History YMMV / Superman

*** Is Lex Luthor's FantasticRacism towards Superman genuine or is it a front he puts up because he knows it's one of the few, legitimate ways he can publicly attack such a beloved figure? Lex hating Superman for being an alien is one of the defining traits of his character but even that can be called into question because Lex otherwise gets along with and works with other aliens like Brainiac, Sinestro, and Perpetua without showing any prejudice around them. If one were to assume that Lex secretly envies Superman and wants to ''be'' Superman as some stories strongly imply if not outright state, then one could also surmise that Lex is only cynically exploiting anti-alien prejudice because he realizes attacking Superman for his alien origins is probably the only legitimate way he could publicly criticize Superman and if Superman were to turn on Earth one day, then Lex would be fully vindicated in his criticisms in the public eye, but otherwise couldn't care less about Superman being an alien, considering Lex's VillainousFriendship and work camaraderie with other aliens like Brainiac and Sinestro.

* JerkassWoobie: [[ComicBook/TheDeathOfClarkKent Conduit]]. In the end, all he wanted was [[IJustWantToBeSpecial to be special like Superman]]. Even in-universe, Superman mourns and pities him after his death.
%%** Lex Luthor and Metallo, both DependingOnTheWriter.

* ArchivePanic: As one of the most enduring and popular characters in fiction, this is to be expected.

* CriticalBacklash: An eternal trope when it comes to Superman and honestly a lot of "classic" superheroes generally. Cynical, edgy critics will dismiss the character as a "[[GoodIsBoring boring]] [[InvincibleHero overpowered]] [[TrueArtIsAngsty boyscout]]," gathering a mass of angry, mostly-young haters who parrot their opinions in the process. Eventually, they turn audiences against them with the extremity of their views, especially when they start RunningTheAsylum and trying to make stories ''so'' cynical and edgy that audiences quickly become exhausted and begin to appreciate the idea of a lovably-wholesome everyman with godlike powers who just wants to help people and make the world a better place more than [[TooBleakStoppedCaring whatever this is]]. Often, this process leads to these same audiences (and even some of the haters who've [[FleetingDemographicRule aged out of youthful edginess]]) discovering the richness and emotional complexity the character and his world are capable of demonstrating in the right hands.

** The idea that Superman was the dominant personality was theorized by Jules Feiffer, whose words were paraphrased by Bill the Snakecharmer in ''Film/KillBillVol2''. While that was the case in UsefulNotes/TheSilverAgeOfComicBooks, several [[UsefulNotes/TheBronzeAgeOfComicBooks Bronze Age]] stories, most notably the "Mr. Xavier Saga" [[ComicBook/XMen (no relation)]], came to the conclusion that he valued both identities equally, and felt miserable and stressed whenever he was forced to neglect either for an extended period of time. Without Clark, he had no way to ever relax; and without Superman, he couldn't help people in danger.[[note]]"I tried to decide whether Clark or Superman is more important... and realized that to do away with one would be to ''kill'' half of myself--''whoever'' I really am! So... I'd decided meek, mild-mannered Clark Kent will still walk the streets of the city--while up in the sky... the world will still watch and thrill to the sight of--a job for Superman!"[[/note]]

** During UsefulNotes/TheGoldenAgeOfComicBooks, Superman was nowhere near as powerful as his Silver Age SuperpowerLottery levels, right? He started that way, but after a couple years, he was blowing out stars and flying through time without a care. Later comics played up that Golden Age Superman was always at "leaping tall buildings, nothing less than a bursting shell can penetrate his skin" levels in order to contrast him with the Silver Age Superman, in the same way as they pretended he'd "always" worked for George Taylor at the Daily Star, when Perry and the Planet came in with the radio series.

** The red trunks. For some they represent everything great about classic Superman, being old-fashioned, goofy, and withstand any cynical attempts to 'update' him for modern times. For others, they represent everything wrong with Superman, being old-fashioned, goofy, and refusing to modernize and get with the times. Some TakeAThirdOption in that they don't necessarily mind the trunks but don't like how certain gatekeeper types put so much emphasis on what they see as a superficial aspect as somehow being more "essential" to the character than his deeds and personality.