Personality.

Farm boy manners. Kryptonian heart.

Superman has no single canon list of favourite things. The best-sourced likes are writing (he's a reporter in every era), farm life in Smallville, his parents' home cooking and, in post-Crisis comics, high-school American football. He has refused to kill since an editor's rule of 1940 or 1941 (sources disagree), and his deepest fear in modern comics is failing the people he loves.

Read in depth All personality

Updated 6 November 2026 · 22 sources

Black-rimmed glasses on a folded newspaper beside a steaming mug, by a rainy window over a city

In depth

The full story.

Superman’s personality is the most misreported part of his story online. Many “Superman’s favourite things” lists are made up. This page sticks to what the comics and films actually show, says which era each fact belongs to, and lists the popular myths at the end.

What does Superman like?

Superman’s best-sourced likes are listed below. Anything we couldn’t trace to a comic, film or official book is marked as unverified rather than presented as fact.

Like	Detail	Continuity	Confidence
Journalism and writing	Reporter at the Daily Star, then the Daily Planet; TV news anchor at WGBS in the early 1970s	All eras	Confirmed
Writing novels	A successful author on the side	Post-Crisis comics	Likely (no title verified)
American football	A star high-school player in Smallville	The Man of Steel #1 (1986)	Confirmed
Kansas and farm life	Grew up on the Kent farm in Smallville and returns often	All eras	Confirmed
His parents’ home cooking	A recurring comfort theme (he doesn’t strictly need food: see Kryptonian biology); the basis of the official 2025 cookbook	General	Likely, as a theme
Dogs, especially Krypto	The family dog in Rebirth comics; Kara’s dog he looks after in the 2025 film	Rebirth; Superman (2025)	Confirmed
Saving everyone, animals included	Stops mid-battle to rescue a squirrel	Superman (2025)	Likely
Punk rock (by his own definition)	Argues with Lois about the Mighty Crabjoys	Superman (2025)	Confirmed

Other claims you’ll see online, such as peanut butter and jelly, Kansas in spring, To Kill a Mockingbird as his favourite film, or a favourite baseball team (the Metropolis Monarchs in comics, the Kansas City Royals in Man of Steel), rest on weak or untraceable sources. We’ll add them only if we can cite them.

What is Superman’s favourite food?

There is no canon favourite food. The popular answer, Ma Kent’s apple pie or beef stew, can’t be traced to any comic. The closest official source is Superman: The Official Cookbook (Insight Editions with DC, 2025), written in Martha Kent’s voice. It includes the beef bourguignon from Clark and Lois’s first date, but it’s a tie-in book, and it doesn’t crown one dish as his favourite.

What does Superman dislike?

There’s no canon list of dislikes either, but some themes run through every era:

Killing. Superman has refused to kill since an editorial code, usually credited to Whitney Ellsworth, banned it in 1940 or 1941. See does Superman kill?
Bullies and abuse of power. The 1938 Superman fought wife-beaters, crooked politicians and slum landlords.
Being worshipped. Stories such as Kingdom Come (1996) and Man of Steel (2013) show him uneasy at being treated as a god. This is our reading of those stories rather than a stated canon fact.

Superman’s values and moral code

Superman’s values come from the Kents, who taught him to use his powers for others while protecting his private life. His no-killing rule began as an editorial decision in 1940 or 1941 (the year is disputed), not in the first comics, where he was rough and sometimes deadly. He has broken it rarely: in Superman (vol. 2) #22 (1988) he executes the pocket-universe Zod, Quex-Ul and Faora with kryptonite and goes into self-exile, and in Man of Steel (2013) he snaps Zod’s neck. James Gunn has said he isn’t a purist about the rule: his Superman would kill only to protect someone’s life.

Where does “Truth, justice and the American way” come from?

Superman’s motto started on the radio, not in the comics. The Adventures of Superman radio serial, which began on 12 February 1940, described his fight for truth and justice. “The American way” was added in September 1942, during the Second World War, and had dropped out again by late 1945. The 1950s TV series Adventures of Superman, starring George Reeves, made the full phrase famous in its opening narration, and Christopher Reeve’s Superman says it to Lois in Superman (1978).

On 16 October 2021, at DC FanDome, DC announced a new motto for comics, film, TV and games: “Truth, justice and a better tomorrow”. Jon Kent has a version of his own, “a better world”. More famous lines are on Superman’s famous quotes.

What is Superman afraid of?

In modern comics, Superman’s deepest fear is failing the people he loves, not dying. In Superman (vol. 4) #30 (2017), Sinestro probes his mind and finds exactly that. The Deathstroke story collected in Superman Vol. 5: Hopes and Fears plays on his fear of Lois being hurt. Alternate stories such as Injustice, Kingdom Come and Red Son explore a different fear: Superman losing his humanity and becoming a tyrant.

Clark Kent or Superman: who is the real one?

The answer has flipped over the decades:

Era	Who’s “real”?
Golden Age (1938–1956)	Superman. Clark is a timid act.
Silver Age (1956–1970)	Superman. Clark is a comic disguise.
Post-Crisis (1986–2011)	Clark. Superman is what he does.
Superman: Birthright (2003–04)	Somewhere between: the nervous Clark is an act.
Rebirth and today (2016–)	Clark Kent first, Superman second.
Superman (2025)	Clark, 100% of the time, in Gunn’s words.

The famous speech in Kill Bill: Vol. 2 (2004) argues that Clark is Superman’s mask and his critique of humanity. Superman writers, including Brian Michael Bendis, have said they disagree, and Gunn has too.

Superman myths: facts and fakes

Myth	The truth
His favourite food is Ma Kent’s apple pie	No comic source has been found
His hobby is photography	That’s Jimmy Olsen
He never kills, ever	He killed in early stories; the rule dates from 1940 or 1941, and there are exceptions
The S has always stood for hope	It began as “S for Superman”; the 1978 film made it a family crest, and “hope” came with Birthright (2003–04) and Man of Steel (2013)
Nobody ever explained the glasses	Superman #330 (1978) did, with hypno-glasses
His birthday is officially 29 February	A long-running editorial joke, never firmly fixed in canon
Christopher Reeve and George Reeves were related	They weren’t; Reeves was born George Brewer

For his family and the people who shaped him, see the Superman family tree. For his weak spots, see Superman’s weaknesses. For Lois herself, see our guide to Lois Lane and the actors who’ve played her.

Era by era.

The same Superman, rewritten for every generation.

Golden Age (1938–1956)

A rough social crusader who fights wife-beaters, crooked politicians and slum landlords. Clark Kent is a timid act, mocked as a coward to protect the secret. The no-killing rule arrives in 1940 or 1941 (the date is disputed).

Silver Age (1956–1970)

A near-godlike, fatherly hero. Clark is a comic disguise of glasses, a slouch and a higher voice, and Superman is the 'real' identity.

Bronze Age (1970–1986)

Clark becomes a TV news anchor at WGBS in the early 1970s. Superman #330 (1978) adds the hypno-glasses, which subtly stop people connecting Clark with Superman.

Post-Crisis (1986–2011)

John Byrne's The Man of Steel (1986) makes Clark the real person: a confident, sporty, successful writer who played high-school football. Superman is what he does. Superman: Birthright (2003–04) suggests the nervous Clark is a deliberate act.

Rebirth and today (2016–)

Clark Kent first, Superman second: a married father whose biggest fear is failing Lois, Jon and the strangers who need him.

Film: Superman (2025)

James Gunn writes him as Clark Kent all the time: earnest, emotional, a bit awkward and fiercely kind. He argues with Lois about punk rock and stops mid-battle to save a squirrel.

Questions.

What is Superman's favourite food?

There's no single comic answer. The official Superman: The Official Cookbook (2025) includes a beef bourguignon linked to Clark and Lois. The often-repeated Ma Kent's beef stew or apple pie can't be traced to a specific comic, so we treat it as fan lore.

What are Superman's hobbies?

Superman's best-sourced interests are writing (he's a reporter in every era and a published novelist in post-Crisis comics), farm life in Smallville and, in John Byrne's 1986 reboot, American football. Photography is a common mix-up: that's Jimmy Olsen's skill, not Clark's.

Is Superman punk rock?

It's a running joke in Superman (2025). Clark names bands, including the fictional Mighty Crabjoys, and Lois says they aren't really punk. By the end of the film Clark suggests that kindness might be the real punk rock. A Crabjoys poster later turned up in Clark's Smallville bedroom in the comics.

Why doesn't anyone recognise Clark Kent?

Clark changes much more than his glasses: posture, voice, hairstyle and manner. Superman #330 (1978) added hypno-glasses that subtly confuse onlookers, an idea Gunn's DCU has nodded to. People also don't expect Superman to need a day job.

Is Superman a good person?

Yes, by design: his nickname is the 'big blue boy scout'. His values come from Jonathan and Martha Kent, who taught him to use his powers for others. Producer Peter Safran sums up the 2025 film's Superman as kindness in a world that thinks kindness is old-fashioned.