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Superman, after being reduced to being a human, was humiliated by a bully. He later returns with his powers fully restored and beats up the bully. While it looks like he was careful not to cause severe injury (although possibly a concussion), this is still in no way a fair fight, and leave the guy concussed and sitting in a pile of broken glass.

How does his personal code allowed him to do this? Isn't this hugely out of character for Superman?

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  • Remember at the time this happened the long term effects of concussion where not known, therefore Superman would not have been aware his actions could cause dementia, psychosis and even death long term. If he did he may have protected the head. – Richard C Jan 31 '20 at 00:14
  • It takes some fine tuning to know when a blow to the head will only cause a concussion and not death. IMHO, Superman should have allowed the guy to punch him (maybe -- he did hurt his hand, possibly broker bones) but the main thing would be humiliation with no chance of permanent harm. Like making him sit in his meal and perhaps tossing him into the snow would have taught a lesson. The dangers of concussions have been known for a long time -- I think the dangers of concussions that do not produce unconsciousness are what we became aware of more recently. – releseabe Jan 31 '20 at 00:31
  • We have an authoritative answer to this one from the Producer. Reopen, please. – Valorum Feb 01 '20 at 08:58

1 Answers1

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Seeking revenge is very human, but in this case it appears that Superman was being quite careful not to actually kill the guy, just rough him up and give him a taste of his own medicine.

430 CONTINUED

The TRUCKER spins in his seat, uncorks a tremendous right hand to the midsection; he screams as his fist cracks into what seems like solid granite, breaking a bone. CLARK leans down, spins the stool in the opposite direction at dizzying speed. The TRUCKER becomes a whirling blur, his seat spiraling upward until it reaches counter level. CLARK reaches out, taps him at exactly the right moment; the TRUCKER flies down the length of the counter through napkin holders, salt shakers, and other people's meals, crashes against the wall, lands in a heap. The COUNTERMAN gapes at CLARK unbelievingly.

CLARK: (nice smile) I've been working out.

Superman 2: Shooting Script

As to whether this is in character, this is addressed in the DVD Audio Commentary with Pierre Spangler, the film's producer. In short, Superman still has some unresolved issues from the brief time when he was fully human, including a desire to revenge himself.

This wasn't normally in Superman's character, to get revenge. He is a very magnanimous character, but he had been human for a while so he understood the sweetness of revenge.

I suspect the justification would be that this is likely to make the Trucker think twice before bullying the next hapless individual that comes across his path so it's a net win for his victims and for the bully himself, as he may learn to be a better (or at least more careful) person.

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  • the breaking bones part, which at the trucker's age might have taken a long time to heal, is troubling. i like the idea that Superman's morals are proportionate to his super powers. If he made a vow to do no harm than it would be much less likely that he would break such a vow than for a human to which means that petty vengeance, which this plainly seemed to be, is not very Superman-like. Perhaps too he could have "softened" his body so that the trucker's hand would not have broken -- I think he can do that or he could be damaging things all the time. – releseabe Jan 31 '20 at 01:15
  • @releseabe - The guy punched him. He made his own bed and now he has to lie in it. – Valorum Jan 31 '20 at 01:17
  • It is very clear that the trucker could not have known what he was dealing with. What if he had (incredibly foolishly) tried to head butt Superman? I would hope that Superman would use his lightning reflexes to prevent this from happening since that might well have killed the man. – releseabe Jan 31 '20 at 01:19
  • @releseabe DS9 had an episode where when Worf was a child a human child accidentally head butted Worf and died from his injuries. – M. A. Golding Jan 31 '20 at 16:51
  • @M.A.Golding: certainly possible then to die from head butting Superman. I would have redone the scene to show that S was very careful to avoid injury to the trucker. But there is nothing to be done now. (Although last I checked the actor who played the trucker is still around.) – releseabe Jan 31 '20 at 17:33
  • Isn't it scary that his brief time as a fragile human managed to affect his superhuman morality. I don't believe it --but if that;s what the producer said, I guess that's the answer. – releseabe Feb 01 '20 at 09:14
  • @releseabe - Calm down, Lex – Valorum Feb 01 '20 at 09:26