Is Superman Fandom Toxic? (Great Debate)

Great Debate

“Shazam! Fury of the Gods” director David F. Sandberg recently participated in an AMA (Ask Me Anything) on Instagram, and revealed that while he once was interested in making a Superman movie, he’s now decided against ever being involved in taking on the Man of Steel, or indeed the Justice League.

When asked if there was another DC superhero he would be interested in taking on, Sandberg replied, “At one point I would have said Superman, but when there are so many different expectations and hardcore fans you’re going to piss off so many people no matter what you do.”

“Seeing how people react to things like The Last Jedi makes me want to stay away from things like that. Shazam! was perfect in that there hadn’t been that many adaptations before. There are still people who think it was done wrong, but it was on a manageable level.”

So, in the first instalment of our new “Great Debate” feature, we ask the question…

Is Superman Fandom Toxic?

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Great Debate - Toxic Fandom

Who do you agree with?

Many thanks to our Great Debaters – Neal Bailey and Julian Finn.

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Superman2878
April 5, 2022 10:14 am

I think it depends on the fan and not the fandom as a whole. I’ve talked to some really nice and friendly people on this site. People who I call friends. If I were to actually meet them in person, I’m betting we could be friends in the real world as well as the virtual one. That’s why I think it depends on the fan. If a fan gets possessive of the Superman character, then it might reflect badly for the whole Supermanfandom as a whole. The whole fandom shouldn’t be judged by that fan’s possessiveness. And to not even… Read more »

Last edited 1 year ago by Superman2878
VladimirAlpha1993
VladimirAlpha1993
April 5, 2022 12:41 pm

Yes, Superman fans are chill and nice, it’s the fandom as a whole that is toxic and poisonous.

afriend
afriend
April 5, 2022 1:36 pm

At one point Superman was voted to be the second biggest Pop Culture Icon (right behind Oprah, so… Grains of salt and all); I don’t think that there’s anyone in the industrialized world who isn’t aware of the character. So those with strong feelings are going to be most vocal, and technology is increasing the megaphone for the loudmouths anyway (full disclosure, I was known to rage on the old message boards…) So there’s something of a confirmation bias towards the more toxic individuals and groups, who are now going to loudly conflict with each other, making the whole situation… Read more »

Carstonio
Carstonio
April 5, 2022 4:44 pm

A lot has been written about Superman’s approach to right and wrong, but the real keys to the character are his humanism and idealism, and the best stories challenge his commitment to those isms and challenge his human/Kryptonian duality. And the best antagonists are his opposite in some way in their view of humanity – Luthor helping people only when he benefits from doing so, Darkseid relentlessly pursuing absolute power, Mxyzptlk treating people as playthings, Brainiac reducing humans to collectibles or data artifacts, Manchester Black assuming that the answer to evil is more evil. That’s why most of the 1950s… Read more »

Superman2878
April 5, 2022 4:56 pm

I would like to clarify what I meant when I said misguided directing. And the best way that I can explain this is speaking about Amazon Prime’s Homelander from The Boys series. At first glance he looks like Superman. He can fly, has a cape, smiles to the camera. But anyone who watches the series will immediately see a huge difference in his character compared to Superman. He’s a maniac in a super suit. Now image the same kind of character in a Superman suit calling himself “Superman” and then have fans get all upset about it. My point is… Read more »

Adrian_Arnould
Adrian_Arnould
April 5, 2022 10:42 pm

I loved watching Chris Reeve fly when I was a kid and my father took me to the cinema. I had loved Superman since I saw Super friends on TV when I was 5. Superboy, later Lois and Clark, then came the Animated Series and Smallville. I watched Krypton and Man of Steel. I have liked most of what every iteration had to offer, and though some things were not perfect from my point of view, I was every time thrilled about seeing my childhood hero take off again before my eyes. I really like Superman and Lois, and it… Read more »

Kal-Elvis
April 7, 2022 3:48 pm

There are definitely toxic aspects in the fandom, and they can be VOCAL and often abhorrent. But that’s true of just about any fandom that’s not outright starved for content. Add that Superman is a massive pop culture icon with strong cultural identification in his early history, and you’ve got a built-in powder keg. Add to that the fact that DC and WB have often participated in practices that explicitly split the Superman fandom, and that gets even worse. And part of the problem is that we have both too much and not enough cinematic content. Batman has had so… Read more »

Sam
Sam
April 8, 2022 6:41 pm

“If they don’t speak up, the only voices we hear are awful” That is some REALLY crass arrogance to think that you are special. You’re on the internet on a site I’ve NEVER heard of until today but apparently it’s been MY responsibility to contribute to YOUR conversations for the past 20 years? That’s not on me. You’re attitude translates as “I like MY friends but nobody else matters.” Well welcome to the internet. If you want an echo chamber go to Twitter. I don’t blame you for being this way with all the partisan triggering things that have happened… Read more »

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Neal Bailey
Admin
April 12, 2022 4:12 pm
Reply to  Sam

So to be clear, we are unqualified to make these distinctions, yet the distinctions we drew were powerful enough to make you sign up for an account and comment, but somehow they are wrong and have no value. Winning argument there, chum. “My enemy is stupid and weak, but also so insidious and powerful I must personally invalidate them.” I have every right to declare anything I want to be anything I want on this site, as one of its editors. And so I repeat: Superman fandom is toxic. Your comment is absolutely a symptom of it. If you don’t… Read more »

Sam
Sam
April 23, 2022 10:09 pm
Reply to  Neal Bailey

Neal, if you want to call me the villain and kick me out of your fortress of solitude? Go ahead and make yourself feel better, brag about it on your ‘lets do some editing’ videos, attack strangers but still feel entitled to beg for money on your Patreon.

Have a better life, cuz right now you don’t seem to be enjoying it.