Superman soared

The Kansas City Star

Christopher Reeve soared as Superman, but he reached the greatest heights as a mortal after his head-first fall from a horse in 1995.

Reeve, who died unexpectedly Sunday at age 52 from complications related to an infection, had constantly stunned his doctors. Despite being paralyzed from the neck down, the movie actor never gave up his hopes of walking again. ...

He became the optimistic voice of can-do, turning his star status into a fund-raising effort that directed millions of dollars to neuroscience research, and leading the call for exploring the possibilities of embryonic stem-cell research.

Reeve himself, in the 1980s, reflected on his Superman character's heroic stunts and wondered if it was time to move on to something else. "What else is there left for Superman to do?" he asked.

It seems now that there was a lot. Only Reeve's most heroic and inspiring role was without the cape.