It started innocently enough. "Mom, what do they mean, 'It's a bird. It's a plane. It's Superman!'?"

I explained that when Superman flies through the air people would look up and try to figure out what they were seeing, before figuring out that Superman was once again on the job.

"But, I guess since he is Superman, he could actually become a bird or a plane if he wanted to."

"Superman can catch bullets and turn back time, but he isn't a shape-shifter, Son."

"But he has to be. The song says, 'I am Superman and I can do anything.' If he can do anything, he can change his shape, right?"

"No, it doesn't work that way."

"That doesn't make sense. He's not so great then. I like Spiderman much better."

And thus a superhero falls from grace.