Superman Meditations
*Meditations* is a series of a dozen books made up of the personal writings of Roman Emperor Marcus Aurelius Antoninus recording his thoughts on Stoic philosophy and his own life as effectively the supreme leader of his nation. He explored topics like the dichotomy of control, memento mori, the obstacle as the way, and logos. He demonstrated a great deal of thoughtfulness, humility, and concern for a leader so early in history.
Why do I mention this?
Often the best we see of Superman (*All-Star Superman*, *Kingdom Come*, or *Superman for All Seasons*) work because they present a deeply introspective man with the power of god trying to carry impossible psychological and philosophical weight. Because of this, and because often Superman is shown simply as a paragon which I think make it more difficult for audiences to understand him as a person, I think the framing of him reflecting on his role and ethics could be a fun area to explore.
Imagine a 12-series short run or a limited televised/streaming series, each with an exciting story, great action, wonderful effects, good music, etc., but also each framed with Superman trying to solve a challenging ethical question. In theory, Superman could end systemic poverty overnight; at what point does non-intervention for the sake of human autonomy become moral complicity? Does he just have to sit with the fact that it's both? Similarly, like many heroes, Superman has several absolute rules, but at what point does he run into the limits of deontology? If violating his no kill rule means billions suffer and die, isn't adhering to this personal moral code a form of supreme egoism? And what does it mean to hear suffering on a global scale every second of every day? Can Superman experience compassion fatigue? And my favorite, one that goes back to *All-Star Superman*, what does it look like for a being entirely immune to any consequence to construct an ethical framework for themselves? Most ethics are built on concepts like social contracts, vulnerability, and mutual risk, but even with other powerful beings Superman is ultimately invulnerable... so does he just invent artificial structures around vulnerability? Or maybe does he transfer the vulnerability of those he cares about to himself and build a code around that?
Sorry, I know this is a lot for my first discussion thread, but it's been something on my mind and I'd love to get some feedback from some fellow fans.