Man and Superman
art by Jason Ericksen
 
When I was a little kid, I never really believed a man could fly. I just knew better. But I figured that, if one could, he’d look like Christopher Reeve as Superman. Even now, as the special effects in those movies look hokier and hokier, I still believe that’s how it’d look. There’s a conviction on his face and in his movements. He’s not just some Hollywood actor hanging in an uncomfortable harness or lying in front of a blue screen. When he was making those movies and the cameras were rolling, I think he believed he was Superman as much as I did.

Superman’s been a huge part of my life since I can remember. And it’s not because of the comics. I mean, I’ve liked and read comics for most of my life, and occasionally there are some good ones featuring Superman, but what really made the character for me was Christopher Reeve’s modest, yet heroic portrayal of him, especially in 1978’s “Superman: The Movie” and 1980’s “Superman II.” Oh, who am I kidding? I loved the shitty third and fourth ones as a kid, too. And, honestly, no matter how bad the movies got with Superman flying around with Richard Pryor or telling the U.N. he was going to rid the world of all nuclear weapons to thunderous applause, Reeve always conducted himself with that quiet dignity. That’s a difficult thing to do in blue tights and a cape, but he pulled it off every time.

I think that, honestly, Reeve’s Superman is one of the main reasons I’ve always strived to be “good guy”. There’s this huge misconception about Superman that he’s just this all-powerful, overgrown Boy Scout who always knows what to do. But that’s not how Reeve portrayed him. There was a struggle with how to save the day on the big jobs. He struggled with doing the right thing and keeping his word. Look at the first Superman, where he has to stop not one -- but two -- nuclear missiles, one going to New Jersey and the other to California. And it just so happens that the love of his life, Lois Lane, is right where the California one is going, but he’d promised to stop the NJ one first. Or there’s the second film, when he gives up his powers to be with Lois, only to have to deny himself that happiness for the greater good. There’s a subtle struggle and intensity in Reeve’s performance, especially when Superman is forced to make these kinds of emotional, all-too-human choices. Instances like this taught me -- at a very young and impressionable age -- that the right thing isn’t always the easy thing. In fact, often it’s the hardest.

Reeve also managed to convey great humanity in his mostly comedic performances as Clark Kent. His was a decent, yet bumbling everyman. Which one was the real Superman? In those movies, it seemed that the more heroic, caped hero was, but Reeve still infused Clark with humor and humility that made him just as endearing. Honestly, his Clark Kent had almost as much of an effect on me as his Superman. They were both good, honest men in their own ways. Both behaved in a manner that was upright in a way that a kid could look up to.

By the time you read this, Reeve’s death will be a few weeks in the past. But as I write it, he passed only a day ago. It’s had a fairly significant effect on me. Much has already been written about him and his career; I know he was a pretty gifted actor. I also know that he felt trapped by the role of Superman. He was typecast. That much is evident as almost every picture of him in articles about his death is from those movies. It was frustrating at the time, but he seemed to come to accept it. He still had a career outside of Superman, but to be known mainly as the world’s greatest superhero isn’t a bad thing.

Reeve had suffered quite a lot of trauma the last decade of his life. Most everyone knows about his accident that left him paralyzed from the neck down. My God, just think about that -- this is the point where most people, myself included, would probably give up. In fact, Reeve himself said he contemplated it. That’s human. But, like a true hero, he overcame that struggle and found the resolve to press on. He wanted not only to help himself, but others in similar situations, setting up funds and trying to further medical research by using his celebrity for more than fame and fortune. It was heroic for him to continue working. It was heroic for him to just let people see him in that chair, his once deep voice week and faint.

As a child, Reeve’s portrayal of Superman showed me what a hero was, how to strive to be a good person. As an adult, even though I knew very little about the man, he showed me how to continue striving, to never give up. And that’s not an easy thing for me, honestly. It’s difficult to write this, but those who really know me know that I have trouble seeing the bright side and reasons to keep trying, even though I’m faced with far less hardship than this man was. His all-too-early passing at 52 has put this flaw in my character into perspective for me. As Superman, Christopher Reeve was someone for me to look up to as a kid. But, as a man, faced with incredible circumstances, Christopher Reeve has become someone for me to look up to as an adult. Getting in an accident and becoming paralyzed didn’t make him a hero as some people have complained. It was how he carried himself afterward. That made him a true hero. And, even though I never met the man, I miss him.

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At first glance, D.J. Kirkbride seems a little obsessed with the Man of Steel. When you look deeper, you find out it's for a really good reason.