Why are Superheroes important?

Under all the action, one-liners and “I am Batman”, superheroes have always been a part of literature for a very long time now. They have grown from just extraordinary people beating bad guys to extraordinary people reflecting modern society in its truest form.

There has been much talk about the recent spread of superhero content in entertainment and people have been starkly divided on opinions.

The supporters believe that this provides a platform for a new genre for a new audience (or audience wounded during the Pre-Marvel era and CGI disasters).

The adversaries argue that this is suicidal as the hype train will saturate and entertainment industry will move on to next thing faster than Taylor Swift’s new song about a new breakup.

This argument is for another day.

Right now, what I want to talk about is how superheroes are affecting our daily lives and how their presence is more than just another genre.

With various movements like #metoo storming in and shaking Hollywood to its core, superheroes, through their story themes have helped shape people’s mind. They have been able to project society’s dark side and hypocrisy in art and literature which the readers can relate to.

Case in example, the X-Men. Marvel Comics acclaimed X-Men are a projection of race and stereotype that people are subjecting to various minority groups, just because they are different.

In X-Men comic books, they are addressing the same issue with the mutants in Marvel Universe and how they are forced to live in separation just because they are “different”.

The struggles that the X-Men go through in the comics apart from fighting the baddies displays what kind of injustice these people face. This also reflects the various ideologies discriminated groups live with and how they project those ideologies. This in turns provides a reader with insight regarding how society has been treating minority groups and how we can represent and help them.

Apart from this, comic book heroes have been used to depict various medical conditions. People suffering from mental illness have a hard time in getting help from others.

They are not able to express their suffering through words. They are not able to direct their conditions to a specific manifestation as each case is different. In comic books, there are multiple heroes who suffer from PTSD, depression, bipolar disorders, etc.

Their representation in comic books makes the reader realize many important aspects and over-looked interpretation of these conditions. Superheroes shown as they survive in their battles against mental health creates a source of strength for people fighting these conditions and people around them so that they can help those who are fighting.

Comic books are also representative of various cultures around the globe. The prominent example can be taken of Black Panther, a Marvel hero who is from Wakanda, a fictional country on the continent of Africa.

People, when trying to understand about Africa, always stump themselves at wildlife, people of color and their dialects which many of them associate with the Lion King song. Comic books expose readers to another side.

The side which is the reality. The side which people for some reason cannot fathom. The African King/Queen and his/her people (Black Panther is a mantle that can be worn by any gender) are represented in print media which helps them to exhibit their culture and help them connect to other cultures and people.

Apart from Black Panther, DC has Blue Beetle, the alter-ego of Jaime Reyes (read as “Haime”), a superhero from Mexican descent. There are many others but they all are there to prove a point, that there are different cultures and they just want to be heard.

These are just some of the ways that superheroes can help people understand society by flipping pages and watching end-credit scenes after every Marvel/DC movie.

In no way, I want to imply that modern society is doomed. It is good, but it is bad too and we need to do something about the bad part. Society is evolving and becoming complex.

People are exposed to new perspectives, ideologies, and culture and they do not know how to handle all of this, especially for a young audience. Comic Book publication are trying their level best to make sure that every individual gets someone to look up to.

They want to make sure that everyone is heard. In a sense, when the readers seem to be lost in the world of superheroes, they should be able to feel, “Yes, this feels like home. Yes, I am home!”