The American Super Man

Superman fights for truth, justice and the American way. In this image, we see Christopher Reeve as a symbol of personal strength and American strength. Through these strengths, Christopher Reeve displays multiple signs of masculinity, through his broad shoulders and serious face, which illustrates a play on masculinity. He bases his appearance and masculinity on the values he stands for as a super man. Superman standing with the flag in the background emphasizes Superman’s allegiance as an American but also a sign of our country’s founding values. Christopher Reeve, deemed invincible, makes America invincible with this hero as its savior. Superman is the type of superhero that steps into the world during the day as a beacon of hope for everyone to see. Many superheroes, like Batman and Spiderman, wear masks and sometimes fight crime by night, which are away from the eyes of the public. By using masks and even the night sky, many superheroes mask themselves from society and use every bit of themselves to stay hidden from the public. Bruce Wayne and Peter Parker put on masks to become Batman and Spiderman. Clark Kent actually takes off his mask to become Superman, which makes the person playing Superman, like Christopher Reeve, the fully realized character.  When you see Christopher Reeve as Superman fighting the bad guys, you actually “see” Christopher Reeve fighting them. With Batman, you see Christian Bale as Bruce Wayne, but you only see the mask when Batman is actually fighting. With a mask-less superhero, Reeve’s countenance became the face of a hero, and not just any hero, but Superman.