The Superman legend is examined in the light of psychoanalytic developmental psychology. Superman has a dual character: one aspect is timid, limited, and mortal; the other is strong, physically daring, and heroic. Like the latency boy, he scrupulously avoids sensual intimacy. His power is vulnerable only to a fragment of "kryptonite," a piece of his mother planet, which represents the archaic mother whom the boy fears. Harking back to oedipal strivings and conflicts, Superman did not reveal his true powers until his father had died; but then he began to act in daring ways which reflect the counterphobic aspects of the preadolescent personality. When he experiences the world as too stressful and retreats to his Fortress of Solitude, he again represents the latency boy, who views himself as quite alone. The