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Superman has robots…who knew?

In the comic "The Last Days of Superman” we read about a dying Superman seemed very hokey and so unrealistic. Superman has robots…who knew? Why would he need robots in the first place? Also, I thought Superman was a very American hero, mainly focused on the city, so why is he taking it upon himself to try and fix all of the world’s dangers? It seems rather impractical. I also love how Superman and Supergirl are not limited in anyway and seem to have endless powers- even effortless time travel. Also, if the Legion of Superheroes is from the future, why do they have to hurry? They certainly wouldn’t arrive too late. Brainiac 5 is the only character in the comic that seemed logical. It was rather ironic that he is the one questioned about his intentions, be they evil or otherwise. He followed my thoughts of developing a cure in the future and then going back in time. I was also unsure why, if Lana and Lois think Clark Kent is Superman, they don’t they ever try to date him. I thought it was a love triangle of Clark likes Lois, Lois likes Superman, and Superman is indifferent. But perhaps the characters’ interests have evolved from where they originated. All of the extra characters and some of their powers and missions seem rather far fetched. I suppose that that may be the point, however.

I really liked the article by psychologist Fredric Wertham. I never really considered the negative effects comics could have on children, introducing them to violent behaviors. I had assumed that children would not be exposed to the horror and crime genres of comics. Some of the covers we looked at were rather gruesome and disturbing… I wonder if their parents knew what their children were buying. The second point in favor of comics seemed rather ridiculous, that the comics are simply reflecting the children’s minds. It is very difficult to imagine that any child could be so twisted. It seems much more likely that the violence of the comics was a reflection of the writer’s mind. It was also indicated that children do not imitate the behavior in comics. There have many studies done showing that children replicate the violent behavior on television. Looking retrospectively, I think imitation of behavior in comics is very possible. Marston certainly used Wonder Woman to promote and influence the public about a potential matriarchy.

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