Spiderman vs. Superman

Check out this interview with Joe Quesada (Marvel Comic books editor-in-chief) about the lack of relevance of Superman in the modern world, and how Marvel's advantage over DC is their character base. He makes an interesting argument about Superman's popularity waning, but I think one advantage Superman specifically has over most Marvel heroes is hope. Superman is an ideal, and I think even in cynical modern times, a lot of people still like to believe in a better way, and that way is Superman. Kevin Smith wrote an interesting article about how Superman, being the ultimate immigrant and finding success, is the absolute embodiment of the American dream, and while I think Quesada's points are interesting, he misses this a little. He also uses a rather involved Elvis vs. The Beatles analogy which is worth reading.