I used to give my mom a hard time by saying that I had been raised by comic books. FYI: moms do not find that kind of thing funny. Which is why it was so fun to say it, of course.
Now, I know I wasn’t really raised by comic books. Not completely. Comic books didn’t feed me or provide me shelter or clothing. (Arguably, I could have fashioned clothing from comic books, but it probably wouldn’t hold up very well.)
Comics as clothes? But I don’t have the legs to pull this off.
But I do believe that comics played a large role in forming my world view, contributed to my morality and sense of ethics, encouraged and inspired my art and creativity, led to the formation of friendships that otherwise wouldn’t have formed, and provided me with fictional friends and heroes that I care about and have been influenced by as deeply–in a manner of speaking–as anyone I have known since early childhood.
**Possible Spoilers for non-comic readers/comic readers who have not read certain comics…***
Would you believe I still get emotional when I read or see scenes from comics involving the death of Uncle Ben, the death of Gwen Stacy, the death of Superman’s dad… I get inspired by acts of self-sacrifice in comics and comic movies, but also in Disney movies (when Disney’s Hercules plunges into the sea of the dead to save Meg, believing he will die, and becomes a True Hero…still gets me every time).
But let’s focus in on Peter Parker/Spider-Man for the moment. I have spent the better part of 30 years with that guy, seeing him go through empowerment and suffering and weakness and grief and loss, his troubles ranging from mundane struggles like making rent or living on peanut butter because he can’t afford groceries to trying to pay Aunt May’s medical bills by getting pics of himself as Spider-Man while trying to keep his grades up at school while trying to have a normal, healthy relationship with Gwen who could only know half of who he was because she thought Spider-Man was responsible for the death of her father… {whew!}
So, to plug this in to modified versions of the main points from a couple of posts ago…
1) Comic book heroes can be fallible and–well, real
So yeah, I’ve followed Peter’s story, seen his trials and victories and doubts, been privy to his thoughts. He had every reason to give up, to be out for himself, to just try to have normalcy. And he was tempted! He dabbled with crime using his powers! He tried giving up the hero shtick. He even took away his own powers in an attempt to escape.
But he kept going back to it, driven by that deep sense of responsibility, a foundation instilled by the Aunt and Uncle who raised him and cemented by the death of Uncle Ben that resulted from Peter’s failure to act when he had the chance.
2) Moral Lessons–that are not as simple as one might presume
This is powerful stuff! This isn’t “Wowee! I have powers, so I’m gonna help people, by golly.” This is not an unstoppable, invincible, trouble-free power fantasy. This is a character with struggles and doubts and the mundane crap of school and family and life and relationships. This is moral ambiguity and the penultimate “who am I?” (I mean, the whole super hero thing…the “masks” they wear are literal, they truly present two faces to the world, two personas, that they have to somehow resolve. This is Jungian/Joseph Smith-ian stuff here.)
3) Ever-changing culture time capsule
Not only are there some core, universal, timeless moral lessons to be gleaned from certain comic heroes, but the nature of comics–the way the ongoing story lines span the decades–allows them to be relevant to prevailing issues of the era surrounding them. This has literary value both in the representation and processing of human experience in the here and now, but also serves as a valuable time capsule for those issues from the past that were being represented and discussed.
We can go back to Spider-Man comics from the 60’s and 70’s and get a glimpse of minor things like fashion and slang, but also see discussions and scenarios involving war, racial tensions, protests, drug abuse, political corruption…
It’s also interesting to me–if I may intersect with some former points from above–that Peter Parker is not always on the right side of these issues, or on any side of these issues! Part of his struggle involved having to duck out on protests or gatherings about causes he believed in because there was some super villain trying to blow up the city, making him look like he didn’t give a crap. Or sometimes he would judge someone by surface appearance or behavior and later realize the mistake he had made.
We can even gain insight into the era in which certain comics were written by how wrongly and unfairly they represent certain groups. Interestingly, while I feel like some pretty decent efforts were made by Spider-Man comics in the 70’s regarding fair representation of racial issues, women were very poorly represented. There are multiple instances where females are described or represented as being overly emotional or excitable, and most the women in Peter’s life were represented as being very weak and dependent and being barely able to define themselves outside of their relationships with men (be those romantic involvements, fathers, etc.).
In any case, there are multiple manners in which comics can serve up lessons on morality and ethics and society from multiple eras.
Comparing & Contrasting Fictional Heroes & Real Life Heroes
So, what’s wrong with real life heroes? Nothing. I think it is just fine and dandy–and healthy–to have real life heroes, and it is important that we recognize those people in our lives–or more generally in the world around us–who inspire us, and model realistic moral and ethical behavior, who sacrifice their time, money, happiness, health, and even their lives for the sake of others, often with no hope of repayment.
But here are some thoughts to think. (Because, you know, what better to do with thoughts than think them?)
1) Real Life Heroes are not only Fallible, but Fail-able–and that is itself can be a good lesson
The “Real Life Hero”
Was there ever a celebrity that you just really loved and looked up to, and then you found out they were a big jerk–either by meeting them or just learning about their jerk-hood via the ever more inescapable forces of infotainment?
Or maybe it was someone closer to home. A friend, uncle, parent, teacher, minister/youth minister… You held them on a pedestal, thought that they could do no wrong, only to have them–well, do wrong.
This is a part of life, and it is an opportunity. When this kind of thing happens, you can react in one of two ways (maybe more, but let’s go with these two):
A) You can decide that people suck and never trust anyone again, or…
B) You can take with you the positive lessons and examples given by that person outside of their foibles and understand that it was always about those core lessons and truths, and not about that person.
The Fictional Hero
Fictional Heroes can actually be fallible or infallible, but the ones we tend to respond to the most–especially as our tastes mature–are the fallible ones. The conflicted ones, at least. We can certainly be entertained by power fantasies, like Superman in his simpler days. But it seems that–especially in these modern times–we get bored by indestructibility, and even more so by moral certainty.
In any case, going back to the examples of Peter Parker’s struggles and moral conflict above… He is a fallible, conflicted character. But he is a character. He is fiction. As such, there is a certain implied assurance that while he may stumble, he is not likely to fall and fail completely because–well, honestly, because that would be bad for business in the eyes of the company that profits from him.
This is connected, I suppose, to the aforementioned ongoing nature of comics, in a sense. Characters like Spider-Man and Superman are more than just characters now; they are Institutions. Fans will only tolerate a certain level of change regarding their basic natures. Marvel can do an “imaginary tale” about Spider-Man turning into a serial killer, but if they try that with the “real” continuity…watch out.
There are forces in place that make it very unlikely that our Fictional Comic Book Heroes will fail us by changing in any significant way. But the point is also that–if they do–we can deal with much less trauma than if the same thing happens with a Real Life Hero.
I don’t just mean you stop reading and they cease to be your hero. Similarly to the scenario with the failure of the Real Life Hero, you can move on, but retain the core lessons and examples provided. You can return to the memories and experiences with that hero that originally shaped you. (In the case of Fictional Comic Heroes, that takes the form of something called “Re-reading Back Issues.”)
But are there other ways that Fictional Heroes are “safer” then Real Life Heroes? And is “safe” Hero Worship desirable or undesirable?
Next Time: Comic Heroes versus Real Life Heroes Part II: The Conclusion (probably)
Spider-Man Mashup Cosplay Costume: 