Superman - Nature or Nurture

Stravo · Post by **Stravo** » 2004-10-11 02:46pm

Kal-El is a Kryptonian not human. The only difference between humans and Kryptonian is at the cellular level (according to Byrne's entry in Who's Who.) But can we assume that as an extra terrestrial Kal would be emitting a different set of phermones than a human would, hell, than any animal on Earth, that his subconcious body language and sexual signals are different because of his species.

If we can assume this (and if I'm wrong by all means) then wouldn't it be difficult for Kal to be attracted to a human. Maybe human female phermones and sexual body language is actually repulsive to Kryptonian males (the comics being the true canon would obviously disagree with this) And what if Kryptonian Alpha Male behavior called on him to be a little more distant, cold (Per Byrne's reworking of Kryptonian society) Wouldn't that effect his relations with other human males. I mean to paraphrase Lennier from Babylon 5 "We may look like you but we are NOT you."

So is it a stretch to portray a Kal-El that is completely comfortable around humans and females in general

OR

Was Superman's upbringing by the Kents a sort of reprogramming for him on how to behave human. Like a boy raised among wolves.

PS - I'm currently on a Smallville marathon jag for the last few weeks accounting for my Superman threads of late.

Post by **Ghost Rider** » 2004-10-11 02:50pm

I would say it's likely the Nurture.

Mostly because of the sheer time he has spent also, Byrne gave the feeling that Kal-El never knew of anything of heritage and any action real interest or difference and when he was young was explained via accident or luck.

Perhaps if they spent more on the Eradicator issue we might have learned a bit more...interestingly he literally outright rejects his heritage except as a curiosity. Perhaps his body may react differently but he's supressing because of what he feels he is.

Stravo · Post by **Stravo** » 2004-10-11 02:55pm

I forgot about the Eradicator issues. When Superman was possessed by the Eradictaor he acted increasingly Kryptonian, being overly formal with his parents and cold and distant to his friends and even Lois.

I think Byrne's take on Clark rejecting his Kryptonian nature was a reaction to the later Silver Age Superman who began looking down at humans as radically different than he was, making the Last Son of Krypton part of himself come to the fore. He used exclamations like "Great Rao!" and spent more and more time in his Fortress of Solitude (Another thing Byrne rejected) The later Silver Age Superman focussed much more on Clark's alien nature than his human one.

Still I have to wonder if there are certain behavioral tics that are species specific that would show up in Clark.

ReinnResauq · Post by **ReinnResauq** » 2004-10-11 04:50pm

In the current version of the comics, didn't Superman come to earth without ever even breathing Kryptonian air? His first breath was on earth, he'd spent his life eating earth animals, spent all his time around humans from practically above a fetus. Wouldn't this affect his brain chemistry somehow?

Post by **Ghost Rider** » 2004-10-11 06:17pm

ReinnResauq wrote:In the current version of the comics, didn't Superman come to earth without ever even breathing Kryptonian air? His first breath was on earth, he'd spent his life eating earth animals, spent all his time around humans from practically above a fetus. Wouldn't this affect his brain chemistry somehow?

That's why he's asking because of Body chemistry.

And also to assume that the Birthing Matrix considering how it was launched never taking in a molecule of Kryptonian air once sealed...given Jor-El sealed it literally upon Launch..is a wee bit of a leap.

So likely when Kal-El was very first found and lifted as a baby...he had some exposure to some type of atmosphere within the vessel.

Terminator · Post by **Terminator** » 2004-10-17 12:34am

given that humans and kryptonians look exactly alike, kryptonians probly use the same sexual signals as human beings, probly different pheremones though.

Personaly i would guess that kal doesn't feel right around people, and lacking A kryptonian enviroment he would feel truly comfortable in he instead compensates by trying to act in the most ideal human manner he can. This overcompensation of course brings him away from even human behavior. who knows if he realy finds it personaly satisfying to act as he does but he's so used to it by this point he would probly reject anything else.

Currald · Post by **Currald** » 2004-10-18 03:17am

Many sexual responses are learned. Victims of paralysis can acheive sexual satisfaction through other body parts than the one's below the waist. I don't think that it's too much of a stretch to assume that pheromones are, at the very worst, uninteresting to Clark.

Eframepilot · Post by **Eframepilot** » 2004-10-18 04:34am

Superman is attracted to Earth females for the same reason that Captain Kirk was (will be?) attactred to all those alien women. We can speculate on near-identical looking species of humanoids sharing pheromones and mating behavior patterns, but ultimately it comes down to the ubiquitous sci-fi brain bug of humans and aliens of opposite sex being compatible.

Operating within suspension of disbelief, I would say that Kryptonian sexual behavior is similar enough to human that Superman would be attracted to human women even without being raised on Earth. The role of pheromones in human sexual attraction is still largely unknown, so the lack of pheromones would not be a major hindrance for Superman. So, mainly nature.