Superman: the big blue boy scout; Kryptonian protector of Metropolis, and arbiter of peace, justice and the American way… or is he? 

As the co-leader of the Justice League with Batman, you’d expect him to have a squeaky-clean wrap sheet; you would be wrong. First of all, his name isn’t Clark Kent as he would have us believe. His real name is Kal-El, and he’s an illegal immigrant straight from his dying planet of Krypton. His parents didn’t apply for asylum, nor did he come plummeting into the atmosphere with a green card or any other proper documentation. Being an illegal immigrant is just about the least American thing you can do.

Now for the obvious, vigilantism; he’s not an officer of the law or government agent. Yet, he purposely seeks out crime and fights violent criminals who have not attacked him, making him a vigilante. According to Grant Bebow, “They should just lock him up at this point. He’s done much more damage than he’s prevented.” Not to mention murder: he has murdered countless supervillains at one point or another, including The Joker, Lex Luthor, Solomon Grundy, and Darkseid. Additionally, he has countless possible charges of manslaughter. There’s no way he hasn’t killed thousands over the years of destroying Metropolis’ skyline. 

They say don’t criticize what you can’t understand, but I understand Kent perfectly. He knows if he leaves, so too will his villains, meaning Metropolis will be safe once again. However, he needs citizens to need him. That’s where he gets his kicks. According to Cole Lombard, “I never really liked Superman, I don’t find it interesting to watch a film in which the hero only has one weakness.” He wants to be the perpetual hero so much, he puts the entire city in danger just to save them… or at least most of them. He may be faster than a speeding bullet, more powerful than a locomotive, able to leap tall buildings in a single bound, but he can’t take on some dude dressed up as a bat with a fancy green rock. 

As a matter of fact, you could pick any two core members of the Justice League, and they could easily beat the “Man of Steel” if they put in enough effort. There’s enough firepower between Wonder Woman, The Flash, Green Lantern, Green Arrow, Aquaman, Cyborg, Shazam, and The Atom for a duo to do the job with ease.