So, what is a superhero, anyway?
Most people point at a comic book and walk on, but characters referred to as superheroes can be found on TV, in video games, in movies, and in print, from the Wild Card novels to the Heroes TV show, from the Champions role-playing game to Batman Begins.
The term “superhero” itself dates back to the Forties, coming from Siegel and Shuster’s Superman, along with other made-up words like super-strength, super-speed, and superpowers.
But what is a superhero? What is the definition?
From Dictionary.com: a hero, esp. in children's comic books and television cartoons, possessing extraordinary, often magical powers.
From The American Heritage Dictionary: A figure, especially in a comic strip or cartoon, endowed with superhuman powers and usually portrayed as fighting evil or crime.
Then there’s the common definition in the public’s mind – a person with a combination of powers, costume, and title, who fights crime.
None of these definitions stack up.
Powers? One of the archetypical super heroes, The Batman, has no powers at all. Marvel’s Iron Man can be accurately described as a genius in a two-legged tank. Powers are not the defining factor.
Costume? The cast of Heroes and the characters in the Wild Cards novels do not wear costumes. In addition, it would be difficult to label the clothes worn by DC’s Phantom Stranger and Dr. Occult as costumes.
So what about the Title, then? Titles like Mighty Man are mostly limited to the comics medium and to those movies and TV shows based on comics. The characters in Heroes and many of those in Wild Cards use their birth names.
What about fighting evil or crime?
The common superhero is a vigilante, dealing out justice without working within a bureaucracy. Some have stated that superheroes are FDR-style Democrat New-Dealers in costume. The current Marvel mega-series Civil War is a direct examination of that idea, and the changing expectations of our society. Yet the vigilante crimefighter is, again, only one facet of the superhero. Marvel’s Silver Surfer is not a crimefighter, nor is Doctor Fate, or Dr. Strange, two mystical characters. Outside the comics, the characters in the Wild Cards books may fight evil, but are about as far from the patrol-the-city archetype as it is possible to get.
Maybe a closer look is needed.
Most people point at a comic book and walk on, but characters referred to as superheroes can be found on TV, in video games, in movies, and in print, from the Wild Card novels to the Heroes TV show, from the Champions role-playing game to Batman Begins.
The term “superhero” itself dates back to the Forties, coming from Siegel and Shuster’s Superman, along with other made-up words like super-strength, super-speed, and superpowers.
But what is a superhero? What is the definition?
From Dictionary.com: a hero, esp. in children's comic books and television cartoons, possessing extraordinary, often magical powers.
From The American Heritage Dictionary: A figure, especially in a comic strip or cartoon, endowed with superhuman powers and usually portrayed as fighting evil or crime.
Then there’s the common definition in the public’s mind – a person with a combination of powers, costume, and title, who fights crime.
None of these definitions stack up.
Powers? One of the archetypical super heroes, The Batman, has no powers at all. Marvel’s Iron Man can be accurately described as a genius in a two-legged tank. Powers are not the defining factor.
Costume? The cast of Heroes and the characters in the Wild Cards novels do not wear costumes. In addition, it would be difficult to label the clothes worn by DC’s Phantom Stranger and Dr. Occult as costumes.
So what about the Title, then? Titles like Mighty Man are mostly limited to the comics medium and to those movies and TV shows based on comics. The characters in Heroes and many of those in Wild Cards use their birth names.
What about fighting evil or crime?
The common superhero is a vigilante, dealing out justice without working within a bureaucracy. Some have stated that superheroes are FDR-style Democrat New-Dealers in costume. The current Marvel mega-series Civil War is a direct examination of that idea, and the changing expectations of our society. Yet the vigilante crimefighter is, again, only one facet of the superhero. Marvel’s Silver Surfer is not a crimefighter, nor is Doctor Fate, or Dr. Strange, two mystical characters. Outside the comics, the characters in the Wild Cards books may fight evil, but are about as far from the patrol-the-city archetype as it is possible to get.
Maybe a closer look is needed.
posted by Jim at 4:41 PM
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