鋼鐵之軀：“超人”成長史

These days it seems like every superhero has been given a modern makeover for the big screen — Batman, Iron Man, Spider-Man, the list goes on. So it makes sense that the ancestor of superheroes is finally up for an overhaul in Man of Steel.

當(dāng)下的大銀幕上，似乎每位超級英雄都推出了自己的現(xiàn)代新編——蝙蝠俠、鋼鐵俠、蜘蛛俠，不勝枚舉。所以當(dāng)超級英雄鼻祖——超人攜新片《超人：鋼鐵之軀》強勢歸來時，一切也就順理成章了。

The latest cinematic project of the Superman mythos features Henry Cavill in the red-and-blue tights, plus a story by the Batman trilogy’s Christopher Nolan and David S. Goyer. You can judge for yourself whether the 3-D extravaganza is worth the wait when it’s released in China on June 20. But what makes this character that’s 75 years old so iconic? Why is Superman such a great hero?

超人神話將于近日再次席卷各大影院，新片中，主演亨利•卡維爾身穿紅藍相間的緊身衣演繹新超人，新故事則由曾一手打造蝙蝠俠三部曲的克里斯托弗•諾蘭和大衛(wèi)•S•高耶聯(lián)手創(chuàng)作。該片6月20號在國內(nèi)首映，屆時，你可以自行判斷這一3D盛宴是否不負(fù)期待。但到底是什么使得這個已經(jīng)75歲的漫畫形象如此具有代表性?超人為何是位偉大的英雄呢?

Zack Snyder, director of Man of Steel, gave moviegoers a little history lesson on the American superhero. “For me, he’s that perfect mix of Americana,” Snyder told USA Today. “What makes Superman and his alter ego Clark Kent the ultimate American hero is that he has reflected American culture and society, ever since his first appearance in 1938.”

《超人：鋼鐵之軀》的導(dǎo)演查克•史奈德給影迷們上了一小堂有關(guān)美國超級英雄的歷史課。“對我而言，他堪稱一部精彩絕倫的美國史料，”史奈德在接受《今日美國》采訪時表示。“超人和他的另一個身份克拉克•肯特之所以成長為美國終極英雄，原因在于自1938年首次亮相時起，他便體現(xiàn)出美國的社會與文化。”

The following is an outline of how the character has been part of the US’ changing values and beliefs over the past decades.

下文概括出在過去數(shù)十年間，從這位超級英雄身上，我們是如何看出美國人價值觀與信仰的變化的。

1930s-40s

20世紀(jì)三四十年代

Superman arrived at a time when World War II was going on. And when the US got involved, “America starts getting scared and here comes this giant, almost straight-from-the-flag character who’s come to save us”, Brad Meltzer, a US novelist and host of History Channel’s Decoded, told USA Today.

超人誕生于二戰(zhàn)時期。當(dāng)美國也加入其中開戰(zhàn)時，“美國人開始害怕了，這位巨人就出現(xiàn)了，近似一身星條旗裝扮的愛國英雄來拯救我們了。”《歷史頻道：解密》欄目主持人、美國小說家布萊德•邁爾澤在接受《今日美國》采訪時說道。

From the late 1930s into the 1940s, he was also “a reaction to industrialization, to the power of big business”, according to US comic book writer Mark Waid. “He was created as a social agitator, a character who fought for the oppressed and the weak.”

自上世紀(jì)30年代末到40年代，他也代表著一種“對工業(yè)化和大財團權(quán)利的反應(yīng)”，美國漫畫家馬克•韋德表示。“他被塑造成為人類社會的救世主，為受壓迫者與弱勢群體而戰(zhàn)。”

1950s

20世紀(jì)50年代

In the 1950s, Superman went from anti-authority to a sort of “uber-cop”, since the postwar era was “where Americans saw themselves as the world’s peacekeepers”, Waid told The Associated Press.

在上世紀(jì)50年代，超人從反權(quán)威者搖身變成“超級警察”，因為戰(zhàn)后時期，“美國人就視自己為世界維和警察”，韋德在接受美聯(lián)社采訪時說。

1960s-70s

20世紀(jì)六七十年代

The 1960s and 70s saw stories that touched on the counterculture and “young people not really having a good sense of who they were or where they came from or where they were going”.

上世紀(jì)六七十年代，超人故事開始觸及到反主流文化，“年輕人不知自己是誰、來自哪里、又去向何方。”

When the first Superman film came out in 1978, the superhero, played by Christopher Reeve, didn’t only save the world, but Waid also found that he expressed a relaxed attitude. “He didn’t have to behistrionic, or antagonistic — because he’s Superman for God’s sake. What threatens him? We’re in a post-Watergate, post-Vietnam era, in that brief period in American history where we felt confident and almost complacent in our place in the world.”

1978年，當(dāng)首部超人影片被搬上銀幕時，克里斯托弗•里夫扮演的超級英雄不僅只是拯救了世界而已，在韋德看來，他還表達了一種無拘無束的態(tài)度。“他不必裝腔作勢，也不必對抗到底——因為看在上帝的份上，他是超人。有什么能威脅到他?我們身處后‘水門事件’時代和后越戰(zhàn)時代，在美國歷史上這短短一頁里，我們感到自信，為我們國家的世界地位而沾沾自喜。”

1980s

20世紀(jì)80年代

The 1980s featured Superman fighting his own hubris and self-importance, Meltzer said. The character who appeared in the Batman comic book series The Dark Knight Returns in 1986 was “a perfect reflection of Reagan politics and being a heel to the government”.

邁爾澤表示，20世紀(jì)80年代的超人同自己的自負(fù)自大抗?fàn)?。出現(xiàn)在1986年出版的蝙蝠俠系列漫畫《黑暗騎士歸來》中的超人形象“完美地映射了當(dāng)時里根推行的政策，成為美國政府的追隨者。”

1990s

20世紀(jì)90年代

The 1990s pitted Superman against not only a bad mullet but also big corporations — his archenemy Lex Luthor was even redefined as a cunning millionaire businessman. The decade also featured a memorable “Death of Superman” story line.

上世紀(jì)90年代，走下神壇的超人除了與一頭糟糕的胭脂魚發(fā)型抗戰(zhàn)之外，還向大財團們宣戰(zhàn)——他的死對頭克萊斯•盧瑟甚至被重新定義為一個陰險狡猾的百萬富翁。這十年也演繹出一幕令人無法忘懷的“超人之死”劇情。

“When he is killed, it’s almost like America, for that small moment, thinks they can do without him, that they almost don’t need him anymore,” Meltzer said. “In a strange odd way, the moment he disappears is when you hear the outcry of how much we need him again, and that’s where we are right now.”

“當(dāng)他被害死時，仿佛美國人在那一短暫瞬間認(rèn)為他們可以沒有他，也不再需要他了，”邁爾澤說。“奇怪的是，當(dāng)超人消失的瞬間，你聽到人們的呼喊，表達出他們需要超人的意愿是多么的強烈，這正是我們當(dāng)前的處境。”

One aspect that remains timeless about Superman’s story is how his mom and dad put their son Kal-El in a space capsule as a baby before his home planet of Krypton explodes. They send him to Earth so that he can lead a good life and be of service to the world. “He’s always been the ultimate immigrant story,” Waid said.

一方面，超人故事之所以經(jīng)久不衰是因為它講述了超人的父母在家園氪星球爆炸前把尚在襁褓中的兒子艾爾放進太空艙。他們把他送到地球，這樣他能過上好日子，并為全世界服務(wù)。韋德說：“超人故事一直是個終極移民的故事。”

US writer Scott Snyder agrees. “His story is the story that all of us share in one way or another, depending on how far back you go in our genealogy,” Snyder told The New York Times. “What also makes him quintessentially American is he’s a superhero who looks out for all of us. You always get the sense that Superman is protecting everyone and he sees everyone as equals.”

美國作家斯科特•斯奈德對此表示贊同。“我們能可以以某種形式來分享超人的故事，這取決于你追溯自己家譜的程度，”斯奈德在接受《紐約時報》采訪時說。“他是個超級英雄，為我們所有人保駕護航，正是這一點使他成為典型的美國人。你總會有這樣一種感覺，超人正保護著每個人，且平等待人。”