As the latest reboot of the 75-year-old character hits big screens today, it’s an opportunity to look at a cultural icon and reflect on ourselves.

I’m not penning a review of the film, nor am I offering an endorsement of the 143-minute, $250 million project. Rather, here are some thoughts on a flying, blue-spandex-wearing alien set in our world.

Earlier this week David Herro – who has a fitting last name and a son with a first name inspired by the comic book world – took to Facebook to ask this:

"It frustrates me when people call Superman the ‘boy scout’ in a negative way ... I thought we were supposed to be the best kind of person we can be ...  why is It wrong to be the ‘good guy’?"

It raises a good question. Hollywood, in previous versions of the ultimate super hero from the DC Universe, made the man of steel hokey in a lot of ways. If one never delved into the comic book world, or even the daily comic strips that were printed in newspapers, they never got the fullest picture of an orphan who has always struggled to find his place.

They never saw the alien with faster-than-a-speeding-bullet speed and x-ray vision that was only trying to fit in among humans. Kal-El may be the survivor from a now-dead planet, but it is his Clark Kent persona that is his best effort to be the best man he can be.

Hollywood, up until recently in big-budget summer blockbusters, really missed the boat when it came to the best part of storytelling in the sci-fi genre. The "super" is never about the heroic feats of strength, but rather the effect of it existing in our world that causes us to reflect on our own human condition.

In response to Herro’s Facebook post, I shared this:

"I like to think there's a ‘Superman’ in all of us. We can do more than what we expect of ourselves, we don't back down from a battle if we have to fight it, we can always strive to be better to define who we are. I think being the ‘boy scout’ is something we should work to achieve ... not something to be ashamed of."

On Thursday, I lost a friend to cancer. It was because of her spirit, her faith and her support that I pursued a career in education. Inside and outside of the classroom she was a teacher, and unlike many that once soured me on our entire educational system, she never lost the proper perspective.

She’s the one that recruited others to help make the system better, to be more responsive to the community and each individual’s needs. She taught me, like countless others, to be who you are and to share your experiences. She showed this through a number of efforts, including volunteering with the Boy Scouts for more than a decade.

She set a wonderful example for her husband and three sons … and thousands of other souls she encountered in her 46-year journey … including this mild-mannered reporter.

Is being a little like Superman, by being a boy scout and fighting each day through adversity to let your spirit shine, something to be ashamed of?

No, I don’t think so.