i admit that i am a huge fan of comic book heroes. i will also admit that i have cultivated my appreciation as a young adult; to say that i collected comics as a kid would be a lie. i lived vicariously through the friends that i had that did collect the weekly comics and followed my favorite heroes in that way. though now, i have a couple of graphic novels and used to read them on my lunch break when i worked for a bookstore. i watched the comic book hero cartoons after school and now i wait with baited breath for the new hero films to be released.something that i have noticed is that there is a fanatical passion with which a comic fan will defend his hero of choice. i, for instance, LOVE batman. he is the penultimate hero and, for my money, the best superhero that has ever been inked. Himself, on the other hand, is a staunch spiderman fan. he says that spiderman has the coolest powers, to shoot webs and climb stuff. that would be very desirable for him. we have very heated, playful arguments as to who is the better hero. and the same goes for most comic fans. superman fans say that batman is just a rich guy with a bunch of toys, while the batman fans say that superman is just an alien. each person is right and everyone is wrong.
but why are comics so popular? why do grown people become so fiercely devoted to a fictional person? i think that our current love of supers falls in line with the ancients worship of the gods. just think of mount olympus as the justice league. zeus as superman, athena as wonder woman, apollo as the green lantern. i mean, it kinda fits. and i have noticed that during political unrest (this is a highly politicial year), superheros take a popularity upswing. it is far too easy to lose oneself in the world of the heroes. knowing full well that batman will not swoop through the dog park or the save-a-lot to sweep me away, does not dissuade the fact that i secretly hope for it. (especially if it is either the christian bale or micheal keaton batman, grrrr) and it is that hope that helps the public face the cruel unknown, even if it is all on the subconscious level. just as the gods served the purpose of explaining what the world could not explain, the heroes of the comics serve to shine as beacons of truth in the unstable times.
but where would the heroes be without their archenemies? without the villains, the heroes would just be weirdos in funny costumes and tights. without the bad guys, you wouldn't have a story. the villain puts the hero's world in perspective. it's the age old question: how will you know "the good" if you never experience "the bad"? like the knights of old, the hero needs a quest. they need to vanquish the foe. spiderman must battle the green goblin. batman must battle the joker. daredevil must battle bullseye. good vs evil. God vs the devil. and this primal battle of wills is what draws us in. let's look at The Joker. he is maniacal and psychotic. his impulse is what drives him and his total disregard for the social standards entices the readers. everyone has had at least one "evil" thought. wanting to punch your boss in the face or wanting to poke your co-worker in the eye. you would never act on these thoughts, but the joker would. completely surrendering to instant gratification and impulse is an intoxicating thought and many readers let the villains act through their own evil thoughts. supervillains have just as many fans as the superheros and i think it is because you never know where their power blood lust will take you.
and on the same thought, what of the super vixens? the women that pepper the comic books are strong, beautiful anti-heroes and are what the geeks wet dreams are made of. me, personally, i want to be catwoman. sometimes she's good, most of the time, she's bad but all the time, she's totally hot. with her lithe movements, heaving bosom and seductive nature she is no match for batman or any other man that crosses her path. the vixen is the crossroad of good and evil. she gleefully dances across the line between the hero and villain. both desirable and unattainable... she is the woman that i have always wanted to be.
now, with Hollywood's lack of originality, every summer brings a new batch of comic hero films. what is funny for those who follow graphic novels, there are films made of even the most obscure comics. johnny depp was in From Hell, a comic about jack the ripper. Wanted with angelina jolie is from a graphic novel. Hellboy is infinitely more popular now that he is a movie star and the list could go on and on. speaking of lists... it's time for tat2kittens top ten super hero list.
10. the mystery men. this group of heroes are everyday blue collar workers that have become local vigilantes. you have the shoveler who shovels well, the blue rajah -- master of silverware. mr furious -- with untameable rage, invisible boy -- who can only be invisible when no one is looking, the spleen -- with his farts of power, the bowler -- the lady bowler who's father's skull is preserved inside her bowling ball and sphinx -- who can bend guns in half with his mind. they are a bit dorky but they have hearts of steel
9. the league of extraordinary gentlemen this group of heroes are made of the anti-heroes of literature. allan quartermain from king soloman's mines, mina harker from dracula, the invisible man, cpt nemo from 20,000 leagues under the sea and dr Jekyll and mr hyde.
8. the tick he is a bit of a dunder head but he has incredible strength and very tolerant sidekick, arthur the moth.
7. the hulk he's greatest strength is his greatest weakness. don't make him angry. you won't like him if he's angry.
6. wonder woman yeah for girl power, she has the lasso of truth, helpful i guess, and that invisible plane. but she can kick butt better than most.
5. superman he's an alien. i bet that on his home planet he is just a regular joe.
4. spiderman he's a kid that got bit by a spider. and that is his greatest asset... he has a tragic flaw. a kid that now has superpowers and the desire to do good.
3. the x-men the next level of human evolution. i particularly love wolverine! theirs is a battle of race. in the x-men world there are those who would make the mutants the supreme beings, those who would kill the mutants for being different and those who would keep the balance between the two sides. i like the social parallels of this comic.
2. daredevil he's a blind guy who's other senses have gained super hyper-sensitivity. he fights using a sort of echo location. i think that he is uuber cool.
1. batman another man with a tragic flaw. he was orphaned and now wants to take justice into his own hands. he is also mortally afraid of that which he has become. his fear of bats, translates into the fear he strikes into the villains. he fights for those who can't fight for themselves and give a voice to those who are afraid to speak. he is a dark knight that rides through the night, battling the powerful that prey on the weak. he is a true superhero that puts the needs of others before his own and nightly places his life on the line for the city that needs him.
