“I’m listening to the music with no fear
“You can hear it too if you’re sincere.”

• “Punkrocker,” Teddybears featuring Iggy Pop

In a deleted scene in “Pulp Fiction,” Vincent Vega and Mia Wallace have a discussion about The Beatles and Elvis Presley.

“There’s only two kinds of people in the world: Elvis people and Beatles people. Now Beatles people can like Elvis, and Elvis people can like Beatles, but nobody likes them both equally. Somewhere, you have to make a choice, and that choices tells you who you are.” – Mia Wallace.

When it comes to music, I’m a Beatles person.

 But I’ve also long thought that the same dynamic applies to comics. DC Comics is Elvis. They’ve been around longer, established a lot of the language for the superhero genre, and are decidedly less cool. Marvel hit it big almost concurrently with The Beatles, churning out hit series like #1 singles. Fantastic Four, Spider-Man, Hulk, Avengers, X-Men. Since the 60s, Marvel has almost always been cool.

When it comes to comics, I’m an Elvis person.

In James Gunn’s new take on Superman, Lois and the Man of Steel talk about music. Lois says she was a punk, and you believe it. Superman said he likes punk and names off some bands that Lois dismisses as “pop punk.”

First, way to gatekeep, Lois. “Oh, you’re a Mighty Crabjoys fan? Name five songs that aren’t singles.”

But she continues, saying “You think everything and everyone is beautiful” and Superman responds “Maybe that’s the real punk rock.”

On its surface, it feels ridiculous. Like when Marge Simpson asks Bart and Lisa if she’s cool. They answer no and Marge says “Good, I’m glad. And that’s what makes me cool. Not caring, right?”

Superman isn’t punk rock. He’s Lawrence Welk. He’s Elvis. He’s the Model T or the Wright Flyer, important for what he established, but not what people want anymore.

But what if we’ve all been wrong. Even within the DC universe, it’s Batman who is cool and Superman who is the wet blanket. In Frank Miller’s The Dark Knight Returns, Superman is an agent of a corrupt US government, while Batman is the rebel who can fix things.

Alan Moore is not a fan of superheroes. He’s discussed them being an extension of the vigilante justice that inspired the Ku Klux Klan. He thinks they’re a weed that has choked out other comic book genres. So surely the best comic book writer to ever put pen to paper would have some negative things to say about Superman?

“The story is a representation of an alien being who comes to earth and just so happens to blend in among humans while using his unique abilities, not to rise above us, but to help us. He cannot be a god, because gods are dictators who set rules for others to follow. Superman sets rules for himself and uses those rules for our benefit… If America has a legend comparable to the ageless myths of antiquity, it’s Superman.”

How can he think that? Superman is all about conformity, and conformity is definitely not punk rock. Punk rock is anarchy!

And anarchy is something Alan Moore is a big fan of. In his writings he’s tried to be clear that anarchy and chaos are not the same thing.

“The roots of the work ‘anarchy’ are in ‘an archos,’ ‘no leaders,’ which is not really about the kind of chaos most people imagine when the word ‘anarchy’ is mentioned. I think anarchy is, to the contrary, about taking personal responsibility for yourself.’

In the film, Superman inserts himself between two countries on the verge of war. People have written that these are stand-ins for Isreal and Palestine, or Russia and Ukraine, as if similar conflicts haven’t happened since state lines have existed.

Superman inserting himself into an international conflict isn’t conformism. It’s anarchy. He puts the needs of the people of those countries over the desires of their leaders.

So maybe, as corny as Superman saying it sounds, he is punk rock. Or at least punk rock adjacent. He’s not rocking out to Black Flag, but he’s doing a dorky dance to a Devo song. He’s got most of Elvis Costello’s work on vinyl. He’s using his super speed to grab invisible coins off the floor at an Aquabats show. He’s wearing bright colors and his heart on his sleeve.

In Gunn’s “Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2,” Peter Quill tells Yondu that the way he’s holding his flying arrow makes him look like Mary Poppins. It’s a little insult, until the alien replies “Is Mary Poppins cool?”

“Hell yeah, Mary Poppins is cool.” Peter tells his father figure.

James Gunn’s “Superman” is what Rick Rubin’s “American Recordings” were for Johnny Cash. The film strips away the God metaphors, and invincibility, and the illusions of iconhood.

Is Superman punk rock?

Hell yeah, Superman is punk rock.

Miscellaneous notes:

Not everything I wanted to write about fit into the above essay.

• Superman’s costume. I like it, and I don’t. I’d put it behind Christopher Reeve’s costume as my second favorite Superman movie costume. The one thing that bugs me? The yellow outline on the S shield. I know he had that in the 1940s animated shorts, but something about it still strikes me as slightly off. But I am a fan of the red shorts returning; they’re needed to break up all the blue on his costume. I AM A NERD!
• The Fortress of Solitude is in Antarctica? I know that has been the case in some comics, but give me the FOS at the North Pole! #SuperSanta
• “It’s about ethics in superhero journalism!” I like that Lois calls out Clark for interviewing himself. The opening crawl lets us know that there have been superheroes for at least 300 years, setting us up for a very different reality than our own or even Marvel. But apparently that has also resulted in a much healthier journalism than real life. The Daily Planet was full staffed! No empty desks!
• If Superman is an anarchist, I propose that Hawkgirl is the fascist of the Justice Gang. She straight up murders a world leader. I’m wondering what kind of repercussions that’s going to have down the line.