1. uper Heroes

5. 1. The Ordinary World 2. Call to Adventure 3. Refusal of Call/Reluctant Hero 4. Meeting Wise Mentor 5. The First Threshold 6. Tests, Allies and Enemies 7. Supreme Ordeal 8. Revisiting the Mentor 9. Return with New Knowledge 10. Seizing the Sword (or Prize) 11. Resurrection 12. Return with Elixir SEE http://orias.berkeley.edu/hero/http://orias.berkeley.edu/hero/

6. 1. Miraculous conception and birth 2. Initiation of the hero-child 3. Withdrawal from family or community for meditation and preparation 4. Trial and Quest 5. Death 6. Descent into the underworld 7. Resurrection and rebirth 8. Ascension, apotheosis, and atonement

7.  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ny68V2PgUL w&feature=bf_next&list=PLFA1899BEE29381C E&lf=results_main http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ny68V2PgUL w&feature=bf_next&list=PLFA1899BEE29381C E&lf=results_main

8.  “Superman isn’t Superman because of some tragedy which informed his growth. Pa Kent does not die because of a failure on Clark’s part – indeed in most versions of the story, Pa dies when Clark is already Superman. Clark’s knowledge of Krypton doesn’t make him a superhero either; again, this is something he finds out later, too late to traumatize him. Clark is Superman because he decides to be Superman without being prompted. That’s more complex and nuanced a story than “somebody did something to me.” Superman’s story, which informs his entire character, is one of someone who chooses to be good of his own free will and agency, with no influence other than moral upbringing.” (http://mightygodking.com/index.php/2011/02/23/a-superman-post/)

9. Here the individual is introduced to the audience. S/he doesn't know her/his personal potential or calling.

10. Superman is born Kal-El on the alien planet Krypton. His parents, Jor-El and Lara become aware of Krypton's impending destruction and Jor-El begins constructing a spacecraft that would carry Kal-El to Earth. During Krypton's last moments, Jor- El places young Kal-El in the spacecraft and launches it. Jor-El and Lara die as the spacecraft barely escapes Krypton's fate. The explosion transforms planetary debris into kryptonite, a radioactive substance that is lethal to superpowered (as by Earth's yellow sun) Kryptonians.

11. Initiation is the point in the individual’s life when s/he is first given notice that everything is going to change, whether s/he knows it or not. Heracles as a boy strangling a snake (marble, Roman artwork, 2nd century CE)

12. “The spacecraft lands in the rural United States, where it is found by a passing motorist. Jonathan and Martha Kent adopt Kal-El and name him Clark Kent. As Clark grows up on Earth, he and his adoptive parents discover that he has superhuman powers. The Kents teach Clark to use these powers responsibly to help others and fight crime.” (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Origin_of_Superman) Kal-El just out of his Kryptonian ship in the pilot episode of Smallville.Smallville

13. This element varies with Superman because the different media tell different stories. Often, however, Superman is shown traveling to the arctic “Fortress of Solitude” to meditate and prepare himself for super hero service to humankind.

14. “Clark keeps his powers secret in order to protect his family and friends. In order to use his powers to help humanity, Clark creates the alter ego of Superman. A number of elements are added to each identity to keep them distinct enough to prevent the casual observer from matching them. Superman wears a characteristic red and blue costume with a letter ‘S’ emblem and a cape.” (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Origin_of_ Superman)

15. Clark Kent takes to wearing glasses, styling his hair differently, changing his body language, significantly altering his voice, and wearing looser clothing and suits that hide his physique. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Origin_of_Superman)

16. The road of trials is a series of tests, tasks, or ordeals that the person must undergo to begin the transformation. Often the person fails one or more of these tests, which often occur in 3s.

18. Superman’s trials and quests are on-going. His purpose in the context of his evolving persona is to “save” humankind from its worst characteristics; therefore, Superman’s trials and his quest are continuous.

19. This is sometimes described as the individual’s lowest point or darkest moment. The separation has been made between the old world and old self and the potential for a new world/self. By entering this stage, the individual shows her/his willingness to make a change, to die and become a new person. Heracles killing Centaur Nessus (marble by Giambologna, Florence). Ovid Metamorphoses Book IX “Death of Hercules” (243)Giambologna

20. "The Death of Superman" is a 1992 comic book storyline that occurred in DC Comics' Superman titles. The completed multi-issue story arc was given the title The Death and Return of Superman.comic book storylineDC ComicsSuperman

21. Written by GRANT MORRISON Art and cover by FRANK QUITELY Digital inks and color by JAMIE GRANT All Star Superman 2005-2008The Death and Return of Superman 1992 Devised by editor Mike Carlin and the Superman writing team of Dan Jurgens, Roger Stern, Louise Simonson, Jerry Ordway, and Karl KeselMike CarlinDan JurgensRoger SternLouise SimonsonJerry OrdwayKarl Kesel

22. In Grant Morrison: Combining the Worlds of Contemporary Comics (2011) by Marc Singer, he observes that All Star Superman –a series Morrison created between 2005 and 2008— “combines the myths of Icarus and Prometheus...” Further, in the series “Superman attempts to complete twelve challenges before he dies, an obvious echo of the twelve labors of Hercules. The series as a whole is structured around the monomyth of the hero’s descent into the underworld” (260).

23. 1. Superman saves the first manned mission to the sun. 2. Superman brews the Super–Elixir. 3. Superman answers the Unanswerable Question. 4. Superman chains the Chronovore. 5. Superman saves Earth from Bizarro–Home. 6. Superman returns from the Underverse. 7. Superman creates Life. 8. Superman liberates Kandor/cures cancer. 9. Superman defeats Solaris. 10. Superman conquers Death. 11. Superman builds an artificial Heart for the Sun. 12. Superman leaves the recipe/formula to make Superman 2. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/All-Star_Superman)

24. “In most DC Comics, Superman is getting a costume makeover, that, as shown at the right, gives him a slightly more cosmic look (the lined blue costume and red belt and boots suggest alien-tech sleekness, and then there’s that higher, band collar) and a less Speedo-informed fashion sensibility (he loses the red trunks that he’s been wearing since the FDR years)” (From “Superman first look: ‘Action Comics’ takes flight with new Man of Steel” http://herocomplex.latimes.com/2011/0 6/10/superman-first-look-action- comics-takes-flight-with-new-man-of- steel/).

25. “The return usually takes the form of an awakening, rebirth, resurrection, or a simple emergence from a cave or forest. Sometimes the hero is pulled out of the adventure world by a force from the daylight world.” (http://orias.berkeley.edu/hero/return.html)

26. Los Angeles Times “Superman first look: ‘Action Comics’ takes flight with new Man of Steel” http://herocomplex.latimes.com/2011/06/ 10/superman-first-look-action-comics- takes-flight-with-new-man-of-steel/ (June 10, 2011)

29. 8. Superman’s Apotheosis - First Super Hero Promotional Art Superman No 204 Vol 2, April 2004 Jim Lee & Scott Williams In Superman/Batman No.3 (December 2003), Batman observes, “It is a remarkable dichotomy. In many ways, Clark is the most human of us all. Then... he shoots fire from the skies, and it is difficult not to think of him as a god. And how fortunate we all are that it does not occur to him.”Batman

30. Artist: Joe Schuster

31. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JIjsg7KG3Qswww.youtube.com/watch?v=JIjsg7KG3Qs

32. http://www.npr.org/blogs/monkeysee/2011/12/0 1/142935250/truth-jawlines-and-the-american- way-the-changing-face-of- superman?sc=fb&cc=fp Artist: Jim Lee

33.  “S” shield on chest  “S” curl on forehead  Red and Blue  Cape  Boots  Boxers – until rebirth/ recreation 2011  Physique

34.  Superhuman Strength › “more powerful than locomotive”  Invulnerability  Flight › “leaps tall buildings... “  Superhuman Speed › “faster than speeding bullet”  X-ray Vision  Heat Vision  Superhuman Breath  Superhuman Hearing  Superhuman Vision  Eidetic Memory  Disguise/ Clark Kent Persona (More details at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Powers_and_abilities_of_Superman)

35.  Moral superiority  Selfless-service  Modesty  Humility  Honesty “Truth”  Fair “Justice”  Democratic(?) “American way”  Strength

36. Superman HERO Human THEEND