When he wasn't enjoying the treasured memories of his superpowered childhood, the adult Superman of the Silver Age took time out of his lifelong commitment to protecting humanity to be a total douche to his friends, peers and loved ones, just because he could. The seventies escapades of the Man of Steel inspired a whole meta-genre of comics, identified by internet sleuths as Super-Dickery, and there's so much evidence backing up the title that it's difficult to argue with. There's a whole list of times Superman was a real jerk, from his playing of his warring sweethearts Lana Lang and Lois Lane (guy really has a thing for alliterative names) to the times he has belittled and straight up tortured friends both masked (Batman, Aquaman, Green Lantern) and not (his supposed "pal", Jimmy Olsen). That's about as far from the standard depiction of the Big Blue Boy Scout as you can get, and as such these stories are never, ever referred to. Being written out of existence by multiple retcons, much like Superboy, has helped speed up that process.
Tom Baker is the Comics Editor at WhatCulture! He's heard all the Doctor Who jokes, but not many about Randall and Hopkirk. He also blogs at http://communibearsilostate.wordpress.com/
