Assg 1-3 Ideology and “Real World Superheroes

This article discusses some of the huge differences between comic books of yesteryear and the comic books of the last 20 years. It discusses how superheroes in the forties and fifties fit the mold of the typical good guy. Superman, Batman, Spiderman, and Wonder Women always epitomized good, and their enemies were always evil. The old comic books never had a gray area it was always black or white, and good versus evil. In the last 20 years comic books started to change. They started to deal with some of the social, political, and world issues that were prevalent at the time. Basically, what happened is the superhero became engulfed in real world situations. One comic book in particular Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons “Watchman” took this new type of superhero to a new level.
Jamie A. Hughes discusses how the super heroes of old were put on a throne and they were untouchable by the government, military, and police. Superman, Batman, and Spiderman represented perfection and they did not let ideology get in their way. Those comic books acknowledged the existence of government and religion but they always seemed to be above it. These superheroes of old always represented something we as average Americans could never be, and that is perfection. Sometimes the government would look at these superheroes as outcast, and they would try to prosecute them, but they would never end up succeeding. That is why we as Americans love Superman and Spiderman, because they represent what is great about the United States.
Today’s superhero is much different then yesteryear’s superhero. These new superheroes are involved in political and social issues of the current time. Nowhere is that more evident then in the comic book “Watchman.” This comic book takes superheroes and places them in current real world situations. This comic book is set in 1980’s New York City, and what it does is makes superheroes fixtures of everyday life. Not to mention that these superheroes are unable to avoid becoming a product of the society they are in. Basically the superheroes do not dictate what goes on within the society, the society dictates what goes on with them.
James A. Hughes stresses the fact that these superheroes are not in it to help to protect mankind, but rather to advance their own ideology. Some are in it for the fame and money, but some are in it to advance and promote their own belief system. For example, one of the superheroes Sally Jupiter is in it to advance her modeling career not to help the human race. Another superhero the Nite Owl is a member of the New York City Police Department and becomes a witness to all the murders, pimps, and prostitutes around the city. The Nite Owl makes it his responsibility to correct that problem. Two other superheroes are in it for the same reason as Nite Owl, and they are Captain Metropolis and The Comedian. Silhouette is another superhero she is an openly gay woman out to promote her own ideology for gay rights. All of these superheroes formed a group together called the Minutemen, but after sometime they realized they were just a passing fad and it was time to disband.
These superheroes did not succeed because they were out for themselves. The only thing important to them was advancing their own philosophy and ideology. The public had shunned them because they were considered outcasts. A lot of comic book readers might relate to these superheroes because they have faults like themselves, and are outcast a lot like themselves.
After sometime a new superhero group is formed called “The Crimebusters”. The members of this group are all new except for two of the members Captain Metropolis and The Comedian who were members of “The Minutemen”. The problem is this group never gels well together. Everyone’s ideology gets in the way of making one cohesive unit. That is kind of reminiscent of a real world problem right now with the Democrats and Republicans. Those two groups cannot get together and fix problems that has plagued our society for years.
The Comedian now works for the government and has become a ruthless and pessimistic leader. He thinks America’s problems cannot be fixed by crime fighting. At some point he thinks there is going to be Nuclear War with all nations. Another one of the superheroes is Rorschach who was born to a prostitute and had the toughest upbringing of all the superheroes. Because of the way he was brought up things are very black and white to him there is no middle ground. Some people view him as psychotic, while others view him as protector of society.
The last two characters are Ozymandias and Dr. Manhattan. Ozymandias is a powerful world leader who worships Alexander the Great. Dr. Manhattan follows the old version of superhero by gaining his powers through a nuclear accident. These men also believe the world is on the verge of Nuclear War, but both have a difference of opinion on how to handle the situation. Ozymandias tricks the world by planting a fake alien life form in New York City that kills 3 million people. His plan is to divert all of the countries away from each other, and have them unite as one against the alien life form. He fails to realize the implications of killing 3 million Americans, because he is so wrapped up in his own ideology. His plan eventually falls apart because documents get leaked to the press about his plan.
Dr. Manhattan is the hero of the Comic Book. After a nuclear accident he returns as a superhero. The government gets a hold of him and issue him a military uniform. As time goes on he starts to be believe less and less of the governments ideology. Slowly but surely he starts to strip his government uniform until he is totally naked riding himself of the governments ideology. Back in the golden age of comic books superheroes were untouchable but superheroes today fall victim to one thing and that is ideology.

References

Hughes, Jamie A. (2006)."Who watches the watchman?": Ideology and real world superheroes. The Journal of Popular Culture. 39, 546-556.