Comics Odd What if question - What if Superman was short?

[X Knight]

hey all,

here's an odd What If question about Superman.

Do you think Superman would still be considered "super" if he was short, instead of tall?

Imagine that Clark Kent has all of his Super powers, a well built and muscular body, except that he is short in stature, say Wolverine height ( 5'3" to 5'5" area ).

Would a "shorter" Clark still adopt the Superman persona and use his powers for good?

Would the comic world public take him as seriously as they would a regular-sized Superman?

Would you, as comic readers, still think of Superman as super, if he was written and drawn as a short character?

IOW, is Superman's height a defining aspect of his character? Or, is it his heart and how he uses his powers that defines as a hero, regardless of his size?

some food for thought.....

 

[CLARKY]

^"if you are a dog" ...
No offense, but I don't think it is a very bright question. Anyway, I'd like to tell you that Superman being short would change anything ... but it would.
I think the most important is his ideals and principles but I think it would change my way to see him. I think it is not very compatible with his extraordinary adventures, but I suppose that in a different context, it would influence me. I suppose that there is a lot of people who can be inspiring yet not have the physical perfection. --> Gandhi, to name a famous one.
But personally I don't think about it.
And for the record, with the exception of Superman fans, nobody "take him seriously" . I only see a few people who understand the character. Even if he "represents" the physical perfection, none "take him seriously".

 

[Binker]

Shorter Superman?

 

[Gus Gorman]

"what if superman was short"

He's trip over his cape

 

[ariellem]

Didn't you watch Mighty Mouse as a kid?

 

[ariellem]

...I suppose that there is a lot of people who can be inspiring yet not have the physical perfection. ...
And for the record, with the exception of Superman fans, nobody "take him seriously" . ...

Like if Nicolas Cage had gotten the movie role... BLECH!

 

[not_a_victim]

This is actually a pretty cool "What If..."
When I was in college, I had a sociology class that explored modern social misconceptions. We debunked a lot of modern myths, such as tainted halloween candy, stranger child abductions, the true divorce rate, etc.
One study we looked at was about height/looks and societal expectations. This study showed that in emergency situations, people will default to adavistic behavior, and look to the tallest person for help/leadership, even though that person may not be qualifid at all to give the help/leadership.
In a hidden-camera experiment, it showed people actually bypassing a short paramedic during a staged medical emergency, and requesting help from a tall food service worker who was actually farther away than the paramedic.
A slightly different scenario showed people refusing to let a short man who was a doctor (and part of the scenario) render aid during the emergency, and one idiot actually asking the doctor for his "identification" to prove he was a doctor, as if they have an ID like a cop or a firefighter or paramedic.

 

[CLARKY]

interesting.

 

[November Rain]

I made the same analogy about god in a thread in the hype a while ago.

although wise beings can get away with being short...

unfortunately the vision of an all american farm boy being fairly short just doesn't cut it...

i would say that perhaps he would have still been a superhero but surely not as famous as he is now, himself and captain marvel would have probably swapped roles with marvel now being head of the JLA.

 

[X Knight]

although......I'd think if a guy was super strong, can fly and shoot freaking HEAT from his eyes, and just saved your a**......i don't think you'd care if he was short or tall.

 

[ariellem]

although......I'd think if a guy was super strong, can fly and shoot freaking HEAT from his eyes, and just saved your a**......i don't think you'd care if he was short or tall.

You'd be thankful no matter what.

But the "guy" was Danny De Vito (capitalization help here, please), short and hairy and goofy, you'd likely also be giggling - at the unlikeliness of it all if nothing else.