Sequential Scholars

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Cyclops’ ‘hero’s journey’ is emblematic of a broader Silver Age trend: while Kirby/Lee complicated the alpha-male masculinity of Golden Age superheroes with wimps, losers, and slims, they still measured the success of their heroes through patriarchal standards. 12/12

As the anointed leader of the X-Men, and with Jean Grey on his arm, Cyclops wins the race to the position of prominence within patriarchal culture by the standards and norms through which success is measured in a patriarchal society. 11/12

TBT: Early X-Men comics highlight the role that performative masculinity often plays in the character arcs of Silver Age heroes whose potential to subvert masculine norms can be undermined when their success is still modeled and measured by patriarchal standards. #xmen 1/12

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In short, it’s a big moment for Kal-El, one that asks hard questions about the delicate balance between fantasy and reality and the role that Superman can play (as both a character and as a fantasy property) in reflecting that same balance in the lives of all individuals. 11/11

Letting Superman give up the fantasy of the life not lived is thus a deeply poignant bit of character growth for a hero who has always been intrinsically defined by the haunting legacy of said fantasy and the tragedy surrounding him as a result. 10/11

In “For the Man Who Has Everything…” Alan Moore’s narrative explores the relationship between fantasy and reality to advance Superman beyond a defining attribute of the character: his fixation on what might have been had Krypton not been destroyed. #superman 1/11