钢铁之躯：“超人”成长史
当下的大银幕上，似乎每位超级英雄都推出了自己的现代新编——蝙蝠侠、钢铁侠、蜘蛛侠，不胜枚举。所以当超级英雄鼻祖——超人携新片《超人：钢铁之躯》强势归来时，一切也就顺理成章了。
The latest cinematic project of the Superman mythos features Henry Cavill in the red-and-blue tights, plus a story by the Batman trilogy’s Christopher Nolan and David S. Goyer. You can judge for yourself whether the 3-D extravaganza is worth the wait when it’s released in China on June 20. But what makes this character that’s 75 years old so iconic? Why is Superman such a great hero?
超人神话将于近日再次席卷各大影院，新片中，主演亨利•卡维尔身穿红蓝相间的紧身衣演绎新超人，新故事则由曾一手打造蝙蝠侠三部曲的克里斯托弗•诺兰和大卫•S•高耶联手创作。该片6月20号在国内首映，届时，你可以自行判断这一3D盛宴是否不负期待。但到底是什么使得这个已经75岁的漫画形象如此具有代表性?超人为何是位伟大的英雄呢?
Zack Snyder, director of Man of Steel, gave moviegoers a little history lesson on the American superhero. “For me, he’s that perfect mix of Americana,” Snyder told USA Today. “What makes Superman and his alter ego Clark Kent the ultimate American hero is that he has reflected American culture and society, ever since his first appearance in 1938.”
《超人：钢铁之躯》的导演查克•史奈德给影迷们上了一小堂有关美国超级英雄的历史课。“对我而言，他堪称一部精彩绝伦的美国史料，”史奈德在接受《今日美国》采访时表示。“超人和他的另一个身份克拉克•肯特之所以成长为美国终极英雄，原因在于自1938年首次亮相时起，他便体现出美国的社会与文化。”
The following is an outline of how the character has been part of the US’ changing values and beliefs over the past decades.
下文概括出在过去数十年间，从这位超级英雄身上，我们是如何看出美国人价值观与信仰的变化的。
1930s-40s
20世纪三四十年代
Superman arrived at a time when World War II was going on. And when the US got involved, “America starts getting scared and here comes this giant, almost straight-from-the-flag character who’s come to save us”, Brad Meltzer, a US novelist and host of History Channel’s Decoded, told USA Today.
超人诞生于二战时期。当美国也加入其中开战时，“美国人开始害怕了，这位巨人就出现了，近似一身星条旗装扮的爱国英雄来拯救我们了。”《历史频道：解密》栏目主持人、美国小说家布莱德•迈尔泽在接受《今日美国》采访时说道。
From the late 1930s into the 1940s, he was also “a reaction to industrialization, to the power of big business”, according to US comic book writer Mark Waid. “He was created as a social agitator, a character who fought for the oppressed and the weak.”
自上世纪30年代末到40年代，他也代表着一种“对工业化和大财团权利的反应”，美国漫画家马克•韦德表示。“他被塑造成为人类社会的救世主，为受压迫者与弱势群体而战。”
1950s
20世纪50年代
In the 1950s, Superman went from anti-authority to a sort of “uber-cop”, since the postwar era was “where Americans saw themselves as the world’s peacekeepers”, Waid told The Associated Press.
在上世纪50年代，超人从反权威者摇身变成“超级警察”，因为战后时期，“美国人就视自己为世界维和警察”，韦德在接受美联社采访时说。
1960s-70s
20世纪六七十年代
The 1960s and 70s saw stories that touched on the counterculture and “young people not really having a good sense of who they were or where they came from or where they were going”.
上世纪六七十年代，超人故事开始触及到反主流文化，“年轻人不知自己是谁、来自哪里、又去向何方。”
When the first Superman film came out in 1978, the superhero, played by Christopher Reeve, didn’t only save the world, but Waid also found that he expressed a relaxed attitude. “He didn’t have to behistrionic, or antagonistic — because he’s Superman for God’s sake. What threatens him? We’re in a post-Watergate, post-Vietnam era, in that brief period in American history where we felt confident and almost complacent in our place in the world.”
1978年，当首部超人影片被搬上银幕时，克里斯托弗•里夫扮演的超级英雄不仅只是拯救了世界而已，在韦德看来，他还表达了一种无拘无束的态度。“他不必装腔作势，也不必对抗到底——因为看在上帝的份上，他是超人。有什么能威胁到他?我们身处后‘水门事件’时代和后越战时代，在美国历史上这短短一页里，我们感到自信，为我们国家的世界地位而沾沾自喜。”
1980s
20世纪80年代
The 1980s featured Superman fighting his own hubris and self-importance, Meltzer said. The character who appeared in the Batman comic book series The Dark Knight Returns in 1986 was “a perfect reflection of Reagan politics and being a heel to the government”.
迈尔泽表示，20世纪80年代的超人同自己的自负自大抗争。出现在1986年出版的蝙蝠侠系列漫画《黑暗骑士归来》中的超人形象“完美地映射了当时里根推行的政策，成为美国政府的追随者。”
1990s
20世纪90年代
The 1990s pitted Superman against not only a bad mullet but also big corporations — his archenemy Lex Luthor was even redefined as a cunning millionaire businessman. The decade also featured a memorable “Death of Superman” story line.
上世纪90年代，走下神坛的超人除了与一头糟糕的胭脂鱼发型抗战之外，还向大财团们宣战——他的死对头克莱斯•卢瑟甚至被重新定义为一个阴险狡猾的百万富翁。这十年也演绎出一幕令人无法忘怀的“超人之死”剧情。
“When he is killed, it’s almost like America, for that small moment, thinks they can do without him, that they almost don’t need him anymore,” Meltzer said. “In a strange odd way, the moment he disappears is when you hear the outcry of how much we need him again, and that’s where we are right now.”
“当他被害死时，仿佛美国人在那一短暂瞬间认为他们可以没有他，也不再需要他了，”迈尔泽说。“奇怪的是，当超人消失的瞬间，你听到人们的呼喊，表达出他们需要超人的意愿是多么的强烈，这正是我们当前的处境。”
One aspect that remains timeless about Superman’s story is how his mom and dad put their son Kal-El in a space capsule as a baby before his home planet of Krypton explodes. They send him to Earth so that he can lead a good life and be of service to the world. “He’s always been the ultimate immigrant story,” Waid said.
一方面，超人故事之所以经久不衰是因为它讲述了超人的父母在家园氪星球爆炸前把尚在襁褓中的儿子艾尔放进太空舱。他们把他送到地球，这样他能过上好日子，并为全世界服务。韦德说：“超人故事一直是个终极移民的故事。”
US writer Scott Snyder agrees. “His story is the story that all of us share in one way or another, depending on how far back you go in our genealogy,” Snyder told The New York Times. “What also makes him quintessentially American is he’s a superhero who looks out for all of us. You always get the sense that Superman is protecting everyone and he sees everyone as equals.”
美国作家斯科特•斯奈德对此表示赞同。“我们能可以以某种形式来分享超人的故事，这取决于你追溯自己家谱的程度，”斯奈德在接受《纽约时报》采访时说。“他是个超级英雄，为我们所有人保驾护航，正是这一点使他成为典型的美国人。你总会有这样一种感觉，超人正保护着每个人，且平等待人。”
