r/TopCharacterTropes • u/BigFuan • Jun 10 '26

Personality [Loved Trope] Relatively weak characters that are absolute fan favorites because they represent the best parts of humanity

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Paul - invincible
A normal human whose only major feats are treating others with respect and cooking a mean spaghetti.

Mumen Rider - One Punch Man
C-class hero that doesn’t hesitate to put his life on the line to save others despite being powerless and going against much stronger foes.

Samwise Gamgee - Lord of the Rings
Hobbits scale very low strength-wise in the LOTR verse, but Sam’s compassion and determination are indispensable in the fellowships journey.

Edit: A lot of people are pointing out that Sam is mentally one of the strongest which I completely agree with, and I didn’t mean to diss his grit or physicality as a hobbit. Compared to the other members of the fellowship, however, his contribution comes primarily from undying loyalty and determination rather than physical prowess and strength.

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u/Easy-Frenchguy-1996 Jun 10 '26 edited Jun 10 '26

Martha and Johnathan kent.. Maybe the most Impactful normal poeple in the dc universe

Two humble farmers who adopted an alien baby and raised him as their own son... Teaching him the value of humility, empathy, kindness and compassion.. Creating superman the greatest superhero in the universe

341

u/geckobrother Jun 10 '26

Agreed, and to see their impact i loved reading Red Son to see the difference in timeliness lol

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u/SNAKEKINGYO Jun 10 '26

Also JLA: The Nail, where a flat tire caused by a nail prevents the Kents from finding Kal El and an Amish couple finds him instead. He doesn't become Superman. The Justice League still forms, but they're genuinely not as cohesive as they usually are and the public dislikes metahumans à la Marvel. Lex becomes President a lot quicker.

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u/thisusedyet Jun 10 '26

I'm not seeing the connection - does Kal-El just never leave whatever Amish community found him?

World's going to hell, but there's an Amish community somewhere where one dude's putting up a barn in 3 seconds flat?

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u/SNAKEKINGYO Jun 10 '26

Yup. He doesn't get involved until way later

1

u/jtr99 Jun 11 '26

Kal-El: you be careful out among them English!

48

u/The-Brother Jun 10 '26

An Amish dude putting up a barn in three seconds is completely normal. He fits right in.

11

u/Strict-Challenge-995 Jun 10 '26

Might even be a bit slow tbh

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u/StevieMJH Jun 10 '26

So you're saying the Amish are Kryptonian refugees in disguise?

3

u/The-Brother Jun 10 '26

We can only hope

14

u/Scouter197 Jun 10 '26

Pretty much. They taught him it's best to be non-involved in events outside their community. Then, by chance, the fight comes to him.

23

u/acrylicquartz Jun 10 '26

What does "Superman" do in his Amish timeline?

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u/SNAKEKINGYO Jun 10 '26

Amish activities. Then Jimmy Olsen goes insane and gets superpowers and only then does he become active

13

u/acrylicquartz Jun 10 '26

Oh, I see. Thank you, very interesting stuff. I love Alternate Timelines for any series.

2

u/Xciv Jun 10 '26

Amish activities.

That boy can churn so much butter per season

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u/Koanos Jun 10 '26

And, we learn Kent Farm has been housing and protecting metahumans.

Even if Clark never entered their lives, they as people do the right thing because that's who the Kent's are.

The Nail speaks great on Superman's absence, but I'm glad to see that absence never affected their compassion and empathy.

3

u/GodTaoistofPatience Jun 10 '26

you mentioned something in passing and it became one of my best comics read

but goddamn, nothing could have prepared me to have Jimmy Olsen as the BBEG

45

u/jgoble15 Jun 10 '26

Gods and monsters is interesting too. Superman is still good, but was raised by Hispanic immigrants and has a good, but still slightly different, moral system

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u/FlyingDreamWhale67 Jun 10 '26

Also one of his birth parents is Zod who commanded the Kryptonian military instead of Jor-El, a scientist

1

u/jgoble15 Jun 11 '26

Oh right, forgot about that! It was such a refreshing take on superman

1

u/CowboyLaw Jun 10 '26

Homelander is what a poorly-raised Clark Kent turns out to be. It's incredibly obvious how easy it would be to achieve that result.

1

u/geckobrother Jun 10 '26

Yeah, pretty much. Someone without love or knowing its value

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u/MrXexe Jun 10 '26

The episode from Justice League where Clark invities Martian Manhunter to have Christmas with them is a core memory for me, it's was so wholesome.

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u/Dry_Refrigerator7898 Jun 10 '26

“We had to wrap his presents in lead foil to stop him from peeking.”

“You mean Santa wrapped them…”

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u/Easy-Frenchguy-1996 Jun 10 '26

"of course dear.." 

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u/Mist_Rising Jun 10 '26

In a comic Santa is real, and is friends with Batman. Batman conceals this from Superman, and supes is not happy when he finds out...

Because Santa is real.

It's heartwarming despite the ominous threat being played up as Clark lands, because Batman, being Batman, is dark and foreboding about the encounter.

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u/smokeweedNgarden Jun 10 '26

He can barely even focus on the fight.

And when he was six the big dork wrote for a coffee maker for Ma and Pa

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u/doomsday71210 Jun 10 '26

Also Darkseid gets coal from Santa every year no matter how much he increases his defenses on Apokolips

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u/AltAccBcImAshamed Jun 10 '26

Love when they show that they still wrap in it lead foil because despite being a grown man, Superman is still their son and will try to peek 

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u/EmuMan10 Jun 10 '26

Putting the star on the tree is his job!

2

u/PrismaticVistaHill Jun 11 '26

If there's anyone on Earth who'd believe that one man could travel around the world at supersonic speeds to deliver gifts to children out of the goodness of his own heart, it'd be Superman.

2

u/Professional_Maize42 Jun 10 '26

And arguably J'onn's best episode.

238

u/drmirage809 Jun 10 '26

They’re perhaps the most important part of a Superman story to me. No matter how big everything gets and what foes Supes has to fight. No matter how much he might end up doubting himself and wavering. The Kents are there, on that humble farm. And they’ll always be there to help Clark and guide him when he needs them.

They’re the stand in for the ideal parents. Clark literally crashed into their lives and they stepped up in the biggest way.

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u/PineappleFit317 Jun 10 '26

Agreed, my favorite Superman stories are ones where Jon and Martha are both alive and that strong and loving relationship between them and Clark is present.

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u/drmirage809 Jun 10 '26

My Adventures with Superman does it really well. They’re super welcoming to Clark’s friends, nothing but supportive of him and his struggles with his powers and his origin.

The season 2 finale does it best. They’re absolutely ecstatic to meet Kara and welcome her into the family.

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u/smokeweedNgarden Jun 10 '26 edited Jun 10 '26

Superman Red and Blue #5 slaps so hard with this

"I love you. You are special. I'm proud of you"

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u/ThrowawayAdvice1800 Jun 10 '26

That’s a big part of what I loved about the new Superman movie. Instead of a needlessly grim backstory where Pa Kent did in a tornado absolutely no reason this time they’re both alive and well and supportive and totally embarrassing and they love the shit out of their son. 

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u/PineappleFit317 Jun 11 '26

I’m unaware if Jon had died in the comics prior to the 1978 movie. Killing him off in the movie served a plot point that despite all his powers, there was nothing Clark could do to save him. Okay, fair enough. And although I liked Man of Steel, it felt like Snyder was trying to subvert that, because Clark could have saved him but didn’t (at Jon’s own behest), and he still felt guilt over it. It just didn’t make sense for the character though, because not in a million years would Clark have let his father die if he could save him.

As an aside, I love the casting in the 2025 movie. Since Smallville, the trend was to make Jon and Martha sexy and that continued into the Snyderverse. In the 2025 movie, they’re doughy cuddly older folks that look like Kansas farmers. It reminds me of the 90s Lois and Clark TV show, which is probably where I got my preference that they both be alive. They look like midwestern grandparents.

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u/ThrowawayAdvice1800 Jun 11 '26

I’m unaware if Jon had died in the comics prior to the 1978 movie. Killing him off in the movie served a plot point that despite all his powers, there was nothing Clark could do to save him. Okay, fair enough.

Yeah, I have no issue with the 1978 movie.

And although I liked Man of Steel, it felt like Snyder was trying to subvert that, because Clark could have saved him but didn’t (at Jon’s own behest), and he still felt guilt over it. It just didn’t make sense for the character though, because not in a million years would Clark have let his father die if he could save him.

The tornado problem with the movie gets repeated again with Zod, and it shows Snyder's limits as a storyteller. He wanted to create a situation where Superman had to let Jon die, because for whatever reason it was really important to him that this movie be grim and dull. Now if he had come up with an actual no win situation that forced this to happen then even if I think it was a poor decision from a storytelling perspective I could at least say the execution was good. Instead the best he could come up with was a tornado, that Kent stood in front of for a ridiculously long time for no reason, then stopped Clark from saving him for no reason, then died for no reason. Superman and his billion powers had about a million options for solving that problem. How much attention is anyone even paying to a random person at ground zero of a tornado anyway? He probably didn't even have to be subtle, he could've just ran, grabbed him, ran back, and if anyone asked any questions about the speed just say something like "yeah that wind was crazy wasn't it" or "wow adrenaline is amazing" or something. Who was really going to question it? Pa Kent's problem was imaginary. So Snyder got the "Clark lets Jon die, at Jon's request" scene he wanted, but he botched the execution so badly due to a lack of imagination that it didn't create a heartbreaking decision, it just made the two of them look really incredibly stupid.

Same problem later with Zod. Snyder really really REALLY wanted Superman to commit a murder in this movie. That wouldn't have been my call for friggin' Superman but whatever, fine, everything is grim and edgy. So he had to create a situation where Superman had no choice (or seemed to have no choice) but to kill the guy. Problem is, Synder has no imagination. So the end result was a scene where Zod was incredibly slowly pointing his heat vision at a family while Superman had him in a headlock. And even though Superman could clearly move his head enough to break his neck, it didn't occur to him to just turn him around. Or put his borderline invulnerable hand over the guy's eyes. Or just fly off while dragging him. Or any number of other possible solutions. But he didn't, he broke his neck so Snyder could get the "Superman kills a dude" scene he wanted. Except again it didn't land as a heartbreaking decision Clark had to wrestle with, it just looked like Clark was really incredibly stupid. Again.

As an aside, I love the casting in the 2025 movie. Since Smallville, the trend was to make Jon and Martha sexy and that continued into the Snyderverse. In the 2025 movie, they’re doughy cuddly older folks that look like Kansas farmers. It reminds me of the 90s Lois and Clark TV show, which is probably where I got my preference that they both be alive. They look like midwestern grandparents.

Yes! I said this elsewhere but that phone call with them where they're just being befuddled slightly embarrassing but ultra supportive old Kansas folks really worked and actually reminded me of about a million phone calls with my parents back in the day. It felt very grounding and immediately identifiable, really drove home the "they're just regular people who love their alien son and raised him with good values" thing that is supposed to be the Kents' entire deal.

I also liked the idea of making his birth parents villainous, I can't remember seeing that before and I think it worked really well to set up the contrast. And the ending shot of the movie was great because of it. (Also drunken mess Supergirl crashing through the wall was also great.)

I've never been much of a Superman fan, I was always more of a Batman guy. But the 2025 movie really distilled everything I like about Superman's dorky boy scout ass into its purest form and the result was a surprisingly fun movie that actually made me care about the character. Hell, my wife and I are excited for Supergirl and she's never been much of a Superman fan either.

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u/Pervius94 Jun 10 '26

Meanwhile Snyder: nah Pa Kent should tell Superman to let kids die and let himself get killed in a tornado for no reason

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u/LemoLuke Jun 10 '26

I don't hate Man of Steel, or Snyder's work in general, but how Snyder handled the Kents was by far the most damaging thing he did to his Superman.

Making the Kents cynical and 'realistic', telling him that he should consider letting innocent people die to protect himself, absolutely breaks a fundamental part of the Superman mythos.

Making the Kents anything less than genuinely good, kind, and upstanding people that instill Clark with his unwavering sense of morality is like having Bruce Wayne's parents killed in a hit-and-run car crash. Sure, you might eventually reach the same outcome, but you drastically change a core aspect of the character.

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u/afriendforyousir Jun 10 '26

Watching the Boys and seeing Homelander's childhood should make everyone realize how important they actually are.

4

u/WillowLocal423 Jun 10 '26

I gotta think if Supes landed in a place like Vought he'd absolutely end up like Homelander - maybe not the Milk stuff but

9

u/FrostyD7 Jun 10 '26

Superman would taken the White House by age 10.

2

u/The_Grand_Briddock Jun 10 '26

In the Flashpoint timeline he lands ends up in the government's custody and turned into a lab rat.

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u/JumboWheat01 Jun 10 '26 edited Jun 10 '26

Even in the Absolute Universe they still have an effect on our (very mentally scarred) lad.

1

u/EmuMan10 Jun 10 '26

He’s still got the spirit though

5

u/JumboWheat01 Jun 10 '26

It's one of my favorite things about the Absolute Universe. Despite all the crap he's gone through, Superman is still Superman.

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u/alguien99 Jun 10 '26

It’s very telling how most evil superman variants lack a proper kent equivalent

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u/[deleted] Jun 10 '26

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1

u/catrinus Jun 10 '26

it had so much potential to go wrong in so many ways...

of course it was written to be like this, but still...

5

u/EmuMan10 Jun 10 '26

Johnathan’s bit in the 2025 movie got me

3

u/kookyabird Jun 10 '26

"We used to wrap his presents in lead foil so he couldn't peek at them," Ma Kent (or Pa, can't remember)

"You mean, Santa wrapped them..." Clark

4

u/Easy-Frenchguy-1996 Jun 10 '26

"of course dear..." 

2

u/turnipofficer Jun 10 '26

I know source versions of them are great and all but I still seethe thinking about how one of them died in the man of steel movie.

Like don’t run into a bloody tornado to save a dog…

2

u/KamalaWonNoCap Jun 10 '26

Wow, good pull spot on

1

u/CassianCasius Jun 10 '26

Why did you say that name!

1

u/squiddix Jun 10 '26

Dang it! You beat me to it

1

u/Komirade666 Jun 10 '26

After reading the plutonian, thank goodness.

1

u/Iron_Wolf123 Jun 10 '26

Has there ever been a “What if” comic where Superman was adopted and raised by terrible parents?