A Problem with the Superheroes

It is great entertainment. At least most people seem to think so. Fantastic visuals, millions of dollars in revenue, movies, cartoons, merchandise, theme parks. Today, with the possibilities computer-generated imagery offers, the creative minds working in the superhero genre can create infinite worlds, characters, and storylines.

I don’t intend to examine the issue comprehensively. I invite you to look at one specific issue about superheroes. It started with a conversation I had with my oldest son, who was a teenager at the time. By then he was already watching action, martial arts, sci-fi, fantasy movies with me. From Robocop to Matrix, from Schwarzenegger and Stallone movies to the Lord of the Rings, from Bruce Lee and Van Damme flicks to Aliens and Terminator, you name it, he’d seen it. We were also getting into the superhero genre with Bryan Singer’s X-men movies and Sam Raimi’s Spiderman trilogy. Then Marvel Cinematic Universe happened and the sheer volume and variety of superheroes we were exposed to on the big screen, brought about an interesting analysis from my boy.

He said that he had noticed something when comparing the old action movies and martial arts movies to the superhero genre. The lead characters in the old action movies were regular people with impressively extraordinary abilities, but still people like us. They could get hurt and often were hurt throughout the movie. Their journey often involved a huge loss at the beginning of the story, followed by the period of training and then standing up to the big bad of the story and eventual victory. The kid had essentially picked up on the common elements of the hero’s journey. The protagonist had to put in the effort, do the work, train hard to earn the skills that brought about the victory.

But when we look at the superhero genre, he continued, all we see is effortless skill acquisition. Superman is lucky to end up in a place where he has his powers thanks to the Sun, Spiderman gets bitten by a radioactive spider, the Hulk is exposed to gamma radiation, Captain America gets the super-soldier serum, Thor and Wonder Woman are born with God-like qualities. So it is either dumb luck, an experiment, or they are born with it. Then, there are, of course, Ironman, Batman, Green Arrow. They do not have any superpowers. But they are filthy rich. Which is the best superpower to have in the real world. So, except for Hawkeye and Black Widow (if we are looking at the most popular superheroes today), all the others are essentially handed over some tremendous power or a costume or billions of dollars to play with and their story is about how they deal with having so much power.

I was stunned. A kid picks up on what is essentially the difference between the older generations’ approach to the road to success and the “new school”. Is it surprising that superhero stories are so popular in this day and age when everyone is after quick wins and hard work seems to have become synonymous with failure? Grinding, learning, putting in work, becoming an expert is frowned upon while being an Instagram model, a YouTuber, or another kind of an influencer is encouraged.

Sure, superheroes can be role models. These characters, after all, are written and designed to be liked. They are equipped with a strong sense of morality and leadership qualities, help those in need, fight the crime and do a lot of good. There is nothing wrong with children looking up to Superman, Wonder Woman, Spider-Man, Captain America and imitating their qualities (as long as they don’t attempt flying of course).

But it would not hurt for superhero movies to emphasize the contribution of real-world heroes — teachers, nurses, doctors, policemen, firefighters, scientists, soldiers, athletes — people who do amazing things without any superpowers. Real people with a sense of duty, making moral choices day in and day out, making sacrifices, helping reduce misery, and improving the world around us one step at a time.

It would also be good if part of the message was to encourage people to study, to work hard, to train. For me, that is one of the reasons why the first Ironman (2008) was such a great movie — it showed how Tony Stark’s work on the Ironman suit was gradual, it showed the failures and step-by-step progression, how he took risks and eventually worked his way to a solution. There are elements like these in other movies too, but what would take regular human months or years, these superheroes seem to learn in a couple of days.

One could say that the superhero genre is nothing but today’s version of myths and legends of the past. It is no wonder that many superhero stories are based on ancient legends, including Greek, Norse, Egyptian, Japanese, Native American, and many other mythologies. Storytelling has always had incredible power and always will. But today we have at our disposal extraordinary movie-making machinery that is at the peak of its visual powers and all I am saying is that it could be used for just a little bit more than making money. A teenager picked up on that. Maybe it is time the adults do too.

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