Theres a reason Superman keeps his identity private he doesnt want to risk those dearest to him. Some of the darkest hours for the Man of Steel have been caused by the loss of, or perceived death of, his loved ones. Under the influence of Manchester Black, the possibility of seeing his beloved Lois Lane dead nearly pushed him to break one of his key rules - he toyed with the possibility of killing Black in vengeance. In other cases Superman has been unable to deal with issues he cannot stop - he is not all powerful, and some events are beyond his control. The fact that Kal-El has been bestowed with such amazing gifts, yet Clark Kents associates are fallible and mortal humans, means that Superman has to cope with the very real sense of loss. The death of Jonathon Kent is one of the best examples, where a young Clark Kent must come to terms with the knowledge that he cannot control everything. This humanises the character, but also shows how much his abilities trouble him - in the wake of the Doomsday War, Superman struggled to come to terms with such a loss of life, and there have been tonnes of times when the thought of losing Lois Lane nearly destroyed the hero.
A 21 year old History graduate looking for someone to listen to his ramblings. Lover of comic books, movies and all other superhero related things. Published in The Independent, always looking for interesting things to write about...Follow me on Twitter at @samclements1993, and check out my blog: http://samuelclements.wordpress.com/
