Superman is such a classic character with so many iterations that it is hard to pin down precisely what he represents. Superman: The Movie first captured his essence on the big screen is a timeless way, but the characters later iterations in the DCEU such as Man of Steel would prove to be dramatic departures.
Refreshingly, Superman '78 recaptures that feel and ethos of the original film series where the character was portrayed by Christopher Reeve. In a dramatic climax that sees Superman locked in a battle of philosophy as much as brawn, the series cuts to the heart of what exactly it is his later film adaptations lost about the character.
Superman '78 first picked up its story from where the loose continuity of the Christopher Reeve films left off, in an old-fashioned world where a lighter-hearted Clark Kent protects Metropolis as Superman. When an extraterrestrial intelligence known as Brainiac arrives on the planet, seeking to collect Metropolis and miniaturize it into a bottle that will preserve it for the sake of historical record, it is Superman's boundless power that stops the cyborg. But more important than Superman's strength, or speed, or heat vision, throughout the story, is his heart.
By the climax of the miniseries in issue #6, by Robert Venditti, Wilfredo Torres, Jordie Bellaire, and Dave Lanphear, Superman escapes Brainiac's capture as the two engage in a dialogue matching the blows of their combat. The dialogue is heady stuff, but the true highlight of the series cuts to the core of what both the comic, and the original Superman films, understand about the character. Brainiac is a purely logical entity who no longer has hope in sentient life, believing that humanity squandered its chances and is no longer responsible for its own fate. But Superman refuses to relent, insisting the humanity always deserves a second chance and that he will forever see good in humankind however much evil they show. And then, he wins.
Without moral compromise or a solemn acceptance of the failure his ideology has in matching the realities of the world, the Superman of Superman '78 instead provides a triumphant and optimistic story. It understands that Superman is an aspirational figure and that the story is no less compelling in its conflict simply because its dynamism results from other aspects of the narrative outside its protagonist. And in that understanding, the comic serves as a reminder of just how different the most recent big screen depictions of Superman are from his Christopher Reeve roots.
Man of Steel brought the character to the DCEU and established first and foremost the hero's ongoing struggle with moral questions. In the film, his conflict between saving lives and revealing his secret to the world ends with his father dying in a tornado Superman could have otherwise saved him from. By the climax, faced against the similarly-empowered Kryptonian Zod, Superman snaps the villains neck rather than let Zod take any more innocent lives. The moment precedes an anguished cry from the hero, setting the tone for the darker and more menacing figure throughout the rest of the DCEU.
The hero of Superman '78 would act far differently in the same situation. Even with Brainiac threatening all of Metropolis, dropping the city back to Earth after uprooting it from the ground, by the story's end Superman catches the falling city and returns it safely to its place. Everything goes back to normal, the status quo is restored, and the deeper message is preserved: When the day looks the direst and all hope is lost, Superman will always be there to protect it.
The miniseries was a refreshing way to recapture the spirit of a hero too seldom seen in modern storylines. There is an overwhelming abundance of superhero stories in mass media today that explore themes of moral conflict, or the conflict between reality and ideology, or the imperfections of mythological figures. But it's the tales of a moral paragon prevailing over all else as he provides the gold standard of what humanity is all about that fit Superman the best. He may be the Man of Steel, but it never really feels like a Superman story unless he has a heart of gold.