Posted:
Superheroes enter the real world
Smita Mathew
Smita Mathew
Remember the time when the main purpose of your life was to collect and exchange as many copies of 'Phantom', 'Spiderman', 'Superman', 'Batman' and the ever adorable 'Archie' comics. Days after days of summer holidays were spent browsing through these comics, sometimes for the fifth or tenth time.
These were treasures that you preserved hoping to hand it down through generations or probably stock up as precious antique pieces. These comics were fun, engrossing and introduced us to an absolutely new and fantastic world. A world were ordinary men were magically transformed into super humans and where over-ambitious villains using imaginative sophisticated technology, were out to takeover the world. And the interesting thing about this genre is that you'll find more adults among its fans than kids. As Deepti Sen reveals how her father is still a great fan of comics and makes sure he buys few copies every now and then." She talks about another old gentleman, a relative, who has a room full of these comics.
And for those not interested in reading, Hollywood has made sure that they don't feel left out. So from Superman, Batman, Cat woman to Spiderman, Hollywood, with its penchant to make movies out of books, has made films on most of these superheroes.
The latest superhero film in the pipeline is 'Superman Returns' which will feature Brandon Routh as Superman, replacing Christopher Reeves, who passed away in 2004. The movie however, has recently been the news for a controversy regarding the apparent gay leanings of Superman. The US gay magazine 'Advocate' in their issue titled 'How Gay Is Superman?' has claimed that Superman is gay. They insist that the skin-tight suit and hands-on-hip stance are tell-tale signs of the apparent gay tendencies of Superman. Interestingly the star of the movie, Brandon Routh, was last month voted the year's second most exciting homosexual icon by editors of US gay magazine 'Out'. The publishers of the comic, DC Comics and the director of the movie, Bryan Singer, have both denied this. Singer has been quoted by BBC saying, 'Superman "is probably the most heterosexual character in any movie I've ever made."'
This controversy comes after the one that surrounded the announcement of resurrecting Batwoman but in a lesbian 'avtar'. Batwoman aka Kathy Kane will appear as a rich socialite who has a romantic history with another character, an ex-police detective Renee Montoya, in '52', a year-long DC Comics publication that began last month.
Both these claims have sparked off discussions in various forums as is bound when anything connected to sexual preferences is brought up. From homosexual groups welcoming the news, to right wing activists denouncing it, to the average person who was wondering what the whole hullabaloo is about.
While the claim about Superman is mere speculation, as the concerned authorities have denied it, the sexual leanings of Batwoman has been confirmed by DC Comics who have decided to approach the character of Batwoman differently. At a time when homosexuality is still a touchy subject, such a step does say a lot about the changing attitude of society.
Literature is known to be a chronicle of history, recording and reflecting the life and times of the society of that age. The legends of Superman, Batman, Spiderman and Hulk were created during the Depression and were symbols of patriotism and hope. During the horrifying time of the World War II, children could take solace in the figure of a Superman, the Man of Steel, who was capable of saving them single-handedly from the enemy.
Though they started out as fantastical fictional accounts about super humans who followed the 'good wins over evil' tradition, these stories and their heroes over the period acquired more complex tones, as they started dealing with existential issues, identity crises, conflicting pulls of love and duty and the other problems that were plaguing the society.
So in the latest Batman movie, 'Batman Begins' which tracks his origin, there was less emphasis on Bruce Wayne's fight against evil and more on the journey he undertakes to discover himself and what lead to the creation of Batman. As critic Victoria Alexander of 'FilmsInReview.com', explains, "Director Nolan presents a dark, knotty superhero rife with psycho-sexual underpinnings and a father-figure displacement syndrome. This insecure hero has no interest in girls, power, and money." Even Spiderman didn't stick to merely saving the world, but had to deal with questions about choice, duty and responsibility.
The latest comic characters to get new identities are of course Batwoman and Superman who are tackling hot issues of sexual preferences with which the world is currently obsessed. So by making Batwoman a lesbian are they trying to say that the society has finally become more flexible and is accommodating people it had pushed to the fringes? Has it moved out of its rigid stance and become more open to the idea of homosexuality as a reality?
DC Comics atleast seems to think so. As Dan DiDio, DC's vice president and executive editor, reveals in an interview with New York Daily News, "We want to look at the world around us and strike a more contemporary tone." And homosexuality is what the world is dealing with currently.
DiDio further clarifies, "We deal with stories about identities and secret identities...and we think that a character who is openly gay, yet keeps it a secret from certain members of her own family, has a lot of strong emotional layers."
Comic book stories are no longer as simple as they used to be. The target audience is no more just children and teenagers. Having discovered passionate fans among adults, and people from all ethnic groups, publishers had to make sure that they appealed to all equally.
Over the years many characters from, comic stories have been identified as gays or lesbians, some openly by the publishers themselves while some by speculation. Few of the famous ones are Catwoman (lesbian), Colossus (gay)- The Ultimate X-Men version confirms his sexuality when he agrees to go out with Northstar, Icemaiden (bisexual) - Occasional member of the Justice League and Rawhide Kid - Marvel Comics' first gay comic-book cowboy, at least in Marvel's Max adult-line title of the same name (gay).
And its not just homosexuals but blacks and Hispanics all are finding a place in the new world of comics. Where initially all characters in comic books were whites, it was Stan Lee and his collaborators who in the 'Marvel' comics of 1960s first made a move towards a more realistic portrayal of the world by including black and Hispanic characters. With that also started the attempt to have more realistic characters and reaction to situations. Often the story of Superman is looked upon by many as a story of immigration and assimilation. After all Superman was an immigrant to Earth and to America who settled down and did well here. The first black superhero to make his debut was Black Panther, the king of a fictional African country. More recently, DC Comics reinvented the Blue Beetle, a superhero whose alter ego was changed from a White to a Hispanic teenager. And along with all this the flaws, doubts and moral ambiguousness of characters is also being explored.
Somewhere down the line one also feels that more than an identification of the marginalized in society with the heroes, it is the other way round. Superheroes usually stand outside the society they protect. Whether it is Batman who almost lives in isolation or Superman who is not even a human being, Superheroes are never really part of the society even though pretend to be. They too have are forced to hide their true identify from the world and have to live a double life. Toby Maguire in the second series of 'Spiderman' is a case in point. The identification and understanding between the marginalized and the heroes is mutual
And now as these heroes descend from their fantasy land and enter the more real world and the issues plaguing it, they would be identified as heroes in the true sense by young and adult alike.
These were treasures that you preserved hoping to hand it down through generations or probably stock up as precious antique pieces. These comics were fun, engrossing and introduced us to an absolutely new and fantastic world. A world were ordinary men were magically transformed into super humans and where over-ambitious villains using imaginative sophisticated technology, were out to takeover the world. And the interesting thing about this genre is that you'll find more adults among its fans than kids. As Deepti Sen reveals how her father is still a great fan of comics and makes sure he buys few copies every now and then." She talks about another old gentleman, a relative, who has a room full of these comics.
And for those not interested in reading, Hollywood has made sure that they don't feel left out. So from Superman, Batman, Cat woman to Spiderman, Hollywood, with its penchant to make movies out of books, has made films on most of these superheroes.
The latest superhero film in the pipeline is 'Superman Returns' which will feature Brandon Routh as Superman, replacing Christopher Reeves, who passed away in 2004. The movie however, has recently been the news for a controversy regarding the apparent gay leanings of Superman. The US gay magazine 'Advocate' in their issue titled 'How Gay Is Superman?' has claimed that Superman is gay. They insist that the skin-tight suit and hands-on-hip stance are tell-tale signs of the apparent gay tendencies of Superman. Interestingly the star of the movie, Brandon Routh, was last month voted the year's second most exciting homosexual icon by editors of US gay magazine 'Out'. The publishers of the comic, DC Comics and the director of the movie, Bryan Singer, have both denied this. Singer has been quoted by BBC saying, 'Superman "is probably the most heterosexual character in any movie I've ever made."'
This controversy comes after the one that surrounded the announcement of resurrecting Batwoman but in a lesbian 'avtar'. Batwoman aka Kathy Kane will appear as a rich socialite who has a romantic history with another character, an ex-police detective Renee Montoya, in '52', a year-long DC Comics publication that began last month.
Both these claims have sparked off discussions in various forums as is bound when anything connected to sexual preferences is brought up. From homosexual groups welcoming the news, to right wing activists denouncing it, to the average person who was wondering what the whole hullabaloo is about.
While the claim about Superman is mere speculation, as the concerned authorities have denied it, the sexual leanings of Batwoman has been confirmed by DC Comics who have decided to approach the character of Batwoman differently. At a time when homosexuality is still a touchy subject, such a step does say a lot about the changing attitude of society.
Literature is known to be a chronicle of history, recording and reflecting the life and times of the society of that age. The legends of Superman, Batman, Spiderman and Hulk were created during the Depression and were symbols of patriotism and hope. During the horrifying time of the World War II, children could take solace in the figure of a Superman, the Man of Steel, who was capable of saving them single-handedly from the enemy.
Though they started out as fantastical fictional accounts about super humans who followed the 'good wins over evil' tradition, these stories and their heroes over the period acquired more complex tones, as they started dealing with existential issues, identity crises, conflicting pulls of love and duty and the other problems that were plaguing the society.
So in the latest Batman movie, 'Batman Begins' which tracks his origin, there was less emphasis on Bruce Wayne's fight against evil and more on the journey he undertakes to discover himself and what lead to the creation of Batman. As critic Victoria Alexander of 'FilmsInReview.com', explains, "Director Nolan presents a dark, knotty superhero rife with psycho-sexual underpinnings and a father-figure displacement syndrome. This insecure hero has no interest in girls, power, and money." Even Spiderman didn't stick to merely saving the world, but had to deal with questions about choice, duty and responsibility.
The latest comic characters to get new identities are of course Batwoman and Superman who are tackling hot issues of sexual preferences with which the world is currently obsessed. So by making Batwoman a lesbian are they trying to say that the society has finally become more flexible and is accommodating people it had pushed to the fringes? Has it moved out of its rigid stance and become more open to the idea of homosexuality as a reality?
DC Comics atleast seems to think so. As Dan DiDio, DC's vice president and executive editor, reveals in an interview with New York Daily News, "We want to look at the world around us and strike a more contemporary tone." And homosexuality is what the world is dealing with currently.
DiDio further clarifies, "We deal with stories about identities and secret identities...and we think that a character who is openly gay, yet keeps it a secret from certain members of her own family, has a lot of strong emotional layers."
Comic book stories are no longer as simple as they used to be. The target audience is no more just children and teenagers. Having discovered passionate fans among adults, and people from all ethnic groups, publishers had to make sure that they appealed to all equally.
Over the years many characters from, comic stories have been identified as gays or lesbians, some openly by the publishers themselves while some by speculation. Few of the famous ones are Catwoman (lesbian), Colossus (gay)- The Ultimate X-Men version confirms his sexuality when he agrees to go out with Northstar, Icemaiden (bisexual) - Occasional member of the Justice League and Rawhide Kid - Marvel Comics' first gay comic-book cowboy, at least in Marvel's Max adult-line title of the same name (gay).
And its not just homosexuals but blacks and Hispanics all are finding a place in the new world of comics. Where initially all characters in comic books were whites, it was Stan Lee and his collaborators who in the 'Marvel' comics of 1960s first made a move towards a more realistic portrayal of the world by including black and Hispanic characters. With that also started the attempt to have more realistic characters and reaction to situations. Often the story of Superman is looked upon by many as a story of immigration and assimilation. After all Superman was an immigrant to Earth and to America who settled down and did well here. The first black superhero to make his debut was Black Panther, the king of a fictional African country. More recently, DC Comics reinvented the Blue Beetle, a superhero whose alter ego was changed from a White to a Hispanic teenager. And along with all this the flaws, doubts and moral ambiguousness of characters is also being explored.
Somewhere down the line one also feels that more than an identification of the marginalized in society with the heroes, it is the other way round. Superheroes usually stand outside the society they protect. Whether it is Batman who almost lives in isolation or Superman who is not even a human being, Superheroes are never really part of the society even though pretend to be. They too have are forced to hide their true identify from the world and have to live a double life. Toby Maguire in the second series of 'Spiderman' is a case in point. The identification and understanding between the marginalized and the heroes is mutual
And now as these heroes descend from their fantasy land and enter the more real world and the issues plaguing it, they would be identified as heroes in the true sense by young and adult alike.
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