One of the most recognized symbols in all the world, the emblem on Superman’s chest was initially just an “S” that stood for “Superman”. It wasn’t until 1978’s “Superman: The Movie” that the symbol was shown to have originated on Krypton as the symbol for the House of El. Then in the movie “Man of Steel” the “S” shield, while still the crest for the El family, was also known as the Kryptonian symbol for “Hope”.
So, in the fourth instalment of our “Great Debate” feature, we ask the question…
Should Superman’s “S” shield be a Kryptonian symbol?
Yes
It isn’t that the “S” is a particularly inspiring symbol for a superhero. It isn’t.
Devoid of context, when people first saw the costume and sussed out that the “S” must stand for “Superman,” it probably had a whiff of the pretentious around it. You don’t give yourself nicknames (unless you’re that type) and you probably shouldn’t name yourself something as ostentatious as “Superman”. You let someone else do that for you, unless you’re the kind of person who interrupts other people’s stories with “yeah, that’s cool, but ONE TIME I…”
But that was the design that was chosen and so it ultimately needed a “why” to fill in the blanks. Why would Superman, a person whose humility is one of his most superhuman traits, attach himself to the first letter of a name so grandiose it borders on silly?
He wouldn’t.
So why the S? If you play the word game and try to match it to something that might fit both his actions and his temperament, you might think he chose it to stand for “Samaritan”. That’d be a good name and fit for who Clark is. Soldier? Nah, too violent.
When you look at what the suit is telling us, it’s fundamentally a symbol of difference. It’s Clark, not acting in secret, but boldly; reveling in the use of his powers to be a help. The bright primary colors scream “I am proud of doing this in the light.” But it’s also a design and color scheme that is unlike the clothes everyone else wears while going about their day. It is alien. Not threatening, but obviously not meant to blend in. It says, “I am different from you, but I am friendly. I come in peace.”
If Clark’s whole approach to his public identity as Superman is rooted in the message, “my difference from you is a symbol of the hope I bring,” he would want, as his defining image, something consistent with that message.
The fabric might be from Earth, or it might be his Kryptonian baby blanket. The hair gel that holds the S-curl in place at supersonic speeds is definitely not of this world. And the shield, as the most recognizable element of the suit, is definitely a symbol of difference.
I’m not a stickler. The “S” can be the symbol of the House of El. Or it can be Kryptonian graffiti for the word “Hope”. Maybe it’s a lost Kryptonian recipe for butterbeer and he doesn’t know that (like the person who gets a cool looking tattoo that actually means something embarrassing). But I think it’s certain that Superman would choose, as the image that sums up everything we need to know about him on first sight, a symbol that says “It is because I am different that I can save you.”
An image from a lost world, destroyed but not forgotten, and which represents hope for OUR world, is exactly what a person who uses heat vision to heal would choose as their crest.
It’s not an S.
No
As a young kid Superman’s “S” always stood for Superman. Then I saw “Superman: The Movie” one of the best Superman and/or superhero movies ever made. I remember the opening scene with the Phantom Zone villains and the giant heads of the tribunal. Then Jor-El turned around and on his chest was the Superman symbol. I thought to myself, “Wow! How did they already know that Kal-El would become Superman before Krypton even blew up!?” To be fair I was nine years old at the time. Then I slowly realized that the symbol somehow represented the El family. But didn’t Ma Kent make the suit for Superman? Didn’t she sew the S on the suit? Well yes and no.
The movie brought a new origin for the character. Yes, Krypton exploded. Yes, he was raised by the Kents. But his Kryptonian heritage was a bit different. They wanted the S to mean more than Superman. In modern times the symbol is meant to mean Hope. Okay that’s cool but it changes a lot of the character’s history.
The first time we see Superman in the comic books he’s coming right out of his ship full grown and wearing the S. They reveal later that his ship was found by a passing motorist when he was a child and brought to an orphanage. Then after that the Kents find him, bring him to the orphanage and later adopt him. It seems a bit convoluted but once we get into the 1940s things straighten out just a bit. Oh there’s plenty of contradictions between Golden Age Superman and Silver Age Superman. When does he become Superboy and when does the Silver Age begin and the Golden Age end? Yes, many contradictions but I digress. The introduction of Superboy introduces the concept that Ma Kent makes Superboy’s costume. When Superman is an adult and the Kents have died I guess I just assumed Superman made more costumes by himself. Then Post Crisis, during the John Byrne era, Lois gives Superman his name and Ma Kent indeed makes his costume. It is inferred that the S stands for Superman.
So where does this all bring us? The heck if I know. Superman’s origins can give you a headache. But to me, the S always meant Superman. This is what I knew growing up and this was what the Post Crisis made us think. I know the movie versions would have us think otherwise but to me I never saw it that way. I believe the S in the comic book origin was meant to mean Superman and I agree. When comic readers and people who just know Superman as an iconic figure see that symbol you know exactly what it means. Superman stands for many things but anyone anywhere sees the S and thinks of one name “Superman”. There is no reason this symbol has to mean anything else. We don’t need confusing origin stories or a change in continuity or any movie to tell us that the S stands for Superman. Is it a bad thing if it is meant as a family crest or to mean Hope? Absolutely not! As I’ve said Superman stands for many things and the S can have different meanings to different people. But when most of us see that symbol, no matter what our feelings may be, one word comes to mind… Superman! And for that alone that S will always and forever mean Superman.
That symbol is etched into our memories. The mere mention of the name makes you think of that S! In this weary world we do need hope and Superman himself represents hope! That S stands for Superman as an icon, as a hero, as a character. In the hearts and minds of so many of us we need that symbol. That S. We need Superman!
Many thanks to our Great Debaters – Julian Finn and Marc Lax.
I always liked that it was linked to Superman’s Kryptonian family heritage. As far as I can recall, since the 1978 film and every live iteration since then, the S has been connected to Superman’s father. The Superboy live action 1980’s series where we saw an alien imposter Jor-el wearing the Kryptonian sigil. In the Lois and Clark: The new adventures of Superman series, the hologram of Jor-el wore the symbol. Smallville had Jor-el wearing it for the Krypton flash back scenes. Since Superman Returns is basically a sequel to Superman the Movie and Superman II, we only saw Jor-el’s… Read more »
My take, in the “no” category: I can appreciate the ideas behind making the symbol mean more, and to have a context outside of a name that seems pretentious. But it can also seem pretentious that Superman has that name at all, so that means there are two things to explain. Post-Crisis did it pretty well, giving a reason for the name and the symbol coming after it. It would be pretty easy to retro-fit a similar scenario for Superboy, if need be. I can understand and appreciate the push for something greater. But… at most, it should be the… Read more »
I vastly prefer it when the symbol is the emblem for the House of El. It explains why a character like Clark would have a chest emblem in the first place, why Kara also has the symbol when she comes on the scene, and provides a reasonable explanation for the name “Superman” if someone like Lois coined it before knowing the original meaning and it stuck.