2011-07-13
Explanation
This comic imagines a realistic trajectory for Superman if society actually optimized his abilities. It begins with Superman fighting crime in the traditional way, but people quickly realize he could save far more lives by transporting grain to starving people instead. From there, experts keep finding more efficient uses for his powers -- using his strength to generate clean energy by cranking magnets, which economists calculate would save more lives than anything else. Superman grows nostalgic for fighting crime, but is guilt-tripped with reminders that people in Bangladesh will die if he stops generating power.
Eventually, society transitions fully to the clean energy Superman helped pioneer, making him an obsolete power source. Crime has also dropped to near zero thanks to improved living standards, eliminating his original purpose as well. He tries to get a regular job, but his resume is thin -- just "1938-1947: Reporter, Daily Planet" followed by decades of "moved really fast up and down constantly." He ends up as a greeter at the Smithsonian Museum of Superheroes, and the darkly comic final panel reveals that the exhibit of his body (implying he has died and been preserved) becomes much more popular than he ever was as a living greeter. The comic is a satirical thought experiment about what would happen if we treated superhero abilities as economic resources to be optimized rather than dramatic narrative devices.