Why Superheroes? Here's Why

Why superheroes? Why have fictional characters who cannot possibly exist in real life?

It always amazes me that some people seem to think that good works can somehow magically appear in a corrupt world without idealism and dreams of courage and daring.

In fact, superheroes are metaphors about the soaring human spirit, born of necessity in times of powerlessness and despair like the Great Depression. Their function is the same as the Fred Astaire-Ginger Rogers movies from that era — to enable the downtrodden to fantasize about defying gravity in fancy duds.

Our “heroes” now slaughter lots of people, because an evil society tells itself evil stories.

Superhero comics are born with an inherent optimism — colorfully costumed exuberant rescue fantasies. It’s no surprise that they’d be “out of step” in an era where nihilism, greed and even torture are celebrated.

Superheroes represent enduring moral values required by the human condition, among them courage, honesty, decency, wisdom and compassion. Those don’t “evolve.” They merely become clarified or confused, depending on whether our society advances or erodes.

Superheroes are those who, when something horrible is about to happen, step in to stop it. They transform themselves, sacrificing their ordinariness. They are the people Mr. Rogers called “the helpers,” writ large.

“If one takes away the violence of superheroes and strips them of the modern perception of their obsessive vigilantism and unwavering punishment of evildoers, what’s left?” asked wrote Alex S. Romagnoli and Gian S. Pagnucci in Enter the Superheroes: American Values, Culture and the Canon of Superhero Literature. “What’s left is a character that represents the best qualities of humanity: altruism, self-sacrifice, perseverance and responsibility. Superheroes fight because they have to, but their messages still resound without the violence and without the hard-edged personas.”

Superheroes are mysterious figures who suddenly appear to inspire humanity, then vanish until they are needed again.

What are you waiting for? Shine the signal.

'Thunderbolts:' A Bolt to Cure the Blues

I’d intended to skip Marvel’s Thunderbolts, having been disappointed in several of Marvel’s lackluster movie efforts since the pinnacle that was the Avengers saga. But I went this afternoon and I’m glad I did. 

It’s terrific.

What we have here is a collection of super ne’er-do-wells under the command of winsomely evil CIA director Julia Louis-Dreyfus — until they become “inconvenient.” These broken and hunted “superheroes” must band together to face an overwhelmingly powerful being and a Jungian apocalypse that is swallowing Manhattan. 

Thunderbolts has well-paced action, wit, deadly dangers and heart-tugging heroics — just the ingredients one wants in a well-made superhero movie. 

Marvel’s comic book Thunderbolts were created in 1997 by Kurt Busiek and Mark Bagley, and while this bunch of characters is different, they retain the same unlikely-hero, against-the-0dds appeal. 

They have a sort of Guardians of the Galaxy vibe without being in any way imitative. Some deft, convincing screenwriting and direction has placed their humanity in the dramatic forefront of their super-humanity.

In the Depression, They Weren't Depressed

Superheroes are metaphors about the soaring human spirit, born of necessity in times of powerlessness and despair like the Great Depression. 

Their function is the same as the Fred Astaire-Ginger Rogers movies from that era — to enable the downtrodden to fantasize about defying gravity in fancy duds.

Here There Be Dragons

“Fairy tales do not tell children the dragons exist. Children already know that dragons exist. Fairy tales tell children the dragons can be killed.”

— G. K. Chesterton

Fairy tales, westerns, private eye stories and superheroes all draw from the same well — the lone hero who must face down some formidable, even overwhelming menace to protect the community. Such stories will be around just as long as we are.

How Blue Was My Beetle

Back from The Blue Beetle, a back-to-basics superhero movie with a theme about family feeling (a motif it shares with the two Shazam films). 

It will remind audience members of both Iron Man and The Greatest American Hero (the idealistic young protagonist has an alien super-suit that he can’t quite operate).

I was surprised to see that the movie directly ties into the previous Charlton Comics and DC Comics incarnations of the Blue Beetle, a character that in one form or another reaches all the way back to 1939. Jack Kirby’s OMAC is in there as well. 

This makes for a richer story, yet manages to sidestep the pitfalls of too much clunky background baggage.

The film is surprisingly straightforward about the malignancy of class oppression and the military-industrial complex, a fact that works to make the climax thrilling and satisfying. Xolo Maridueña is appealing as the hero, and Susan Sarandon is effective as the cheerfully amoral, bright-as-a-poisonous-penny corporate CEO villain Victoria Kord.

Seated in a cinema with only two other people, I had virtually a private showing — an agreeable way to while away an August afternoon.

Comic book fans should be sure to stay for a post-credits surprise.

'Across the Spider-Verse:' Kinetic Imagery

The kinetic imagery of Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse feels like a natural 21st century evolution of the 20th century comic book — something as far beyond Snow White as a lunar lander is from a biplane.

Clearly someone has actually been thinking about what it would be like to have Spidey’s powers — for example, might you have a casual conversation while sitting around upside down?

The adventure element is a given, but this film contains a good deal more effective understated drama than a movie like The Flash, which is filled with “real people.” 

How ironic, as they used to say in the comic books.

But all these multiverses and mirror images, oh my… Can the multi-multiverse be far behind?

Double the Flash and a Lot More Batman

So Bart and I went to see The Flash, a movie that does a 180 tonal shift from out-and-out comedy to muted tragedy. 

But it was good fun overall, with the wonderful Michael Keaton returning as “Batman Classic” (although I also appreciated seeing Ben Affleck again as the underplayed Batman, a good angle on the character).

Sasha Calle makes a badass Supergirl (in a world — oh no! — without Superman).

And the film has a laugh-out-loud finish that Lola Burnham will particularly appreciate.

A Lesson in Humanity from Star Wars

Why popular culture heroes are so important, summed up in one anecdote.

"Hearts may inspire other hearts with their fire."

'Guardians 3:' Ya Gotta Have Heart

Bart, Paul and I just saw and enjoyed the Oz-like extravaganza Guardians of the Galaxy 3, which was full of both action and comedic fun. It’s the best Marvel movie in a good while.

This superhero movie is, without belaboring the point, even “about” something — class and cruelty, and the thing that opposes them.

'Quantumania:' Let's Hear It for the Little Guy

Ant-Man (Paul Rudd) confronts Kang (Johnathan Majors)

Just back from Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania with Bart and William. I thoroughly enjoyed this cosmic melodrama, which establishes a family feeling among its five protagonists before sucking them down the rabbit hole into a quantum Wonderland. 

“Your building is alive?” asks the bewildered Ant-Man (Paul Rudd).

“Yours aren’t?” replies a puzzled alien being.

The film provides a proper build-up for Marvel’s next mega-supervillain, the time master Kang. Jonathan Majors underplays the role with skill, delivering his evil ultimatums casually but quite chillingly.

More entertaining than the recent Shang-Chi, Black Widow and Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, this sequel is a roller coaster ride with a Star Wars vibe.

And as for critics who never tire of telling us how bored they are with Marvel movies, they should consider putting a sock in it. Those laughing crowds and those busy box offices really don’t care.

And speaking of worlds within worlds, did you know that the term “Quantumania” contains the words “Ant” and “Man?"

Dreams of Courage and Daring

It always amazes that some people seem to think that good works can somehow magically appear in a corrupt world without idealism and dreams of courage and daring. My other blog, Great Caesar's Ghost, uses superheroes as a lens to view cultural history. You can browse it here.

A Message from the Lone Ranger

I taught and I write, I do what I can. Whatever happens, I will know I was on the right side because I have consciously tried to act with empathy and sanity. The first rule is to keep an untroubled spirit. The second is to look things in the face and know them for what they are. Mindfulness, courage and truth. I don't know if they'll carry the day, but I know they're the only values worth having.

Dr. Strange on the Yellow Brick Road

The two Benedicts, Cumberbatch and Wong, face relentless supernatural peril.

Bart and I just watched the new Dr. Strange movie. We’re off to see the wizard in this one, with a powerful witch pursuing a vulnerable girl to destroy her and gain what she possesses. 

A friend becomes an implacable, seemingly omnipotent enemy in this multi-dimensional Marvel of marvels.

I particularly enjoyed Dr. Strange’s Superman turn at the beginning, when he leaps off a building into costume to save a girl from a one-eyed Lovecraftian leviathan. The cosmos-splintering action rarely relents after that. As the Master of the Mystic Arts, Benedict Cumberbatch takes it all in stride with his usual lightly aloof touch. Once again, his Cloak of Levitation provides subtle comic relief.

This movie does run into the problem that has always plagued magical comic book superheroes like Dr. Strange, Dr. Fate and the Spectre. When you can seemingly wave your hand and do anything, the audience doesn’t know what the ground rules are. Stories about super powers require definite rules imposing limitations that the audience clearly understands, or the suspense is undercut. 

Nevertheless, I had a great time at this movie. The invincible enemy is overcome in a clever, logical and yet surprising manner. This Sam Raimi-directed film delivers a series of surprises, in fact, including one right at the end. 

Marvel continues its merry march.

What Superheroes Mean

 
It always amazes that some people seem to think that good works can somehow magically appear in a corrupt world without idealism and dreams of courage and daring.

The Original Antifascist

By the way, I was an antifascist before fascists like Sean Hannity, Bill O'Reilly and Donald Trump had ever heard the term.

The Legacy of Tony Stark

The best superhero stories necessarily explore the nature of morality, power and heroism, and Disney Marvel always kept its eye on the ball.

Aquaman Isn't All Wet

Jason Momoa as Aquaman, DC's King of the Seven Seas

On my way to see Aquaman, I grabbed some clothes at random and found myself seated in the cinema wearing my orange sweater and green pants.

The movie was good fun. Even though the undersea kingdom scenes were as silly as one might expect, they offer a certain fairy-tale wonder to the eye.

Much of the dialogue is of the declamatory-predictable variety with sentences that you can finish before the actors do (“The two worlds … are one!”). The single exception is Jason Momoa’s refreshingly cheeky bro-witticisms.

We get two romances for the price of one — Aquaman and Mera’s meet-cute and the lost-love heart-tugger of Aquaman’s father and mother (with Nicole Kidman playing Aquamom).

The character’s comic book origins are faithfully served. A lot of the plot is video game quest stuff. You must seek the thingie that solves the puzzle of the whatsis to find the other thingie. The best parts play on the same “fish out of water” theme that worked so well in Wonder Woman.

For all that, much of the film sweeps you along like a big, friendly wave, with Momoa carrying it on the strength of his broad shoulders and considerable bad-boy charm.

I think, however, that what with Aquaman, Thor, the Black Panther and Wonder Woman, we’ve had enough superhero royalty to satisfy us for a while. No more “true kings,” please. That quasi-racist notion never fails to irritate me.

I Wish They'd Paid Attention to Superman

The 21st century GOP and the people to whom they pander actually don't believe in equality, which means they actually don't believe in freedom, for all their strenuously broadcast propaganda to the contrary.

Farewell to a Master

Artist Steve Ditko, co-creator of Spider-Man and Dr. Strange, was found dead in his New York apartment at age 90.

"Ant-Man and the Wasp' Light and Lively

Well, Disney Marvel has knocked another one right out of the ballpark with Ant-Man and the Wasp, a delightful, perfectly paced action-comedy.

As I had hoped, this Ant-Man sequel turns on the fate of the original Wasp, Janet Van Dyne (Michelle Pfeiffer), who was lost in a subatomic universe while on a heroic mission decades ago.

The machinery of the plot is kept well oiled by the witty interplay between the established characters — charming Scott Lang (Paul Rudd), irascible Hank Pym (Michael Douglas), ever-competent Hope Pym (Evangeline Lilly) and lovable goofball Luis (Michael Pena). The film introduces Laurence Fishburne as Bill Foster, a character Marvel fans will recognize as an earlier incarnation of the superhero Goliath.

The movie has suspense, size-changing shenanigans, cute ants, a Stan Lee cameo, a ghostly super villain and a lot of stuff about daughters that brings the story full circle.  And surely we all know by that that at a Disney Marvel movie you must STAY THROUGH THE CREDITS.