122. Superman
I.
In the foreword to the comic anthology The Man of Steel, science fiction writer Ray Bradbury sketches the era in which Superman was conceived (1938!). āModern America was still teetering on its new mechanical feet,ā he writes. Television was still a vague concept, films were barely in colour, and the passenger aeroplane was a brand-new invention. āAmidst this half-invented technology, Superman falls from the sky,ā writes Bradbury. āWhy did we welcome him?ā
It is almost a miracle that, ninety years on, this classic character is still part of pop culture. Alongside Batman, Superman remains the standard-bearer of DC Comics, providing a counterweight to the all-powerful Marvel with its Spider-Man, Hulk, Iron Man, Thor and Captain America. Many people find Superman a boring hero. Too powerful and untouchable. Too good. It was no coincidence that an alien material had to be invented to give him any weakness at all: kryptonite.
Last Tuesday, I attended the premiere of the latest Superman film in Amsterdam with Snackspert. There I saw a Superman who is anything but invincible. Halfway through the film, heās on his last legs and taking a proper beating. A team of superheroes around him (Mister Terrific, Green Lantern, Hawkgirl and Metamorpho) helps him out against his arch-nemesis Lex Luthor.
Luthor has Superman in a stranglehold, both physically and mentally. He ensures the hero falls out of public favour by posting incriminating material online. In addition, all sorts of ethical questions are raised about whether Superman should interfere in geopolitical conflicts. Meanwhile, there is still the threat of a gigantic monster, and the relationship between Supermanās alter ego Clark Kent and his beloved Lois Lane is under strain.
So a lot is happening (Iād say a bit too much), but itās not a heavy film. Director James Gunn has been appointed as the new head of DC Films for a reason. With his Guardians of the Galaxy film series (from Marvel), he found a way of making superhero films that resonated with a wide audience. There are certainly some parallels to be drawn with his Superman. Once again, there is a team of heroes to keep the tone lively and comical, there is room for jokes, and there is a brilliant action scene set to a pop song.
Online, there was even (or: naturally) discussion about the filmās themes. People compare the geopolitical conflict depicted in Superman with the war in Ukraine, for example. And Superman is said to champion the cause of immigrants in the United States too much. But then again: he is an immigrant himself (from another planet, no less) who does his best to help humanity move forward. Superman disguises himself as Clark Kent so he can live a normal life on Earth. Unlike other superheroes, who are ordinary people until they put on a mask.
One sometimes risks forgetting that Superman is not a super-man, but a god from outer space. So have we embraced this hero for almost a century despite our ever-changing society? āBecause Superman is us,ā writes Bradbury. āAnd we see ourselves in him.ā
- - -I-b
Why doesnāt anyone recognise Superman when heās Clark Kent? He doesnāt wear a mask; a pair of glasses turns out to be the perfect disguise between his heroic and civilian identities. This requires the viewer and reader to employ suspension of disbelief ā okay, itās strange, just go with it.
There are various ways to explain the purpose of the glasses. In the Superman film, for example, our Clark Kent wears hypnotic glasses. That idea comes from the comics, says director James Gunn. āWith the glasses, Kent hypnotises people so they donāt recognise him as Superman.ā
A few weeks ago, during Heroes Dutch Comic Con, I attended a panel with Superman creators Tom Grommett, Jesus Merino and James Robinson. The difference between Kent and Superman was also briefly discussed there. Merino says that at first he struggled with drawing these two roles. āI drew Clark Kent as Superman wearing glasses,ā he says. āBut it didnāt feel right. Eventually, I realised that the man essentially consists of two characters. So now I draw Superman as a different person from Clark Kent.ā It can be that simple.
II.
Bob Dylan is currently touring the United States with the Outlaw Music Festival. The tour is led by Willie Nelson (92 years old, itās unbelievable) and, alongside Dylan, artists such as Sheryl Crow, Wilco, Waxahatchee and Lucinda Williams are joining in.
After this tour, Bob Dylan (also 84 years old) will board a plane again for a tour of Europe. Heās playing at AFAS Live on 4 and 5 November. The announcement came out of the blue last week and naturally fills me with joy. After every European run, it remains to be seen whether heāll make the crossing again. Youāve got to be up for it to live in a tour bus as an elderly artist. As we now know: Bob Dylan remains restless and lives for the music.
The prices for the concerts in Amsterdam are nothing to sneeze at. For 117 euros youāll be sitting at the back of the hall on the balcony; for 162 euros youāll be a bit closer to the legend. My ticket for Oasis was even cheaper (the countdown has begun ā just two weeks to go). Still, I hope to be there again. Bob forever!
PS.
There are restaurants and bars that clearly follow social media trends to become successful in a short space of time. But there are also small businesses that have absolutely no interest in that. āWhat can you do if youāre āTikTok-edā?ā wonders Craig Mod. The blogger sees this so-called ānatural disasterā happening all over Japan. āMass tourism arises mainly because algorithms direct the attention of the masses towards very specific activities and places. There is also a strange narcissistic and selfish element to it, which fuels the urge to take a photo at a certain spot at any cost, in order to share it on a particular social media platform.ā
Iāve been told before that Iām āgood at textingā, meaning I reply quickly. Over the years, Iāve become less and less good at it. I forget to reply or I canāt be bothered to catch up on those endless group chats and join in. I read this headline in The Guardian: āIām not ignoring your message ā Iām overwhelmed by the tyranny of always being availableā. That column describes this fatigue in a way that rings true.
This video depicts the last hundred years of our history. Each clip comes from a film set in the year in question.
- - -This is a wonderful deep (deep!) dive into how the Macsā settings screen has changed over the years.
Itās always good news when Pudding Cool has carried out a new study. This time itās about the gender of animals in childrenās books. Great headline too: Bears Will Be Boys.
Paul Verhoeven is a living legend. Now 87 years old ā what we call getting on in years ā and yet he still has those boyish, twinkling eyes. He is working on a new film, Young Sinners, and is visiting France to promote the translation of his biography Paul Verhoeven, een filmersleven. Biographer Rob van Scheers is travelling with him, sees eBay vultures asking for autographs and writes a report for de Volkskrant.
In my weekly blog for NU.nl, I wrote this time about The Velvet Sundown, a non-existent band that has received a lot of attention in recent weeks. You often hear that AI music is (almost) as good as music made by humans. The fallacy is that itās not about the result at all.
Youāve just read blog no. 122, written in the week of 7 to 13 July 2025. Subscribe to my free newsletter to receive this blog in your inbox every Sunday.