Which is easier: inspiring hope or commanding justice?
The options are two sides of the same coin, yet worlds apart. This duality lies at the heart of storytelling and is embodied by two of the most iconic characters in history: Superman and Batman.
Superman inspires humanity to be better, while Batman confronts humanity with its flaws.
We are all hyped and waiting with bated breath for Superman to release in a few short days. When the trailer dropped several months ago, I must have watched it at least 30 times. After I finished crying tears of joy, I had a talk with our Editor-in-Chief, Ceylan. Our discussion was mostly me just geeking out, but nonetheless, we ended up exploring why people seem to love Batman over Superman.
The ideological clash between these two heroes fuels their dynamic across countless comic arcs, showing how hope and justice are two equally powerful yet vastly different storytelling tools. Writers can learn from their interplay. Are your characters driven by a belief in others' potential, or do they exact accountability? Why is it so hard to inspire hope in today’s society while commanding justice feels easier? Let’s talk about it.
Superman: The Symbol of Hope
My history with Superman is a long one. As a child, I indulged in the cliché of running around the house with a sheet tied around my neck, pretending to be the Man of Steel. I loved swooping off my bed to save my cat from imaginary threats. I’d sit in front of the TV, shushing anyone who dared speak while Christopher Reeve made us believe a man could fly. Back then, Superman was just a superpowered hero—cool and larger-than-life.
As a teenager, my relationship with Superman evolved. I began to realize he was not just a superhero, but an outsider. An alien doing his damnedest to fit into a world where he never felt truly at home. That secret struggle hit close to me. Growing up in what one might call "the hood," I never felt like I fit in. My tastes and interests didn’t align with those around me, and because of that, I was told I wasn’t “Black enough.” When I lived in a group home with mostly white kids, I was suddenly “too Black.” At school, I was awkward, out of shape, and just trying to survive. Superman mirrored that experience for me.
But Superman also showed me something profound: just because the world doesn’t believe in you doesn’t mean you can’t believe in it. His belief in humanity, even when they underestimated him, helped me hold onto the hope that someday, people might see my worth.
As an adult, life tested that hope. Cynicism replaced my teenage optimism. I no longer sought acceptance but dismissed others’ rejection of me as their problem. But rediscovering Superman’s stories inspired me again—not to seek acceptance, but to grant it. Superman wasn’t about fitting in; he was about believing in humans, even when humanity seemed undeserving. He reminded me that while people stumble and fall, they also rise and strive for better.
Superman represents the best of us: an aspirational figure who believes humanity’s flaws don’t make us less worthy but more special. His strength isn’t just physical; it’s his unwavering belief in our potential. This fact is beautifully illustrated in the comic book, All-Star Superman, when he saves a suicidal young woman by simply saying, “It’s never as bad as it seems. You’re stronger than you think.” It wasn’t his powers that saved her but his empathy and hope: a superpower we can all have.
Why Writing Hope Is Challenging
The problem is: humanity doesn’t want to be told to hope.
Hope doesn’t look as strong on the outside as commanding justice does. On the contrary, hope scares us because it leaves us vulnerable. Frankly, hope is too painful. In our broken world full of angry, polarized people, it feels more gratifying to adopt the apathetic attitude of “Burn it all.” Hopeful characters seem old-fashioned and naive. Nowadays, society feels too busy for hope—overwhelmed by bills, politics, and life’s pressures.
Have you ever felt put off by a character because they seemed “too perfect”? That’s because we have a hard time feeling connected to characters who don’t seem to struggle with the same things that we do. Perfectly heroic characters often feel one-dimensional or unrealistic because we can’t relate to them.
To write a character who inspires hope yet doesn’t feel untouchable, you must show their internal struggles and the cost of maintaining hope in a cynical world. In Mark Waid and Alex Ross’ comic book, Kingdom Come, Superman returns from self-exile to a fractured world and struggles to hold onto his ideals. Humanity’s chaos tests his hope, forcing him to wrestle with doubt. This conflict is a good example of a compelling optimistic character.
How to Make Your Superheroes Suffer
Put your characters’ hope to the test. Place them in situations where any normal person would stop believing. Show us their internal battle and anchor their hope in vulnerability.
Superman doesn’t believe in humanity because it’s easy. He believes because it’s necessary, even when that belief hurts.
Hope isn’t naive—it’s a choice made in defiance of despair. When you show a character wrestling with hope when all seems lost, you offer that strength of hope to others.
Batman: The Champion of Justice
Don’t get me wrong, Batman has always been cool. But my relationship with him didn’t solidify until adulthood, when his relentless drive for justice resonated with my cynical heart.
That’s why Batman speaks to us as adults: we’ve seen the world’s ugliness and understand that sometimes, to protect the greater good, you have to get ugly, too.
Batman represents accountability. He doesn’t trust people or systems to do the right thing unless forced. His worldview, shaped by tragedy, fuels his crusade for justice. This perspective doesn’t mean Batman lacks hope—Christopher Nolan’s The Dark Knight trilogy proves otherwise—but hope is not his default setting.
In Frank Miller’s comic book, The Dark Knight Returns, Batman comes out of retirement because he sees Gotham descending into chaos. His justice is brutal, driven by a fear of what happens when power goes unchecked.
Why Writing Justice Feels Easier
Justice-driven characters resonate because they validate our cynicism. We see injustice everywhere—corruption, greed, violence—and justice characters balance the scales. They also reflect our desire to be the ones who fix the world or at least witness it being fixed. Writing justice feels natural because it aligns with our most primal instincts.
In the Jeph Loeb and Jim Lee comic storyline, Hush, Batman’s clash with a Poison Ivy-controlled Superman highlights this tension perfectly. Batman’s skepticism led him to prepare for Superman being compromised, and he used morally questionable methods to stop him, ironically relying on Superman’s moral code to avoid disaster.
How to Expose Your Character’s Weakness
Justice-driven characters work best when their worldview is challenged. In the tale, Justice League: Tower of Babel, Batman’s paranoia backfires when his contingency plans for the League are weaponized, forcing him to face the consequences of his distrust.
Justice can’t exist in isolation. Even cynical characters must let others in for their arcs to feel complete. Challenge your avengers of justice. Pose philosophical questions about the cost of their actions and make them wrestle with those choices.
The Ideological Clash: Hope vs. Justice
Superman and Batman’s dynamic works because their ideologies aren’t just different—they’re oppositional. Superman believes in trusting people; Batman believes trust must be earned. In the “World’s Finest” tale, Public Enemies, their differing approaches to Lex Luthor’s presidency highlight this tension. Superman hesitates, believing the system will prevail, while Batman wants immediate action.
Why This Clash Works so Damn Well
This conflict works because neither is entirely right or wrong. Superman’s hope seems naive, but Batman’s justice feels cold. Together, they create balance. This combination mirrors real-world debates about trust, accountability, and leadership.
In World’s Finest, when a villain manipulates their trust, Superman’s transparency and Batman’s secrecy nearly tear them apart. Yet, their strength still lies in their differences.
How to use this conflict in your story
People tend to want to think in black and white, but the reality is there’s a lot of gray area in our world. Lean on this reality in your stories. Use conflicting ideologies to create depth. Set your characters on opposing sides of issues—not right versus wrong, but belief versus doubt, or trust versus fear.
The best stories aren’t about who’s right; they’re about why each character believes they’re right.
The Takeaway
Superman and Batman are two sides of a coin—hope and justice. Superman’s hope pushes us to see the best in humanity, even when it’s hard, while Batman’s justice forces us to confront flaws and demand accountability. Together, they reflect humanity’s duality.
We need both to successfully fight the wrongs in our world: hope to inspire us to be better and justice to hold us accountable.
Ask yourself: what do your characters represent to your audience? Are they challenging your audience to hope, making them cheer for a world where evil is held accountable, or demonstrating that clashing ideologies together can make a stronger whole? By utilizing these tensions, you’ll create characters with a legacy as powerful as Superman and Batman that resonate in the hearts of people across time.
Need help developing your characters to be as compelling as Superman or Batman? The story coaches at OBA Media are here to help your story make an impact on the world. We’re now booking limited spots for a FREE editing session with our story coaches.
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Superman was my childhood favorite, but by middle school I really connected with Batman. Those were tough years, and I admired how he overcame a rough past, mastered martial arts, and fought evil using only his skills.
What I’ve struggled with over time is that most of his villains are too over-the-top. I’ve always wondered what a grounded Batman story would look like—taking on corruption instead of superpowered or insane foes.
That’s also why live-action Batman is hard to get right. He’s human, yet often portrayed as almost superhuman. A truly believable version would show him getting hurt, struggling, and paying the price for his choices.
You've made persuasive arguments for both heroes.
My journey is similar to yours. As a kid Superman was a golden ray of hope and goodness. As an adult, Batman made more sense than Superman.
But they serve as a reminder and checkpoint to each other that sometimes hope has its place, and sometimes justice takes precedence.
My other fascination with Batman is that he doesn't have superpowers. But he's put his vast resources to push himself to superhuman physical and mental limits, so he comes across as superheroic. And uses the superstition of criminals against them by using an outfit that evokes fear of a creature without remorse.