"No, sir. Don't thank me -- we're all part of the same team!"
With those final words, a superhero flew off into the stars, and the credits rolled on "Superman," a movie that helped change Hollywood and America forever.
Last weekend Christopher Reeve, the man who wore the cape, slipped into a coma and eventually died of heart failure. He was 52 years old and had been paralyzed from the neck down for almost a decade, but he was still a superhero.
The comic book character Superman (created in the 1930s) was always intended to be the quintessential American hero and representation of the American dream.
His story is basically the story of an immigrant: a child whose parents sent him here to give him a better life. He eventually grows to love his new home and embrace its values, becoming a success with nothing more than his natural abilities.
But Christopher Reeve's life reveals someone just as American as the role he became famous for: a man who became a star for doing what he did best -- rolling with the punches and never accepting defeat.
Reeve was a virtual unknown back when he was cast as the titular hero in 1978's "Superman." Unfortunately, he never truly pulled a Harrison Ford and became a successful actor outside of the role(s) that made him famous. This is not to say that Reeve was a poor actor or that he never achieved anything outside the Superman franchise -- he always maintained a likable screen personality, and romantics certainly will forever remember him for his role in the time-traveling, tear-jerker of love story, "Somewhere in Time".
Reeve also accomplished what many of his fellow stars have failed to do -- he remained a role model.
"No kid ever had to read about how Superman was hauled naked and hurling profanity from an orgy at an actor's home in Malibu after nearly dying from a mix of barbituates and cocaine," as comic journalist Michael Hutchison put it.
Still, cynics tend to smirk at the "failure" of actors like Reeve to escape a defining role in the public's eyes. I could not disagree more strongly, because even though pompous actors like Edward Norton might win our respect for their much-vaunted range, in the long term it's the big-screen icons we'll always love. Show children photos of Captain Kirk, Luke Skywalker, Superman, and Robert De Niro, and ask them who they recognize.
In fact, "icon" is a word that may actually do disservice to Reeve. I love comic books like I love few things on this Earth, but the character of Superman is something that long ago escaped the four-color pulp realm and entered into the national (if not worldwide) mythology.
Reeve played a hero with a million dollar smile, an unwavering sincerity, and a sort of humble aloofness that made it seem like having godlike powers came perfectly natural. No amount of bad plotting, dated special effects or horrible sequels could ever undo Reeve's performance, which came off less like he was acting and more like he was tapping into a basic humanity that everyone could understand. There is no superhero like Superman, and there was no Superman like Christopher Reeve. He was simply born for it.
Since his much-publicized horse riding accident in 1995, the paralyzed Reeve spent his time both lobbying for increased research in curing paralysis and traveling around the world to lecture others with disabilities -- becoming a source of inspiration for those who might have otherwise given up. He even acted on screen again, perhaps most memorably in a recurring role as mentor to a young Clark Kent in WB's teen-Superman series, "Smallville." His two brief appearances lent class and dignity to what is essentially an illogical angst-fest with models in place of real actors (and I say this as one of the show's fans).
It's cliched to say that we need heroes such as Superman "now more than ever," because the truth is that we always need heroes. In times of crisis and war we need them as beacons of strength and leadership; in times of peace and luxury we need them as reminders of selfless sacrifice and hard work. Right now over a thousand American soldiers have died fighting those who would do evil in Iraq, and there is no doubt in my mind that every single last one of them is a superhero.
How many of them -- and countless more heroes in every walk of life -- were at one point inspired by Christopher Reeve: the one and only Superman? Who knows, but if you could tell that to the dearly departed Reeve, he'd probably say not to thank him.
After all, we're all part of the same team.
Eric Spratling is a public relations senior. Make him believe a man can fly at Eric.Spratling@asu.edu.
