Why I Stopped Hating Superman, by Emma Rudkin

Through consuming Batman media as a child, I picked up on an unspoken rule that only became more obvious to me when I grew up and became an active Internet user: Batman fans don’t like Superman. In fact, we roll our eyes at them. They’re corny glass-half-full goody-two-shoes who refuse to see reality as bleak as it is. They favor the ultimate overpowered superhero who’s never known hardship in his life? Who was raised by two loving parents and is dating the love of his life?

To me, Superman was so likeable that I detested him. There’s nothing to be sympathetic to when a character has everything, I thought. Batman, on the other hand, has been through so much and doesn’t have godlike powers to show for it. It was appealing to side with Batman as an edgy underdog back then—and by back then, I mean my entire life up until July 2025. So…what changed?

Superman happened. Directed by James Gunn, the film released in theaters on July 11, 2025, and completely threw a wrench in everything I thought I knew about Superman.

Let me clarify that while Batman fans generally dislike Superman, this is not a one-way street. I also have long noticed that Superman fans regard Batman as cringy for his edgy exterior and pathetic for the broken man within. I can’t even say they’re wrong, either. Even before coming around to Superman being a more complex character than I originally thought, I recognized Batman’s flaws—in fact, his flaws are what make him so compelling to me, just as their (perceived) absence in Superman contributed to my aversion.

To elaborate a bit more on my perception of Batman, I was the biggest Batman fan growing up. I loved the 1966 Batman television show; three of my birthday parties featured the same Batman cake design from Meijer; I went as Batgirl for Halloween two years straight and watched my dad play the Arkham games (about which I grew up to write not one, but two articles). Batman is genius, mysterious and iron-willed—but above all, he’s just as insane as the criminals he dedicates his life to fighting. He deprives himself of health and happiness in lieu of his crusade against corruption in Gotham.

For all intents and purposes, Bruce Wayne is the mask that Batman is burdened with wearing. His parents’ untimely demise broke him as a child and the resulting trauma plagues him in adulthood. So, he’s decided this is his cross to bear—to become something superhuman despite the harsh reality that he is just a human. His commitment to his idea of justice supersedes any regard he may have otherwise had to keep his body (and mind) intact. Most Batman stories contain a scene that’s basically a staple for the character: Alfred pleading Batman to take it easy. Alfred is the only person who witnesses the fallout of Batman’s endeavors. Bruised and bandaged, Batman always dismisses Alfred’s plea. After all, Batman only ever minds his health when it prevents him from donning the cape and cowl. He’s not concerned with health for health’s sake, as any well-adjusted person would. He’s acquainted with pain—some would even say that he revels in it.

All of this is to say that while Batman is a spectacular and complex character, he’s not exactly who I want to be when I grow up. I do kind of what to be happy, healthy and form meaningful connections with others. I actually would rather work through and overcome my trauma rather than letting it become the reason for my existence. By those metrics, as it turns out, the hero I seek to embody is Superman himself.

Yes, Superman did grow up with two loving parents—a luxury Batman lost at a young age. However, to only privilege that aspect of Superman’s familial life completely erases the fact that he only ended up on Earth as a result of the destruction of his home planet, Krypton, and his entire family/people with it. While he is raised on Earth and grows to call it home, there will always be an air of tragedy contextualizing his childhood and the family he never really got to be a part of before their demise. Just because he never met them, Superman (2025) reveals the profound impact his parents’ final words had on him. It gives him purpose—which sounds awfully familiar to perhaps another character that people constantly pit Superman against…

Superman’s good nature, which I once decided was naive, is what endeared me to him in the film most, although not always in the ways that I expected. While being interviewed by Lois, Superman is very short with her questioning of the ethicality/legality of his unilateral action to stop the Boravian invasion of Jarhanpur. He shows little to no interest in justifying his decision because ultimately, he saved lives, and that’s all that matters to him regardless of any political fallout. He doesn’t handle the criticism she mentions very well. He’s quite emotional—angry even.

To my surprise, I saw myself in him; he prioritized what he thought was right over institutional or political consequences. I related when he became angry when asked to explain why he’d do such a thing, because to him—to me—the answer is obvious: it was the right thing to do. There’s nothing more to say. But we live in a world where we always have to say more, for better or worse. Superman’s goodness isn’t just reflected in a happy-go-lucky manner the way I used to understand it; it can manifest in much more raw, at times ugly ways—like me, like others, like humans. Ironically, in this case Superman might be more human than Batman in this case, figuratively speaking.

Comparisons between Batman and Superman are as old as the characters themselves. They clearly serve as foils for one another, creating a contentious but also understanding relationship between the two. The things I’ve grown to love about Superman also reveal truths about Batman as a character that have not become obvious to me until I’ve encountered the difference in Superman. There’s a lot of buzz among DC fans anticipating the interactions that will take place between Batman and Superman down the line in the DCU. While it’s been confirmed that Robert Pattinson’s Batman will not be the DCU Batman, the DCU Batman will undoubtedly be moody and this will create interesting and dynamic interactions between the two characters—especially if James Gunn is involved.

Thank you Superman (2025), for teaching me that it’s okay to be a Superman fan as well as a Batman fan. Let’s lift these two queens up…they don’t always have to be pit against each other!