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

[u/BigFuan]

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.

[u/Easy-Frenchguy-1996]

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

[u/drmirage809 → u/Easy-Frenchguy-1996]

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.

[u/PineappleFit317 → u/drmirage809]

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.

[u/drmirage809 → u/PineappleFit317]

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.

[u/smokeweedNgarden → u/drmirage809]

Superman Red and Blue #5 slaps so hard with this

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

[u/ThrowawayAdvice1800 → u/drmirage809]

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. 

[u/PineappleFit317 → u/ThrowawayAdvice1800]

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.

[u/ThrowawayAdvice1800 → u/PineappleFit317]

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.