While it’s true enough that most great Superman stories feature one of these limited dangers, it’s also true that what “hurts” Superman is rarely physical. Since Superman’s movie woes are tied up in this debate, let’s take Superman II as an example: It features a classic threat (other Kryptonians) and all of the high-stakes action that entails. But the central question of the story and its ultimate conclusion don’t really revolve around the physical threats at all. We see Superman struggle with his responsibilities, his love life, and ethical dilemmas that can’t be resolved just by relying on his inherent goodness. Superman II is a drama as much as it is an action movie, and that’s what makes it one of the greatest superhero films ever made.

So what hurts Superman? Easy: What hurts Superman is what hurts us mortals.

That’s what makes Superman stories so rewarding. Despite being so powerful—or maybe even because of it—Superman’s most important problems tend to be very human.

Superman struggles with as many internal motivations and priorities as any other superhero, or any other person. He is an orphan, an immigrant, and an alien. He is feared and loved. He is in a love triangle with two women (Lois Lane and Lana Lang); he is in another love triangle with himself (Lois Lane, Superman, and Clark Kent).

These aren’t simple issues, and they can’t be easily resolved despite Superman’s ultimate morality. Superman always strives to do ‘the right thing’, but the questions he faces in each story ought to be tough enough to match his intellect and his drive for goodness. With the right conflict, a Superman story is more than a superhero story, and Superman’s true value shines through.

When Superman’s writers fail to create a great moral conflict, it’s obvious. Bad Superman stories aren’t any worse than most bad Batman stories—the former just can’t rely on putting their hero in physical danger to distract from the story’s shortcomings.

But this weakness is an asset, too. It forces writers to focus on the most important aspects of Superman as a character. To work, Superman must be thinking, feeling, and hurting (emotionally, that is) throughout the story. And in the best stories throughout his history, he’s doing just that.

In Alan Moore’s unforgettable For the Man Who Has Everything, Superman is imprisoned in an illusion of his lost homeworld. Superman has the mental strength to escape, but the emotional pull of the story is bigger than anything that a Kryptonite beam could create. Dan Jurgens’ The Death of Superman, Grant Morrison’s All-Star Superman, and Moore’s Whatever Happened to the Man of Tomorrow all deal with the ways in which Superman spends his final days and moments. What are Superman’s priorities? Superman can do almost anything, but what will he do when he only has time for a few things?

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