"A man comes at me with his fists, I'll meet him with fists. A man stands guard at a gate I want to go through, holding a wooden spear, making some Savage Land bucks to support his Savage Land wife and kids, I'll slaughter him like livestock before he even knows I'm there."
Quite honestly, this was a problem I always had with HARLEY QUINN— a character I enjoy immensely and enjoyed writing immensely, but the fact was she had killed many, MANY people, and had no remorse over it. In her defense— and I did make it just that in the comics I wrote— she is insane. When it came time to do my and David Hahn's creator-owned IMPOSSIBLE JONES, I made it very clear she was a THIEF— not an assassin, not insane— the implication being she stole things without necessarily killing people. Which doesn't mean she's an angel— she certainly has no problem LETTING people die who are trying to do her harm. I think IMP can be HEROIC, but she is not necessarily always a HERO.
The other side of this conundrum is the idea of the BULLY. Most superheroes, almost by definition, have something going for them (powers, skills) that the normal person does not. So (to my mind) you have to be very careful how those powers and skills are used. Captain America against a half dozen armed goons (or soldiers) is still a lopsided battle. We all want to cheer for Might Makes Right— when that might is on our side— but we have to be very careful about the message that sends. Call me crazy, but I think a lot of the problems we have with gun violence and political extremism in this country right now is because far too many people think LIFE IS LIKE THE MOVIES. And the more superheroes populate that movie mainstream, the more it's essential to be very aware of the message they're sending.
Thanks for this, Tom! Someone asked me why my favorite superhero was Superman recently and this helped to solidify some points I was struggling to shine up.
I think there's a difference between super heros and regular action movie heros in that (for the most part) super heroes have powers that give them an advantage over generic bad guys.
James Bond might kill dozens of SPECTRE agents, but he's one man against incredible odds. Bond could conceivably be the underdog.
Superman is basically never the underdog, so he needs to fight with one hand behind his back.
Great entry, but it brings to mind one reason I almost quit comics in the late 80's-90's -- the Punisher/Venom worship. Here were two characters who'd been actual VILLAINS for all their existence -- Venom ATE people, for pity's sake -- but who were suddenly hero-worshipped by a seeming majority of the fans. Blame their earlier incarnations on the Comics Code Authority if you must, their naked appeal to the Dark Side of fandom rubbed me the wrong way, and still does.
And later on we have Deadpool and Harley. Both cheerfully, even maniacally, killed people, but those were all Bad Guys who deserved it. We've really come a long way from the aspirational qualities of Superman. The dream now is Conquering Your Enemies By Any Means Necessary.
Awesome piece. Really gets to the heart of what all this means and how we can contnue to make the world a better place through storytelling. That last line really says it all. Thanks for sharing this!
This was an absolutely great entry, Tom. It definitely hits on things I'm constantly mulling over as a fan, viewer, and most importantly, a creator.
"A man comes at me with his fists, I'll meet him with fists. A man stands guard at a gate I want to go through, holding a wooden spear, making some Savage Land bucks to support his Savage Land wife and kids, I'll slaughter him like livestock before he even knows I'm there."
Quite honestly, this was a problem I always had with HARLEY QUINN— a character I enjoy immensely and enjoyed writing immensely, but the fact was she had killed many, MANY people, and had no remorse over it. In her defense— and I did make it just that in the comics I wrote— she is insane. When it came time to do my and David Hahn's creator-owned IMPOSSIBLE JONES, I made it very clear she was a THIEF— not an assassin, not insane— the implication being she stole things without necessarily killing people. Which doesn't mean she's an angel— she certainly has no problem LETTING people die who are trying to do her harm. I think IMP can be HEROIC, but she is not necessarily always a HERO.
The other side of this conundrum is the idea of the BULLY. Most superheroes, almost by definition, have something going for them (powers, skills) that the normal person does not. So (to my mind) you have to be very careful how those powers and skills are used. Captain America against a half dozen armed goons (or soldiers) is still a lopsided battle. We all want to cheer for Might Makes Right— when that might is on our side— but we have to be very careful about the message that sends. Call me crazy, but I think a lot of the problems we have with gun violence and political extremism in this country right now is because far too many people think LIFE IS LIKE THE MOVIES. And the more superheroes populate that movie mainstream, the more it's essential to be very aware of the message they're sending.
Thanks for this, Tom! Someone asked me why my favorite superhero was Superman recently and this helped to solidify some points I was struggling to shine up.
I think there's a difference between super heros and regular action movie heros in that (for the most part) super heroes have powers that give them an advantage over generic bad guys.
James Bond might kill dozens of SPECTRE agents, but he's one man against incredible odds. Bond could conceivably be the underdog.
Superman is basically never the underdog, so he needs to fight with one hand behind his back.
Great entry, but it brings to mind one reason I almost quit comics in the late 80's-90's -- the Punisher/Venom worship. Here were two characters who'd been actual VILLAINS for all their existence -- Venom ATE people, for pity's sake -- but who were suddenly hero-worshipped by a seeming majority of the fans. Blame their earlier incarnations on the Comics Code Authority if you must, their naked appeal to the Dark Side of fandom rubbed me the wrong way, and still does.
And later on we have Deadpool and Harley. Both cheerfully, even maniacally, killed people, but those were all Bad Guys who deserved it. We've really come a long way from the aspirational qualities of Superman. The dream now is Conquering Your Enemies By Any Means Necessary.
Awesome piece. Really gets to the heart of what all this means and how we can contnue to make the world a better place through storytelling. That last line really says it all. Thanks for sharing this!