Type: Analog/Amalgam
When reader Dale Glaser wrote me to suggest Statesman from the City of Heroes computer game universe, I initially contested the character's role as a Superman analog. Sure, Superman has patriotic elements, but Statesman was really more of a Captain America, wasn't he? Well, Dale set me straight. What we have here is not a Superman analog, he's a Super-Patriot analog. And guess what day it is? That's right, Amalgamonday! When City of Heroes created its own superhero universe, it actually took from both major shared universes and came up with a team called the Freedom Phalanx for Your Own Heroes(TM) to look up to. And this Freedom Phalanx is filled with amalgams of Justice Leaguers/Avengers.Stateman. for his part, is not an alien (Cap), but has the classic powers of flight, super-strength and invulnerability (Supes). He dresses in red and blue (both) with stars (Cap) and a cape (Supes), and was around during the Golden Age (both). Some of his old buddies call him "Captain", probably his rank when he was in the army (Cap). His love interest is an intrepid reporter (Supes). He doesn't carry a shield or get placed in suspended animation (Supes, or at least, not-Cap). And because team members often provide a context for determining an analog, the Freedom Phalanx is composed of Manticore (Green Arrow/Hawkeye), Synapse (Flash/Quicksilver), Positron (Iron Man/Green Lantern) and Sister Psyche (Wonder Woman/Scarlet Witch). They're not true amalgams (Sister Psyche's more of a Jean Gray actually, and Positron only has his look to tie him to those two characters), because they service the various game archetypes more than any amalgamation concept, but you can see it if you squint.
Statesman's dual inspiration may be seen in the fact he has two arch-nemeses, one for each aspect. The Reichsman is close to the Red Skull, while the Tyrant is akin to Earth-3's Ultraman.
So you decide. Statesman... Superman analog?
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