Dr. Mr. Kent,

I watched a really great documentary about Superman on A&E the other night. The show was 2 hours long and chronicled everything from his creation in Action Comics, to his often times funny episodic television, to his reappearance in cinemas in just over two weeks, and everything in between. Because I know that you know him well, I would love it if you would relay this letter to him:

We need you, Superman. I know you have super powerful ears, so I know that you know that I'm not alone in this sentiment. It's been WAY too long since you've leapt tall buildings in a single bound. It's been forever since we've seen you stop a locomotive. So make like a speeding bullet and get over here!!!

It's true that you've never offically gone anywhere. Shows like "Smallville," "The Adventures of Lois and Clark," and the animated "SuperFriends" series have kept you in the game for quite a while, yet we as a movie going public are ready for your return to the big screens. Having Superman relegated to the confines of episodic television, on the WB no less, has left a major hole for those of us who prefer seeing your exploits played out on the big screen in surround sound. I don't mean to bash "Smallville," because I do think it's a great show, but let's face facts, Superman on television is like Michael Jordan playing minor league baseball. We're ready for your big comeback.

The past few years have been pretty great in terms of comic book movies being given the mature treatment by Hollywood, yet this era of the great comic book film has felt incomplete. "Batman Begins" was everything I ever wanted in a Batman film. It was dark, moody, and raised some very interesting issues about vengeance and justice. The "X-Men" films rank very high on the bad ass scale and were better than I possibly could have imagined. "The Hulk," while disappointing, was still very well done. I think both "Spiderman" films were classics and rank very highly on my "All Time Great Superhero Movies" list.

Yet one Superhero has been missing, YOU, and I can't wait for your Super reappearance in cinemas in just under two weeks. Sure, all those heroes are great and all, but you're the one and only Superman. You had already saved the world many times over by the time a radioactive spider bit Peter Parker. You were already into your 3rd decade by the time Wolverine first slashed up villains or the Hulk was made very, VERY angry.

But you, you're universally loved. Every generation has their own Superman. My grandparents had the original Superman comics. My dad watched "The Adventures of Superman" with George Reeves. My childhood Superman was played by a real life super man named Christopher Reeve. And although I'm not a betting man, I feel pretty confident in guessing that a whole new generation is getting ready to discover what their parents, and their parent's parents already know.

Chris Rock once said that ever since Malcolm X and Martin Luther King got shot, the black community's been stuck with a bunch of "substitute teachers" in the form of Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton. While I think his critique was a bit on the harsh side, I think I know what he's talking about. "The Hulk" is great, but what do we really learn from "The Hulk" other than learning to control one's temper? "Batman" is one of my all time favorite characters in any medium, yet he's a bit on the dark side. "Batman" stories always leave me feeling that although he took down a major villain or two, evil is still all over Gotham. "The X-Men" are always too busy fighting each other to be able to make any inroads on mutant rights. Watching the X-Men is like watching the Democratic Party on C-Span. I'd have to say that "Spiderman" has come the closest to being the superhero (other than yourself) that takes us up, up, and away.

But here's the thing. "Spiderman" is just a kid. It seems as if we spend more time on his teenage angst than we do on him defeating Doctor Octopus. And more importantly, Spiderman is stuck in New York. It's hard to web sling over the fields of Iowa, now isn't it?

But you, you wonderful Man of Steel, you fight for us all. And I don't even mean all of us in the United States, but all of us the world over. And you've always done so. Whether you were fighting corrupt business owners during the Great Depression, fighting the Nazis, or you were helping deliver food to war refugees in those great Alex Ross paintings, you've always been there fighting for those who can't do it on their own.

And the reason why you fight for the little man, is because you yourself are one of us. While the rest of the country debates the immigration issue, we lose sight that you are an immigrant, sent to the world by selfless parents who wanted better for their child. And you have all the characteristics of an immigrant. You're hard working. You believe strongly that the work that you're doing is benefitting many. And most importantly, you've combined the values of your adoptive home with the values of your Kryptonian birthplace, to become a part of the collective melting pot known as the United States.

While the rest of the country debates the nature of "values," you fight for a code that I think everyone should fight for on a daily basis. You fight for Truth. Truth can have many different definitions; the great thing about you is that you fight for Truth in all it's forms and definitions. Truth to you is never telling a lie, sure, but Truth is also a philosophical principle that you believe in and fight for. Because of your strong moral values taught to you by both your real and adoptive parents, your vision of truth consists of a reality where people are free to live the life they want to live as long as it doesn't hurt anybody else.

While we divide people up into red or blue states, your view of truth states that we all have a role in helping each other up, no matter what color, race, or political party. As you said at the end of your first documentary with Richard Donner, "We're all a part of the same team." Your uniform proves it. Your costume only works with a red cape and blue tights. You can't discard one piece of your uniform without foresaking another part.

You fight for Justice. Your friend Batman views Justice as a bit of a tight rope walk. On one side there's equity and moral rightness, on the other side there's vengeance. The great thing about you is that since you're a flyer and not a walker, you don't have to walk tightropes. Your vision of Justice is pure and simple. You want each person to have a fair shake and to be treated fairly under the law.

You fight for "the American Way." As I'm sure you know, the people of the United States have a lot in common with you. We're both an immigrant people. We both hold ourselves up to ideals that are much larger than our individual selves. Our military is staffed by people who fight for those who can't fight on their own and has a proud history of fighting for those who can't, whether it was the American slavery system or Hitler's concentration camps. Our country is filled with people, both military and civilian, who fight for social equality on a daily basis.

But with that comes an inverse. As is a theme of yours, with great power comes great responsibility. You realize that there is a limit to what you can and should do. If you went around solving all of our problems all of the time, we'd lose our ability to solve problems on our own. If you tried to solve all of our problems, then we may even begin to resent you. You have always done a super job at floating above the fray. While we have much in common, there is a lot our country, our government in particular, can learn from you.

I'll wrap with this. I cringe everytime I hear someone say that Superman is corny and outdated. We must never let the ideals that you fight for, and that we all fight for, become outdated. Truth and Justice are not corny and they're certainly not outdated. And that, above all else, is why we need you right now. We need that reminder that we're not alone in our fight. We need that reminder that you're up there, somewhere, looking upon us, ready to lend a hand of Steel when need be.

Yours truly,

Matthew McKibben
(940) up'n-away

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I got the following response in my mailbox. I had checked the mail earlier and nothing was there, but Anya brought up this letter, somehow delivered at night. Strange.

Dear Matthew McKibben,

I'll be sure he gets this letter. You are not alone.

Clark Kent
1-888-iam-supr