It’s a bird, it’s a plane, it’s Superman!
This iconic line has once again become commonplace with the release of James Gunn’s Superman last week. Especially among us folks who grew up in the ’90s.
The many who invariably, at some point, tied towels or blankets around our necks to mimic a cape and ‘soar’ — in our homes, classrooms, and playgrounds.
The film had, no doubt, banked on this sentimentality of ours to find success, and we see that. But it’s not only nostalgia, is it?
It’s also this idea that the plain, uncluttered goodness that Superman seemingly embodies still has a place in this near-cynical world of ours overrun with antiheroes.
There’s something deeply empowering about that idea. To know that there’s someone who doesn’t brood in the shadows or second-guess his powers. Like Superman, who simply steps forward. Earnest and unapologetically moral.
A misfit, perhaps, by today’s standards. Overly idealistic, even. Yet, in doing that, Superman feels more radical than any recent superhero.
And we yearn for that, don’t we?
“It wasn’t just about flying or saving people. Superman represented a sense of right and wrong, of standing up for others even when it is tough,” says Amal Chandra, a policy analyst.
“To know that there was Superman, who always chose the good path, was something very comforting. In a world full of grey, people still crave that clarity.”
That clarity used to be more common in earlier times.
Indeed, for many of us, superheroes were not ‘brands’ as they are today. They were vessels to understand the world. How we learned courage, empathy and self-restraint. They taught us how to dream and be good in ways no adult ever could.
Businessman and avid reader Harish P echoes the sentiment. “The comics and cartoons of then painted us a black-and-white world, where heroes were ideal and could do no wrong. For kids, that moral clarity was empowering,” he says.
We had a ragtag pantheon of televised and comic-book guardians. “There was Phantom, Mandrake, He-Man, Shaktimaan…,” recalls Vineet Abraham, a former bureaucrat and a comic book enthusiast.
Indeed, we watched Shaktimaan teach children not to lie, Phantom rescue the helpless from jungle tyrants, and Mandrake outwit evil with little more than illusion and grace. Reading comics or watching cartoons then wasn’t just fun. It was also formative, points out Akhil Dileep, who runs an electronics shop.
“Yet, Superman stood out,” Vineet asserts.
To know that there was Superman, who always chose the good path, was something very comforting. In a world full of grey, people still crave that clarityAmal Chandra, policy analyst
Created in 1938 by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster, two Jewish teenagers in Depression-era America, Superman was the first true superhero. An alien with godlike abilities, he could have ruled. Instead, he chose to live humbly, help quietly, and hide behind thick-rimmed glasses.
Yet, Superman felt achingly familiar. He wasn’t rich like Batman, or unpredictable like Wolverine. He didn’t rely on gadgets or vengeance. He wielded pure goodness.
“He was an alien, yes. But he felt like one of us. His Clark Kent persona, bumbling and modest, is something we all connect to. There’s a Clark Kent in all of us. And we dream we can be ‘Superman’ too,” Vineet highlights.
“More than the muscles and the might, what struck children the most about Superman is that he chose to be good. Every single time.”
That deliberate choice to care, to help, to listen, Akhil says, was key.
College student Meghna G, who followed Superman from animated cartoons to comic books and DC’s cinematic universe, says, “Superman was someone I looked up to. He was powerful, sure, but always careful and kind. Even when the world was a cardboard box for him, he stayed grounded. That stuck with me.”
Her takeaway is not rare. “Because deep down,” Meghna continues, “we all want someone we can trust. Superman is simple in the best way. Not trying to be cool or edgy. He just shows up, helps, and treats people with respect. That honesty still matters.”
He was an alien, yes. But he felt like one of us. His Clark Kent persona, bumbling and modest, is something we all connect to. There’s a Clark Kent in all of us. And we dream we can be ‘Superman’ tooVineet Abraham, former bureaucrat
Indeed, Superman was the North Star. Not Indian, not Western. Just universal. He stood outside of race, caste and country. A migrant. An outsider. A boy raised on a farm, who kept choosing good even when the world didn’t reward it.
Yet, Vineet wonders if today’s children have a similar icon, a North Star. “Most superheroes now are too self-consciously hip, or fighting demons. I’m not sure there’s any hero like Superman for them to look up to,” he says.
And indeed, while the screen is crowded with colourful characters, the compass is missing.
“We grew up in a world where being a hero meant helping someone across the street, or standing up for a friend, or even turning off the TV when Shaktimaan told us to study,” says Vishnu G, a comic book enthusiast and gamer.
“That’s not the case now. Today’s children are growing up in a world that celebrates cool, not kind. Strength, not sacrifice. Sarcasm, not sincerity.”
The concern is echoed by college student Jessica M. “Superheroes used to be aspirational. They taught us to stand for what’s right, even if the odds were against us. Now, with so much content and constant access to smartphones and social media, I’m not sure kids feel the same magic,” she says.
Could that absence of moral anchors be part of why so many young people feel so adrift? When the idea of heroism itself becomes ironic or even transactional, what remains to aspire to?
“A towel cape may look silly now,” says Akhil. “But that silliness carried wonder. It made us feel like heroes, too.” Still, if the success of James Gunn’s film is any indicator, a lot many still carry that flame of wanting to become superheroes as well. To be Superman.
Maybe our cape’s been folded and tucked away. But in remembering Superman, we can remember what it felt like to be that child again. The one who believed that good could win. That decency wasn’t outdated.
That doing the right thing didn’t need an audience.
Just someone willing to care.
(Inputs from Parvana K B)