But consider particularly the Silver Age version of the character. Fear of war would be mostly eliminated, as he could—like in the unfortunately executed fourth movie—end even the potential for war.

No need for NASA, either. Even without knowledge of his own alien origins, his ability to traverse the cosmos under his own power would eliminate any need for humanity to struggle and strive. Want soil samples from Mars? Hold my beer says Superman. Want to visit Vega? Build a ship and he’ll carry you there, almost instantly.

In fact, the existence of Superman could have a crushing effect on the human spirit!

•••

Ain’t that the truth!

Decades ago, Larry Niven wrote an essay, “Man of Steel, Woman of Kleenex”, in which he explored the nature of Superman’s sex life—or lack thereof.

It was written in jest, but when I joined the industry a few years later I was quick to note how Larry’s “realistic” analysis had seeped into the thinking of many comic book writers.

I’m reminded of a few decades back when I was invited to work on a Dr 13 graphic novel with a well known sceptic. The writer wanted to play it as Thirteen debunking all the supernatural stuff in the DCU. I pointed out that this was not a workable scenario since most of that stuff was REAL. It would make more sense, I suggested, for Terry Thirteen to go after frauds, since there would likely be lots of them in a world where magic was real.

They’d be the Nigerian princes of the DC reality.