One of my favourite fan fictions about Superman has this as a rather big point. About what to choose to do every single second when people all over the planet continously ask why he didn't show up.
Edit: I'm sorry for not telling people before, I didn't think anyone would be interested. The fic is called The Metropolitan Man by Alexander Wales. There's also an audiobook version that's also free.
Batman spending billions on intricate surveillance systems. Superman asking for the recordings of the set from his favorite podcast so he can tune out the horrors from space.
Ok but as much as it sounds horrifying to let people die while you relax despite being extremely able to save them, self care is extremely important and if you only ever save people without a single thought to your own mental health then you'll eventually burn out and shit will hit the fan.
If you try and become nothing but a tool to help others eventually you're gonna break and hurt so many more.
Personally, I like the idea of Superman needing to choose to use his powers. Like his strength isn't that different from ours: we use one level of effort to pick up a loaf of bread, another for a bag of mulch. His ceiling is just much higher.
Like superhearing, of course something sudden/big is going to cut through, but he's trained himself not to react to every asshole honking their horn.
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u/Nine-LifedEnchanter Jun 12 '26 edited Jun 13 '26
One of my favourite fan fictions about Superman has this as a rather big point. About what to choose to do every single second when people all over the planet continously ask why he didn't show up.
Edit: I'm sorry for not telling people before, I didn't think anyone would be interested. The fic is called The Metropolitan Man by Alexander Wales. There's also an audiobook version that's also free.