Too Super?

Why do we love superheroes?

I don’t think the reason is their physical superpowers. Rather, I think that we love them for their personas. Superheroes aren’t just super because of their strength and skills; they are “super” in their characters as well. We love superheroes because we know they are the ultimate good guys. They aren’t bound by the reality of humanity. We love Superman because he is the definition of goodness and purity. He always makes the right decision, even when in the worst situation. We love Spider-Man because even if he makes a mistake, he will always fight his hardest to make it right again. We love Batman because he has all the answers. His accumulation of knowledge is something perhaps unattainable by a real man of his age.

Not only do superheroes have the right abilities to protect humanity, they have the right state of mind. These are people who will never stop fighting the Never-ending Battle; not even when their remains are rotting beneath six feet of dirt, because they will leave behind a legacy for another to start again. These are people who aren’t affected by the confusion of politics and self-doubt. They always know the right thing to do and they always do the right thing.

We puny humans wish that our thoughts were as clear and moral as these super beings and so we flock to them. And when these heroes show actual signs of human corruption, we react in at least one of two ways: we reject the material that poses this threat, afraid that it will ruin our concept of these perfect people; or we revere it, admiring it as a work of genius. Which is interesting because all that the writer had to do was introduce a human element to the hero’s character.

I’m thinking Frank Miller’s The Dark Knight Returns. It renews our love for Batman because we know he’s doing the right thing. Yes, there is some morally unsteady ground that he treads on, as we are constantly reminded by the televised political debates that spice the story, but in the end we know that Batman is fighting to protect the people of Gotham… or is he? What if he’s just fighting to release the tension of his alter ego, the monster that demands the battle and the blood to survive? Is this just a sadistic rampage that he is taking out on criminals under the name of justice?

You see? Add that human element and BAM! you’ve got a story that makes you question and think about it, long after you read it. And what of Miller’s take on Superman? Could the Man of Steel ever really become a lapdog to the U.S., nothing more than an unquestioning patriotic weapon? Could Superman, thinking that he is pursuing justice, make a terrible decision and destroy what he believed he stood for? And if he did, would he be too blind in his righteousness to know?

The Dark Knight Returns is hailed as greatness because it makes you ask these questions, but simultaneously you don’t really want Superman to become a tool of the government, so something like that could never actually happen in a Superman comic book. Superman, Batman, Spider-Man, and the like continue to be superhuman manifestations of goodness, no matter how many spin-offs (and they are only spin-offs) play with their characters. And it’s because of this that, as people, as humans, they can never truly grow. Sure, they can gain new powers, lose old ones, don new costumes, die a couple of times, find a new girlfriend… but in the end they’ll always be the same person, ever unchanged.

This creates a mixed reaction for me. On the one hand, I don’t want them to change because I love them the way they are, just like everyone else. On the other hand, people are MEANT to change. At this point, because they haven’t changed, our love for superheroes is dwindling. Huge changes occur around these individuals and they are unaffected. It's uninteresting; anticlimactic. Things can’t continue like this, or they will just continue to lose fans, like the Greek and Norse gods lost their followers. But I don’t think there is hope of true change in the realm of DC and Marvel. It makes feel sad for this great people (even if they are imaginary) who will eventually become nothing more than myth, most of their stories forgotten by time.