Are we ready for the superhero?

MANILA, Philippines - Don’t get me wrong, superhero movies are fun, action-packed, and in recent years have more or less acquired some philosophical clout. But are we in too deep?

Is it any wonder that all the most anticipated blockbusters seem to be about superheroes lately? In the past year alone, we’ve had the latest installment of The X-Men, two sub-par superhero movies with the word “Green” in the title, the debut of Captain America, and, of course, the lightning god from outer space who wields a hammer like a boomerang. Add to that this year’s record-shattering success of The Avengers, a reboot of the Spiderman franchise, and the imminent return of the Dark Knight …well, is it any wonder?

Superhero movies have taken the world, and our wallets, by storm. In fact, here in Manila, you can now avail of the almighty Avengers tumbler at a Petron gas station near you. But I digress. Superman and the gang have become such a household name that they’ve transcended boundaries of class and race, practically on a first-name basis with everyone from your street sweeper to your accountant. But more than that, they’ve become the norm.

These days, nobody would bat an eyelash at the thought of a masked or caped crusader stalking the streets and keeping crime at bay. Likewise, no one would freak at the idea of a multi-billionaire suddenly donning a robot suit and deciding to put the arms trade to good use.

The boys of the Avengers, as originally portrayed in the comics. Artwork by Nico Zapanta

Indeed, superheroes thrive on our capacity to suspend disbelief, and have adapted surprisingly well because of that. In this day and age, they are the embodiment of cool, the bastion of righteousness, the standard of what a grown-up should be for kids everywhere.

But they weren’t always like that.

Some of the most iconic crime-busters like Superman and Batman started out as “jokes,” evidenced by the fact that comic books at the time were known as “funnies.” In those days, if you dabbled in the funnies, you were either a lowlife, a juvenile delinquent, or simply someone with no taste for fine art. When the US stock market crashed in the 1930s, the comics industry saw a rise in the demand for heroes; figures taken from pulp magazines and other underground forms of mass entertainment. Later, when the ravages of WWII sought to overturn the lives of the average American, superhero comics came to save the day. With their nuclear-derived, out-of-this-world superpowers, colorful, fancy tights, and preposterous dialogue; superheroes provided the war-weary masses with cheap and thoroughly escapist entertainment.

Fast-forward to the 21st century, and the superhero has become so… serious. So serious, that fans have jumped down Joel Schumacher’s throat for giving the Batsuit molded muscles and a copious amount of rubber nipples. So serious, in fact, that people go into frenzies defending their favorite characters on online forums — because Wolverine’s voice can’t possibly be any grittier than Batman’s, nor can anybody from DC hold a candle to the irrepressible Iron-Man.

All of this just begs the question: Are we in too deep?

Now don’t get me wrong, I love superhero movies as much as the next person. They’re fun, action-packed, and in recent years have more or less acquired some philosophical clout. But that doesn’t change the fact that, at the heart of it all, they’re pretty much absurd.

The Big Three of Earth’s Mightiest Heroes Artwork by Nico Zapanta

First of all, the costumes. Or as others may put it, the underwear. Superheroes wear their underwear outside, and no amount of modern revamping is going to change that. Now, the rationale behind the fancy suits is actually pretty sound. For one, it saved time and effort. Drawing thousands of panels for mass consumption while having to think of everyday outfits just couldn’t cut it for the overworked artists, hence the practicality of a signature suit. Moreover, the skin-tight costumes served to showcase just how super the superhero was. Taking their cue from circus strongmen, the tights were a way of highlighting the human body in action, of emphasizing “perfect” specimens of humanity, and, incidentally, of reminding people that the superhero is firmly rooted in — at times carnivalesque — entertainment.

And if you think about it, society may love ‘em, but our beloved superheroes are practically authoritarian in nature. They take things into their own hands, and adhere to their own concept of right and wrong. Admirable? Sure. But then, at the end of the day, who do they answer to?

Alan Moore made a brilliant attempt to shed light on this very conundrum, coming out with the critically acclaimed Watchmen comic in the process. In it, he uses the thread of “retired” superhero archetypes (the masked vigilante, the superman, the gadget guy, the patriot, the legacy character, the golden boy) to sum up the heart of the issue in four simple words — “Who watches the Watchmen?”

Citing the Avengers as having to answer to S.H.I.E.L.D. is a weak argument, because, state-sponsored superhero team or not, they can still pretty much come and go as they please, and nobody would have the raw strength to stop them.

Now what about the power fantasy angle? Remember, the superheroes that have so wholly infiltrated popular culture are mostly male, white, and unabashedly American. They may wear funky outfits, but once they’re out there, the common folk can’t do anything else but bow down to their awesome might. Superheroes are the rock stars of the power fantasy trope, and you really don’t have to look far to understand why.

So ultimately, when stripped of all its niceties and celeb-studded backing, what do we have left? A guy with his underwear worn inside-out. Now that’s entertainment.

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FYI: Marvel and DC own the rights to the word “super-hero.” Use with the utmost discretion.

For any of your artsy-fartsy, graphic art needs, you may contact Nico Zapanta @ 09179326805, and Ysa Calinawan @ 0916-3564677.