10 Reasons We’ll Always Need Superman

From very early after Superman’s creation, he was considered to be futuristic. In fact, at the time of New York’s 1939 World’s Fair, Superman was called the “Man of Tomorrow.” In many ways, Superman represents the best of humanity: what we aspire to become one day. That is why he resonates with so many people around the world. We all wish that we had the power to protect the weak, defend the good, and overpower the forces of evil.

Superman is the master blueprint for all modern superheroes, and nothing that follows a template can be exactly like the first. In the 2025 Superman movie, written and directed by James Gunn, the unarmed citizens of Jarhanpur call out to Superman as they are being invaded by the Boravians. They call on Superman not only because they need him, but also because they know that when they call on him, he’ll do everything in his power to come and help them. In this list, we’ll explore and investigate why Superman has so universally captivated the human imagination for the last 90 years.

Related: 10 Heroes Who Have Battled Evil Versions of Themselves

10 He’s the Ultimate Yardstick Against Which All Heroes Are Measured

It’s very obvious that Superman is one of Shaquille O’Neal’s heroes. In many ways, the larger-than-life retired basketball player has tried to emulate him. During his 19-year Hall of Fame professional basketball career, he and others often called him Superman, and he even played a very Superman-like superhero in the 1997 film Steel. The reason NBA fans likened him to Superman? When he entered the NBA in 1992, he was bigger than everyone else at 7’1″ (2.16 m) and about 300 pounds (136 kg), and he was stronger than everyone else.

But like Superman, he was somewhat careful with how he used his strength; he was somewhat of a gentle giant. Shaquille O’Neal has a long history of displaying his good heart by buying clothes, food, and gifts for underprivileged people, among many other random acts of kindness.

The lesson that Superman has taught the world in so many excellent portrayals of the hero is that strength is best when it is controlled and used for good. While none of us can quite measure up to Superman’s incredible abilities, the Superman story has inspired a lot of people, including Shaquille O’Neal, to try.^[1]

9 The Superman Pose: Why Pro Athletes Everywhere Emulate the Man of Steel

Superman’s star is so large that not one, but two professional basketball players have tried to claim the “Superman” moniker, verbally sparring over which of them truly deserved the name. Shaquille O’Neal was the original NBA Superman, but Dwight Howard, who was recently inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame, announced to the world that he was the new Superman during the 2008 NBA Slam Dunk Contest. Howard kept his secret until the very last possible minute. When it was time to perform his dunk, he emerged wearing a Superman cape with the large “S” symbol of hope on his chest. The crowd erupted in approval.

During that 2008 contest, the 6’10” (2.08 m) Howard was only 22 years old, not yet even at the peak of his powers. He was an Orlando Magic fan favorite due to his amazing ability to jump higher than almost anyone else in the NBA at the time. He won the 2008 NBA Slam Dunk Contest with a spectacular dunk from near the free-throw line, soaring through the air in his cape and truly looking the part of Superman.

Both the announcers and the audience went crazy at the sight of a relatively normal human being seemingly flying through the air with a Superman cape on. Fortunately for Howard, he’s much taller and is more athletic than the average NBA player, so it will be difficult for a future player to capture the Superman ethos better than he did in 2008.^[2]

8 When Real-World Science Tackles the Physics of Superman’s Flight

Neil deGrasse Tyson is one of the world’s most famous astrophysicists because he explains complex concepts like black holes and neutron stars in an accessible way that most people can understand. He’s the director of the Hayden Planetarium; it’s very clear that he has a passion for space and for science in general. His YouTube podcast StarTalk has 5 million subscribers. What does Superman have to do with astrophysics? Well, the topic of the physics of how a being like Superman might fly was interesting enough to him that he discussed it in detail on his show.

Before he broke down how Superman might fly, Tyson explained that Superman’s parents might have sent him from Krypton to Earth using a wormhole, which would prevent him from aging during the trip. Though the episode was very entertaining, I really don’t buy Tyson’s explanation of how Superman flies. According to Tyson, because of the environment on Krypton, Kryptonians like Superman are much stronger than Earth’s humans. So when Superman leaps, it looks like he’s flying. He says that Superman would be a “great leaper” or a “hell of a long jumper,” much like the Hulk. However, various Superman movies and shows have shown Superman hovering in the air and changing directions while flying, so I don’t buy his explanation.

The most fascinating thing, though, is that he considered how Superman flies to be an important enough topic that he dedicated a considerable amount of time to the question on his podcast.^[3]

7 Decades Later, Why Christopher Reeve Remains the Definitive Superman

For an entire generation of people, Christopher Reeve will always be the definitive Superman. Like George Reeves, who played Superman decades earlier, Christopher Reeve really embodied how Superman looked in people’s imaginations. Reeve was a towering 6’4″ (1.93 m) tall, and to play the role of Superman, he bulked up from his normal weight of about 188 pounds (85.3 kg) to 212 pounds (96.2 kg). He underwent an intense two-month weight training regimen to gain over 30 pounds of muscle.

In an October 2005 interview, actress Margot Kidder, who played Lois Lane alongside Christopher Reeve’s Superman, confided that Reeve was not a good fit for the Superman role in the initial screen tests: he was far too thin. But she said that he hit the gym and put in an incredible amount of hard work to bulk up until he looked like the prototypical Superman.

On December 10, 1978, the Superman movie premiered in Washington, D.C., and an almost 50-year fascination with Christopher Reeve and Superman began. In May of 1995, Reeve was paralyzed from the neck down during a horse-riding accident as he competed in an equestrian competition in Culpeper, Virginia. After the accident, he applied a Superman-level of commitment to advocating for medical advancements in spinal cord injury repair, a mission that the global medical community is still trying to achieve today. Reeve was a strong believer in stem cell research, and stem cells are one of the leading potential cures for spinal cord damage.

In 2024, DC Studios released a new movie called Super/Man: The Christopher Reeve Story. The movie was a well-received addition to the Christopher Reeve legacy, earning near-universal acclaim from critics. Though Reeve died in October of 2004, he’s remembered as the person who revitalized interest in the Superman character.^[4]

6 An Icon in Constant Motion: How Superman Perfectly Evolves with the Times

Modern bodybuilding didn’t really become popular until the 1950s, and the definitive Superman look reflects this. The first major Superman actor, George Reeves, was a former boxer and athlete who really didn’t bodybuild at all. He was a big man, but he lacked any muscular definition. In fact, though his Superman suit was made from thick wool to make him look bulkier, it didn’t add any kind of muscular definition to his look.

Fast forward about 20 years to the late 1970s, and the world had completely changed. Arnold Schwarzenegger, Lou Ferrigno, and the Pumping Iron movie had made bodybuilding a global phenomenon. It was no longer acceptable for Superman, supposedly the strongest man in the world, to have no muscular definition. The Incredible Hulk television show premiered more than a year before Christopher Reeve’s Superman movie.

The immensely popular TV show introduced many people to Lou Ferrigno’s amazing 6’5″ (1.96 m) physique. Christopher Reeve knew that he would have to bulk up his naturally skinny frame to meet the expectations of an increasingly demanding movie audience. He successfully bulked up for the role, and as the 1978 film showed, Reeve physically embodied the hero with his 6’4″ (1.93 m) athletic build in a way no actor had before. The new template of how Superman should look was born.

Since Christopher Reeve’s historic portrayal of the Man of Steel, every Superman actor has been tall and extremely fit. Out of all the men who’ve played Superman after Christopher Reeve, including Dean Cain, Brandon Routh, Tom Welling, Henry Cavill, Tyler Hoechlin, and David Corenswet, Cain and Hoechlin are around 6 feet. David Corenswet is the tallest at 6 feet 4 inches, matching Christopher Reeve’s height.

For the last several decades, the Superman look has been consistent with society’s natural evolution: taller, leaner, and more muscularly defined is preferred.^[5]

5 It’s Not an “S”: The Symbol of Hope That Changed How We See the Hero

On April 18, 1938, the first Action Comics comic book was released. Those were much simpler and much more innocent times, and the original meaning of the “S” on Superman’s chest was crystal clear. It simply stood for Superman. But almost 90 years later, we live in a much more complicated time, and we crave a much more symbolic meaning in our heroes, so the meaning of Superman’s S has evolved over the last several decades.

In the late 2000s, Warner Bros. began investigating a reboot of Superman, the most popular character in its stable. They ultimately chose Zack Snyder to direct the new Superman film, and David S. Goyer to write the script. They chose a handsomely chiseled young British actor named Henry William Dalgliesh Cavill to bring the new imagination of Superman to life. Cavill was born to play the role. He was both an accomplished athlete and a thespian. He played one of the world’s toughest sports, rugby, and he acted in many school productions.

The movie was a smash box office hit, and it is one of the highest-grossing solo Superman films (adjusted for inflation). In Man of Steel, Lois Lane, played by actress Amy Adams, explicitly asked Cavill’s Superman what the S on his chest stands for. Superman replied that the symbol was not an S, but rather that it was the symbol of hope on his planet, Krypton. This solidified in DC canon that what the goodness of Superman reflects to the citizens of Earth is hope, that ultimately, everything is going to be okay. The movie’s success suggests that audiences around the world were very receptive to this encouraging message.^[6]

4 His Humanity Is a Mirror That Reflects the Best Version of Ourselves

People relate to Superman because, though he has amazing superpowers, he’s flawed and sometimes doubts himself, just like us. Every person has at least one superpower. Some people are amazingly resilient; they’ll recover regardless of what life throws at them. Others are superb listeners; they’ll calmly soak it all in as their friends and family share their fears, problems, and troubles.

Beginning with Christopher Reeve’s rendition of Superman, Superman didn’t take himself too seriously. He was willing to tell a joke, he was willing to be the butt of a joke, and he was willing to show people that he wasn’t perfect. But what Superman did was to always bring it when it was time for strictly business, and that’s how we all are. Humanity loves to party and to enjoy life. Still, when it’s time to get serious about a job that absolutely must get done, we shift to another gear. He may not make the best decisions at times, but these flaws align him with other characters and human beings, making him incredibly interesting.

The real fundamental message of Superman is that we all have a Superman inside of us that we can channel anytime that the need arises. His humanity stands out the most. He takes the lessons taught by his Earth parents, learns from his planet’s destruction, and is inspired by those around him, instilling a unique sense of inspiration that hits differently than any other superhero. He emphasizes that he doesn’t want to be perceived as a god, just someone with great power who wants to help. This inspires us to be better versions of ourselves one step at a time.^[7]

3 The Godlike Abilities We All Secretly Wish We Had

The ultimate irony of Superman is that while we all would love to experience what it’s like to wield his powers, a real-life Superman would yearn to be more like us. Superman couldn’t just slip into a grocery store in anonymity or enjoy a simple baseball game; a person with his powers would be constantly showered with attention. But the part of Superman’s life that most of us couldn’t deal with is the crushing weight of expectations: who could live up to the demands of being Superman?

We’ve all found ourselves in crises where we felt powerless to do anything. It would be wonderful to possess Superman’s powers when witnessing a tragic car accident about to unfold. However, let’s truly imagine how difficult it would be to possess Superman’s godlike abilities: he can never turn them off. He would be expected never to pretend that he doesn’t see a horrific event unfolding. In a world full of constant strife, a real-life Superman could never be at rest unless there were other superhuman beings on Earth to share some of the responsibilities.

In an interview with National Public Radio on the day before the release of 2025’s Superman, writer and director James Gunn discussed his new vision of Superman. He wanted a Superman who is strong, yet not invincible. He wanted a Superman that audiences would see bleed and that they would see fail. However, the defining quality that makes Superman, Superman, is that at the end of the day, we know that he will always get back up, and that he will always fight for humanity because he loves and cares about us deeply.^[8]

2 The Fearless, Heroic Deeds We All Wish We Could Do

One two-second scene from the new Superman movie got everyone’s attention, but I won’t reveal exactly what that scene is just yet. Early in our lives, we all go through a conundrum that most of us rarely talk about: Is all life valuable, or isn’t it? I vaguely remember the first time I saw one of my parents kill something sometime in the mid-1970s. It was an insect of some sort, and I remember secretly thinking for years, what if the situation were reversed? What if some huge creature inhabited Earth that was much bigger and more intelligent than us, just killed us like ants? Even now as an adult, when I kill pests in my home or weeds on my lawn, part of me thinks back to decades ago when I was much more naive and innocent.

The truth is that real life is about compromises: it’d be wonderful if we could live in a perfect world, but we don’t. In real life, tough decisions have to be made, and regardless of how hard we try, people suffer. As far as we know, there’s no way to make life fair, just, and equitable for everyone, so we do the best we can with what we have.

The two-second scene from Superman that got everyone’s attention was the scene where he took the time during a fierce battle to save the life of a squirrel. The scene made all of us think, “If I were getting my butt kicked during a fierce battle, would I take some of my valuable time to save the life of a squirrel?” The answer to that question ultimately doesn’t matter: it’s a personal choice. But what matters is that the writer of the Superman movie thought the point was important enough to bring up in the movie, and James Gunn taught us that to a being like Superman, that squirrel’s life IS important enough to save.

I saw the movie in theaters twice, and I thought that moment in the movie was very powerful. Why? Because deep down in all of us, our 5-year-old self is still alive, and that 5-year-old innocent version of ourselves, before the world made us compromise on so many things, agrees with that assessment. So the squirrel-saving scene taps into something very primal and foundational in all of our psyches.

For me, it was a very interesting experience. When I saw the movie in theaters the first time, I knew that I had to see it again. I had to take my significant other with me because I wanted to see her experiencing the movie for the first time. I was curious to see how her experience of the film would be similar to or different than my own.^[9]

1 The Inspiring, Powerful Speeches We All Wish We Could Deliver

Fear is perhaps the most powerful human emotion. It protects us and it saves our lives over and over again. We all have times where we wish that we could say something, but we know that saying it would either cause us to suffer or cause the suffering of those that we love, so we very wisely choose to keep our mouths shut. But Superman is the most powerful being on Earth, so though he has fears (for example, a fear of Kryptonite), he exists on a completely different level than we do. Because there aren’t many things that can hurt him, he has the bravery to say things that we simply can’t know.

World history has taught us that speaking truth to power has negative consequences. In 399 BC, Socrates was killed for teaching his students how to think philosophically about the important questions of life. Hindsight is 20/20, and we know now that Socrates did nothing wrong, but he lived at a time when his teachings were seen as radical and detrimental to social norms. Socrates was sentenced to death, a sentence which was carried out by forcing him to drink poison hemlock.

Centuries later, Mahatma Gandhi and Martin Luther King Jr. were both killed for leading non-violent protest movements, where they gave moving speeches that made powerful people nervous. However, Socrates, Gandhi, and MLK demonstrate that though speakers can be killed, ideas never truly die: they’re passed down from generation to generation.

Superman’s speech at the end of 2025’s Superman was so powerful because it was the truth. In a pivotal scene with Lex Luthor, Superman gives a moving speech where he reveals that his humanity and vulnerability are his greatest strengths. This powerful scene is at the core of James Gunn’s vision for the hero: he’s just as vulnerable as we are, but his powers give him unique abilities to deal with problems that we find it difficult to deal with.

If any one of us stood on a street corner and gave the exact same speech, no one would listen. They’re far too busy living their lives and dealing with their own problems. But the genius of the new Superman movie was that they made the speech compelling enough that audiences around the world actually listened and absorbed its message.

Despite Lex Luthor’s attempts to use Superman’s Kryptonian origin to turn the world against him, Superman’s inherent goodness and his message of hope resonated. Lex Luthor was publicly exposed as the evil man that he truly was. As of late 2025, Superman has earned over $600 million worldwide, proving that James Gunn hit a nerve that resonated with a huge global audience.^[10]