE: THE IMPORTANCE OF MAN OF STEEL TO SUPERMAN'S LEGACY (part one)
Introduction Superman has been recognised, across the world, as the quintessential icon of heroism. He has held this office for the past eighty-five years ever since his creation in Action Comics ’ first issue (Siegel and Shuster, 1938) This remained unchallenged until September 11 th , 2001 when the people who had grown up with, adopted and loved Superman started to look elsewhere for their heroes. The post-9/11 world was very different from the era in which Superman had become and was maintained as a dominant hero. The narrative and consensus are that ‘9/11 changed everything’ (Rich, 2001). In the public discourse, one of Superman’s most well-known aliases is ‘The Man of Tomorrow’, yet the character has faced varied criticism of irrelevance to contemporary society. The ‘perfect good guy’ found in Superman was no longer the superhero to the Western world, in particular American society, wanted in response to 9/11. The American people were in shock, hurt but angry, the cape-wearing
