Thereās something affirming in seeing Superman- because Clark Kent in the latest movie is very clearly autistic. And so am I
I wasnāt diagnosed until I was 18, and it took me a while to accept the diagnosis because of the circumstances surrounding it. But in retrospect it colors every aspect of my life
The black and white morality, the strong sense of justice, the almost physical pain when it feels like someone is misunderstanding you on purpose. I saw all of that when Lois was interviewing him, and itās all stuff Iāve struggled with
The movie got brought up at dinner, and my stepdad was saying that he heard someone say the acting is bad. And when I said that Clark is being played as an autistic man, and that it makes a lot of sense when viewing him through that lens, and that I really liked how this Superman went through the trouble of even saving a squirrel, he laughed and said thatās way too over the top. And when I explained how he wanted to save the kaiju monster, and that it all builds into his characterization later, he said again that thatās too much and overdramatic
I used to force my mother to fish without hooks because I would cry at the thought of the fish being in pain. When I was bit by a dog at age 6, I begged my mom to not tell the doctors where the dog lived because I didnāt want it put down. I still brake for squirrels and birds and try to make friends with every cat I see.
This Clark Kent is a low support needs autistic man with hyper empathy. And thatās incredibly important to me. He puts himself in danger to save a dog. Twice. He dragged out a fight because he was looking for a way to not kill a monster. He sobbed like his heart was getting ripped out when a man he barely knew was killed in front of him and because of him. He put himself through pain and almost got killed because he wouldnāt let a baby be harmed. He started an international incident because he refused to sit by while innocent people were harmed.
And a Superman who wouldnāt do that isnāt Superman.
