The case for a super villain

Superheroes are en vogue right now. Every other blockbuster on screen is a super hero movie. We can’t get enough of one superhero, we have team ups everywhere with their movie universes sprawling multiple movies. They have taken over TV shows and are teaming up there too.

With the world the way it is right now- Donald Trump is a presidential candidate, and his rival is not much better. ISIL is still controlling significant parts of the Middle East. There are bombings everywhere, with racial tensions rising in the US and England. The world seems ready for an IRL Super Hero.

Someone who can fly in and take out the bad guys, Superman style. Or go all Ironman part 1 on ISIL. Or just a Daredevil or Arrow fighting for your local city. Sometimes I do wish Flash will mess with my timeline.

The truth is, as much as we love superheroes and their love for justice and truth and everything good, I think they don’t change the world much. This has been realized by even the movie makers, hence the existential crisis of Superman, Batman, Captain America and Ironman in the latest movies.

Do you know who actually makes things change? The super villains. The Lex Luthors, Wilson Fisks, Banes and Ra’s al Ghuls of the world.

How am I so sure?

Let’s take the Trump campaign for an example. That mere idea that he is one Democratic party mishap away from the US presidency is ridiculous. It has gone beyond a curiosity to downright disgust for the current situation in the US. How will Captain America solve this? Campaign for Hilary? As we all have realized, no one is universally loved or universally hated. Hitler still has supporters!

But I am sure Lex Luthor can work it out. He was even president in the comics! The best super villains like Lex, Fisk, Ra’s al Ghul, Magneto are the ones with plans to change the world. The smaller ones are as comical as the Brain (“ The same thing we do every night, Pinky — try to take over the world!”) or any of the antagonists from Scooby-Doo.

The ones with ideas have valid reasons, but take it to the extreme. But before they actually reach there, they do more good than bad. The X-Men comics have always had racial and LGBT undertones. Ra’s al Ghul discussed the decay of civilizations and the need to reset. And the current world is definitely starting to smell bad.

We need money, technology and power.

The problem right now is that the good people play by rules. The people with power are being altruistic or trying to build supercars and rockets to Mars. We have billionaires scheming to take down media sites. Super villains like Magneto are the good people who are willing to take action. Who go beyond Facebook posts and Tweets and do something about the problems we face.

I want to see secret societies playing puppet masters. Run elections and elect people who can take actions to power. Fund media and influence public opinion to prevent events like Brexit. Right now, big corporations are doing them for profit. I think a billionaire visionary can do better for the world. Super villains can make a difference.

And you know what is best about it? When these guys fail or turn evil, we will see our real super heroes. We might get Batman.