Welcome Back to Another Edition of Comic Relief! Where we talk about all the goings on in the world of Nerd!
Stories of heroes have been a driving force in civilization since the beginning of time: Epic of Gilgamesh, The Iliad, The Odyssey, Beowulf, all are legends that have stood the test of time because of how they represented and inspired their respective cultures. In modern times the comic book super hero has taken the place of it's mythological predecessors, and in the world of comics, none stand as iconic as Superman. However, with anime on the rise of popularity in the west, it's no surprise that eventually Japan would take a swing at the super hero genre. My Hero Academia is just that, and while the show may be about a young hero struggling his way to the top, there is a character that stands above everyone as the show's symbol of Peace and Justice. All Might is the number 1 hero, and watching him is like watching a tribute to some of the golden age of comics greatest heroes. Most notably, there are a lot of comparisons between All Might and Superman.
This post is in response to a claim made by ComicBook.com, in an article titled 7 Ways All Might is Better than Superman. To be frank, this article is garbage. Most of the points made in here are hollow and hardly are enough to even begin a solid argument as it shows a massive lack of understanding of Superman. That being said, I do believe that All Might is a better character than Superman, and while I don't think it's particularly fair to make that assessment, I will be talking about why exactly this is the case.
First of all, there is no point in trying to compare these two's motivations. They want the exact same thing, to provide people with a symbol of hope to believe in. This is actively what makes the audience notice the similarities of these two. So, lets talk origin. Ultimately what this boils down to is the fact that ultimately Superman has always had his powers. While there are arcs where Superman loses his abilities, it is not the same as growing up weak by society's standards and attaining the power out of a desire to help. To quote Abraham Erskine from Captain America: The First Avenger:
Because the strong man who has known power all of his life, may lose respect for that power, but a weak man knows the value of strength, and knows... compassion.All Might was a quirkless (powerless) kid who just wanted to give people a pillar to hold them up so the can live a life of peace and always smile. While the story of Superman, a god (essentially) raised that would rather be man than a god is certainly a great story, most people identify with the underdog story a lot more.
Second on the table is powers. While Superman has not always been this way, one of his major faults in the eyes of the public is being overpowered. There was a time where Superman could literally have every power under the sun to a ridiculous extent. While at present he has a more streamlined power set, that stream lined set is still obscene. Granted that's kind of the point as DC comics are supposed to be a modern mythology, however, it makes writing him rather difficult as putting him up against physical challenges seems a bit anticlimactic. While All Might is extremely powerful, he is nowhere near the same level as Superman and his some pretty big weaknesses. This isn't what makes All Might's power tree "better" though.
Something that comes up with both characters are that they hold back from going 100 percent very frequently, mainly to keep destruction to a minimum and ensure there aren't civilian casualties from using their abilities. However, what I personally enjoy more about how they do this with All Might is that they show the devastation that can be caused by a single punch very well. One punch with all of Allmight's power builds enough air pressure to level a block. While undoubtably Superman can do the same thing, he has so much control over everything that it's very seldom that we get to actually feel that. It gets annoying sometimes too, as he'll very frequently get beat down by a new villain initially, and then come back a few pages later and practically one shot the villain. It's always explained with: "I was holding back," however, there was no consequence to him going all out. All Might you see and feel those consequences.
At the end of the day, I love both of these characters. Superman is in my top 3 favorite DC superheroes, and All Might is my favorite character in My Hero Academia and is easily in my top 10 heroes of all anime. I honestly don't believe it's fair to compare these two, and the big reason is that All Might is actively an amalgamation of the best traits of some of the greatest heroes of the Golden Age. His motivations, spirit, and symbolism come from Superman. His odd American patritiotism (all of his attacks are named after the states and cities) and origins of being weak before obtaining great strengh to help are pulled from Captain America, and his shape shifting from a weak form to a buff one is pulled from Captain Marvel (Shazam). There are probably even more similarities to other iconic heroes, the point remains All Might is a combination of some of these characters' BEST traits. It's not fair to say he's a better character than Superman, because that's actively the point. He's THE number 1 hero. He embodies the best traits of the best characters in comics and I don't think it's meant to be an excercide of oneupmanship so much as a tip of the hat to the greats. All Might is a better character than Superman because he IS Superman, but at the same time he is more.
I hope you have enjoyed this edition of Comic Relief! We'll see you guys next time!
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