Warning! Spoilers ahead for Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow #5
DC Comics' Superman (aka Kal-El). Obviously, Supergirl isn’t part of this crowd, but she certainly understands the sentiment. Just in time for the holidays, this revelation shows that she feels the pressure of living in the shadow of a "perfect" family member who can seem to do no wrong.
In the Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow series, by Tom King, Bilquis Evely, and Mat Lopez, Kara is coming of age alongside Ruthye, a young alien girl who has also endured personal tragedy, who enlists the help of Supergirl to track down her father’s killer. This story centers on Kara’s transition from Supergirl to Superwoman, exploring how being robbed of her childhood affects her. The first issue opens with her celebrating her 21st birthday with another activity that Clark Kent would likely disapprove of, drinking to excess. Furthermore, while the apple isn’t falling far from the tree with Jon Kent’s takeover of the Superman mantle, as he is literally pushing himself to the point of exhaustion trying to save everyone, Kara initially wanted to turn Ruthye away.
Though she is free to make her own choices regarding her heroics, Supergirl knows that Superman has set an impossible standard for all other heroes to follow. He is perceived as someone who isn’t just physically perfect, but who adheres to old-fashioned morals that are beyond reproach. Right from the very beginning, his superhero name "Superman" made his superiority evident. In Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow #5, Supergirl's response to Ruthye uttering a curse word that she learned from her shows that Supergirl understands that Kal-El is a total buzzkill. She implores the young girl not to tell him because he’d be judgmental about it. She says, “Sometimes I see...why... people #%#@&$ hate...him...”
This is an especially poignant observation as she navigates a planet with a green sun that was expressly designed to kill Superman. Villains have mixed levels of animosity for the heroes they fight, ranging from the begrudging co-dependency that Batman and Joker share to the deep seething hatred that Doomsday has for Superman. Deg an entire planet to make a hero’s demise as agonizing as possible is taking that hatred to a new level though. In addition to typical villain-hero dynamics, there is always an undertone of that deep dislike and jealousy for people that seem a little too perfect.
This is why Kara is hyper-aware that she was able to outlast Kal-El on this harsh planet, making it 10 hours whereas Clark had to be rescued after only 45 minutes. This shows that even heroes become irritated by those among them who seemingly can’t lose at anything, so they savor each small victory. Supergirl's priorities are also changing, meaning that she has become unapologetic and unfiltered as she continues on her mission of vengeance for Ruthye and her own poisoned dog, Krypto. Family or not, Supergirl is honest enough to know that it would take a great deal of confidence for the Man of Steel’s moral and physical superiority not to get under someone’s skin, meaning she can at least sympathize with Superman’s many detractors.
