We Are All Superman

Humanity is our superpower.

Not strength. Not speed. Not invincibility. Just our being human. And with that comes something extraordinary—the ability to choose, the ability to act, and the ability to create. That’s what defines us. That’s what makes us powerful.

The new Superman movie puts that idea front and center. Yes, it has the spectacle—the flying, the fights, the world-saving moments. But underneath all of that is a simple and deeply human message: humanity is sacred, and the most important thing we can do is protect life, all life.

In the story, two nations—Boravia and Jarhanpur—stand on the brink of war. Boravia is depicted as rich, militarized, and a strong ally of the United States. Jarhanpur, on the other hand, is poor and defenseless. Boravia plans to start a war by invading Jarhanpur, allegedly to liberate the small nation from an evil dictatorship. It is a scenario all too familiar, and the world begins doing what it always does: weighing interests, strategizing, calculating. It’s described by the news, pundits and world leaders as a “delicate and complex situation.”

But Superman doesn’t wait for the politics to play out. He doesn’t host a summit. He doesn’t ask for permission. He just swoops in and stops the invasion. Why? Because, as Superman puts it, “people were going to die.” That was enough.

And that’s when the backlash and public outrage begins.

He’s accused of acting too quickly and without the permission, of disrupting global alliances, of ignoring the bigger picture. But for Superman that was the bigger picture. Human lives were at stake, and that is all that mattered. Superman didn’t get distracted by the noise. He saw clearly what mattered most—and he acted.

That clarity is rare. And powerful.

We live in a world that constantly tells us things are too complicated to change. That we need to be more realistic, more strategic, more aligned with how “the system” works. And the system, more often than not, serves government, industry, and the economy before it serves people. It’s not designed to prioritize life—it’s designed to preserve itself.

But we get to decide what we serve. We get to decide what purpose our lives serve. It does not matter where we come from or even who our parents are or the intentions they have for us. We decide our own lives, and we create the world around us. Superman reminds us of that.

He may be from another planet, but being human is Superman’s greatest power. He says it himself.

There’s a moment in the film when Lois Lane says to Superman: “You think everthing and everyone is beautful.” To which Superman responds, “Maybe that’s the real punk rock.” It is easy to dismiss someone seeing the beauty in everyone and everything as naive, but it is not. Like all of us, Superman knows that humanity is deeply flawed, and there are people who do very bad things in the world. He knows it because he sees it. He lives it. Everday, as he rushes to humanity’s constant aid. Yet, despite it all, Superman chooses to be hopeful. He believes in the power of humanity and is hopeful that even those who have caused harm—people like the nefarious Lex Luthor—might one day see the value of life over power. He is hopeful that humanity is still worth believing in.

In a world plagued by war, exploitation, and countless human-made atrocities, Superman’s hope isn’t soft or naive at all—it’s defiant. It stands in direct opposition to the oppressive systems we’ve built, systems that so often hold back humanity’s potential instead of cultivating it. While governments and industries maintain control through fear, division, and bureaucracy, Superman dares to believe in something better—and then acts on it. That choice, that fearless expression of free will, is more than moral clarity. It’s rebellion. It’s a middle-finger to the establishment (a middle-finger that goes beyond mere metaphor in the film and is actually erected by the Green Lantern as he shields the Jarhanpurians from attack). And, yes, it is definitely punk rock.

It’s not idealism. It’s real possibility. It is the power of humanity to choose, to act, and to create a better world. And we all have it.

At the end of the day, it is not the society we have so poorly designed that defines who we are. It is not our world leaders, the news, or even our parents that form our opinions. Like Superman’s father so succinctly states: what defines us are the choices we make and the actions we take. That’s it. And choosing right from wrong is not complicated at all, unless you make it so.

So yes—we are all Superman. Or at least, we can all choose to be. Personally, that is the choice I will try to make everyday. I will inevitably fail, over and over again, because I am human. But I will choose to keep trying. ‘Cause I’m a punkrocker, yes I am…🎵🎶