STRANGE VISITOR Pt. 1
Today, I was listening to Tom Lykis who questioned why we keep rehashing an “old and tired” story like Superman. Of course, being a shock jock, he pushed the extreme. Usually, it’s not so apparent as it was with this topic. But, amongst the drivel, he did ask a pertinent question: Is Superman still relevant in today’s world, post 9-11?
Lykis made the comparison that Superman made sense in the 1940’s, when all you had to worry about were gangsters and madmen with guns, but in a world where planes are crash into buildings in the new day sun the concept is dated.
I have to admit, the man makes a point. The more the fantastic becomes reality, the more we need a superhero, the more blatant their non-existence becomes. Compared to Bin Laden’s crew, is the Joker that big a deal? It all goes back to questioning the nature of heroism. Are these heroes truly heroic? Are they making the big choices, or reliving past glories over and over again? Sure, stories are updated. Just recently, Brain Azzarello had Superman going into a Middle East type place and taking away all the guns, which led to a series of other actions that resulted in the same point: Superman can’t intercede all the time or risk making things worse. But, is the real? How many times have we read that story, or watched it in a Superman cartoon?
How long can superheroes refrain from involving themselves in real life events? Asking that question, and thinking of how most comic reader are adult men in their thirties and up, and how they prefer their books be frozen in time without development or maturity – people still bitch about Superman and Spider-Man getting married – I pondered if comics would never truly crossover to a younger readership because they aren’t real enough to interest the younger generations. Surely, the themes are timeless and the characters mythic, but the stories are limited. It’s as if the characters are begging to grow, but they’re kept in place by fearful parents afraid of the worst.
Lykis made the comparison that Superman made sense in the 1940’s, when all you had to worry about were gangsters and madmen with guns, but in a world where planes are crash into buildings in the new day sun the concept is dated.
I have to admit, the man makes a point. The more the fantastic becomes reality, the more we need a superhero, the more blatant their non-existence becomes. Compared to Bin Laden’s crew, is the Joker that big a deal? It all goes back to questioning the nature of heroism. Are these heroes truly heroic? Are they making the big choices, or reliving past glories over and over again? Sure, stories are updated. Just recently, Brain Azzarello had Superman going into a Middle East type place and taking away all the guns, which led to a series of other actions that resulted in the same point: Superman can’t intercede all the time or risk making things worse. But, is the real? How many times have we read that story, or watched it in a Superman cartoon?
How long can superheroes refrain from involving themselves in real life events? Asking that question, and thinking of how most comic reader are adult men in their thirties and up, and how they prefer their books be frozen in time without development or maturity – people still bitch about Superman and Spider-Man getting married – I pondered if comics would never truly crossover to a younger readership because they aren’t real enough to interest the younger generations. Surely, the themes are timeless and the characters mythic, but the stories are limited. It’s as if the characters are begging to grow, but they’re kept in place by fearful parents afraid of the worst.
posted by QABBAL at 2:32 AM
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