Resenting superheroes, and the real world

[RangerWickett]

I was just reading an essay by Jeph Loeb and Tom Morris, where they mention that in many stories, superheroes arrive and are received by the people as saviors. Then people start to take the heroes for granted. And then finally they start to resent the heroes, perhaps because they're not doing enough, or because they're acting like they're better than normal people.

Now . . . this is gonna get me in trouble, possibly, but consider the Spider-man catchphrase, "With great power comes great responsibility." Consider that the foremost trait of a superhero is some great power with which the character can influence the lives of others.

Doesn't that pretty much define every public figure in the world? Movie stars, politicians, religious leaders; all these people, or just the offices they hold, are able to influence our lives, and many of them are trying to do good. But after enough time we start to take them for granted and assume they're just not doing enough.

I just wonder how many superheroes we've shunned because "they're not doing enough," when we ourselves aren't even trying to affect the world on the same scale.

 

[Chimera]

One thing I always notice in Superhero stories.

Look at how much damage they cause while fighting villains. Even mundane crooks. The property damage these people cause is unbelievable.

How much would it cost to repair the fascade of all those buildings damaged by Spiderman and Doc Ock in S2? The train, tracks and the whole works. How much damage was done in Batman Begins?

Next time you watch one of those movies, pay attention. Because even when they're just running along, they're damaging the streets, rooftops, breaking pipes, destroying cars, etc.

Oh yeah, and in real life, many many people would be injured and killed by falling debris, thrown cars, falling buildings, etc.

I can't believe that there'd be anyone left alive in Townsville!

You want a reason to resent those folks? Property damage, insurance, casualties and so forth would be more than enough.

 

[Alzrius]

I was just reading an essay by Jeph Loeb and Tom Morris, where they mention that in many stories, superheroes arrive and are received by the people as saviors. Then people start to take the heroes for granted. And then finally they start to resent the heroes, perhaps because they're not doing enough, or because they're acting like they're better than normal people.

Now . . . this is gonna get me in trouble, possibly, but consider the Spider-man catchphrase, "With great power comes great responsibility." Consider that the foremost trait of a superhero is some great power with which the character can influence the lives of others.

Doesn't that pretty much define every public figure in the world? Movie stars, politicians, religious leaders; all these people, or just the offices they hold, are able to influence our lives, and many of them are trying to do good. But after enough time we start to take them for granted and assume they're just not doing enough.

I just wonder how many superheroes we've shunned because "they're not doing enough," when we ourselves aren't even trying to affect the world on the same scale.

The problem seems to be to be that we, the people, celebrate those who can influence us even as we hate them for it. As Uatu once put it, "man has always resented their need for gods."

When we criticize the mundane public figures of the world for not doing enough, there is a strong undercurrent of "you could have done more, but didn't." However, this tends to be false; these are still normal people with normal limitations - even the ability to do more in theory doesn't translate to actually being able (or having the capability) to do more in the real world.

The problem with superheroes, in this regard, is that the public tends to hate them for still being bound by conventional limitations (and thus not doing enough for the people) until they overcome them, at which point the public hates them for having overcome those limitations (and thus becoming invasive, or tyrannical, in how they administer to people's lives).

In the 9/11 issue of The Amazing Spider-Man, a horrified citizen at ground zero cries out to Spider-Man, asking why the superhero community didn't stop this tragedy. Spider-Man has no answer, except to think that they couldn't have stopped it, because madmen will always threaten the sane world.

However, at the opposite end of the spectrum, even when superheroes try to do more, they are often attacked for that. In the earlier issues (#5-#10) of Cable & Deadpool, Cable gains enough power to stop virtually all human ills. He removes the loggers from the rainforest and gets them new contracts in Canada. He stops the terrorism in Chechnya. He psychically eases the pain of people dying from diseases, the ones he hasn't already cured. And he's very careful never to influence anyone's choices or try and set governmental policy.

Despite this, however, various world governments and superhero teams, including the X-Men, immediately set out to stop him. Cable himself asks them why, and they have no good answer, other than the fact that he may become a potential threat. Eventually, the Silver Surfer himself gets involved (on the pretext that Cable is passionate about what he's doing, and passion leads to hunger, hunger leads to destroying worlds, and he won't let that happen to Earth), and Cable is defeated, losing his incredible power.

Great power does indeed necessitate great responsibility, but in the context of superheroes, the hard part seems to be determining where that responsibility requires action, and where it requires inaction. We champion those who serve us, but only if they serve us enough...too little and they don't care enough, too much and they are tyrants. Hence why it's hard to be a hero.

 

[Jamdin]

In 1989, Marvel had Damage Control, Inc. in Marvel Comics Presents #19 that dealt with the collateral damage that all those super battles caused in the Marvel Universe. Three mini-series followed after that. At one time, there were talks about a possible movie based on the mini-series.

 

[Viking Bastard]

And Superhero Insurance is an old comic concept.

 

[Fast Learner]

Yeah, I'd sure be pissed if you damaged the facade on my building while keeping me from being killed. Who are you to set my priorities? I love my building!

That aside, I think there's a more human base motive involved in tearing down superheros. Broadly speaking, people feel better about themselves using two systems: building themselves up and tearing other people down.

It's actually the fairly rare, brave individual who works to build himself up (beyond the wispy veil we all use to internally cover our weaknesses), and the common person -- see the amazing popularity of supermarket tabloids for evidence -- who either tears others down directly or is happy to see them torn down.

Pride, ego, vanity, these drive us much more than we tend to realize. How do they fare with Superman next door as a basis for comparison?

 

[wingsandsword]

Look at how much damage they cause while fighting villains. Even mundane crooks. The property damage these people cause is unbelievable.

Ever see the Futurama episode where Fry & Leela become superheroes after using a strange alien medicine?

After saving a valuable relic from being stolen by a supervillain, they are thanked publically by the mayor, who smilingly proclaimed:

"Thank you, the value of the gemerald was marginally more than the property damage you inflicted to save it!"

 

[Ranger REG]

Hence why it's hard to be a hero.

If you ask me, this world doesn't need any heroes. Humaniti is doomed from the start.

 

[Dinkeldog]

Isn't this part of the premise for "The Incredibles"?

 

[Dyir]

Actually, I always assumed that repairing property damage and stuff was what occupied the time of all the super genius superheroes, and prevented them from developing super-tech that would cause the DC/Marvel/etc Earth's from reaching Star Trek tech in a single generation.

One thing I liked about Freedom City from Mutants and Masterminds was the hero Dr. Metropolis: his power is the ability to manipulate the city itself. And, obviously, one of the things he does whenever he's not helping to save the world is to use his superpowers to fix the collateral damage of his fellow heroes.