If Clark were left alone for a year... well, that depends on the incarnation of the character. If it were Pre-Crisis (or All-Star,) Superman, with all of that power and intellect, Superman would try to make a real difference in the world and change it for the better, advancing the world to heights which it had never dreamed of, but also making sure that no-one took advantage of those changes, and that the world stayed in peace.
Post-Crisis Superman, on the other hand, doesn't have such power and intellect, but he would still do his best to help the world. If there were no Supervillains to fight, he would still help hurricane evacuations, plug volcanoes, help with earthquakes, etc. There would still be all sorts of things Superman could do to help, and he would do them.
In nearly every incarnation of Superman, Superman, above all, just wants to make the world a better place, and help in any way he can, though sometimes, he does have 'Crisis's of Faith', mainly do with how much he should help. Honestly, I just think that's lazy writing on the writer's part; you can't think of something cool and/or interesting to do with Superman's powers and abilities, so you instead give us yet another 'Superman doesn't know what to do,' story. But even then, Superman still wants to help. Heck, even in Red Son, that was his main motivation, even though it resulted in a totalitarian society. That, above all, is what Superman wants, and what he should be.
edited 13th Mar '13 11:33:02 AM by kkhohoho
I think his motivation is to do what's in his power to help the world. He has a LOT of power, so there's a lot he can do. He'd be doing the same thing if he had no powers and was just Clark Kent; he'd be exposing injustice and corruption and whatnot as a reporter. If there was no crime or no super-villains or monsters or eldritch abominations, he'd help out with natural disasters and fires and oil spills and whatnot.
Batman does what he does because he believes that the world shouldn't be like Gotham. Superman does what he does because he thinks the world should be like Smallville.
Theres sex and death and human grime in monochrome for one thin dime and at least the trains all run on time but they dont go anywhere.Actually, I'm pretty sure that if Pre-Crisis Superman had a year off from crime-fighting, he'd spend all his time playing elaborate pranks on Lois and Jimmy. Moreso than he already did, I mean.
Anyway, the way I like to think of Superman's motivation is that he was raised in the sort of archetypal, idyllic small town where everyone pitches in to help their neighbors and make their town a better place. Then he moves to the big city, where there are millions of neighbors in need of help, so his friendly-neighbor helpfulness has to be a million times more proactive.
What kind of sick, freaky place is that? What you're saying is completely nuts.
No, I'm just joshing with you. I know I'm not the only person who's met people that think doing the right thing is for chumps (or chumpettes). What you're saying makes sense.
Embroiled in slave rebellion, I escaped crucifixion simply by declaring 'I am Vito', everyone else apparently being called 'Spartacus'.![]()
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Not to nitpick your quote, but, depending on which version you read, Krypton was entirely capable of averting their destruction. They were capable of evacuating to another planet (which is what Jor-El suggested they do), but the ruling council didn't want to believe that the planet was about to explode.
Neither here nor there to this discussion, just thought I'd mention it.

In his best comics, Superman is extremely driven, often under immense pressure. I.e:
All-Star- Superman is dying and wants to make the best of his last days.
Kingdom Come- Superman is trying to curb the influence of 90s anti-heroes.
Compare that with how reactive he is in a lot of monthly storylines:
H'el- H'el shows up, has an agenda, Superman has to stop him.
New Krypton- New Kryptonians show up, almost out of nowhere, Superman has to stop them.
Motivation seems essential to a good Superman story, but what exactly are his general goals and desires in life? If Clark was left alone for a year without any super-villains to fight, what would he try to accomplish?
(I don't have a good answer for this question.)
edited 13th Mar '13 5:46:06 AM by Distortion00