LFC Article - Superheroes and Religion

Why Do We Still Need Superheroes?

I was a tomboy when I was a kid. I had no interest in dolls or skipping games, and whilst my friends were reading girly books about ponies, I was reading about Batman, Superman, or Spider-Man. I found these heroes a comforting presence and I fantasized that one of them would whisk me away from school and take me to another, more exciting life.

Now that I'm an adult, they still hold a fascination for me. I'm first in line for any movie adaptation of a comic book story and I've got into graphic novels too. It took some time but I'm reconciled to the fact that Superman will never marry me. Oh, well. Human beings need stories. It's the thing that separates us from the animals. As babes in arms, we are lulled to sleep by fairy stories in which good triumphs over evil. The baby boomer generation grew up with Zorro and the Lone Ranger, fighters for justice with masked identities. If only it were that easy. Oh, to be able to slip on a mask, go about unrecognized and live out our fantasies (without being a member of Slipknot).

Greek gods and goddesses were the original superheroes, commanding all the elements, striking enemies with a thunderbolt and calming stormy waters to give safe passage to the deserving. The comfort we find in superheroes is double edged. We can fantasize about being just like them or we can dream of being rescued by them. DC Comics and Marvel Comics tapped into this need and supplied us with an assembly of superheroes and villains living in a parallel world, a world of brightly colored costumes, steely eyes and strong jaw lines.

As we become adults, we realize that life has its gray areas. In old westerns, the good guys wore white hats and the baddies wore black hats but heroes and villains do not conveniently appear in appropriate outfits in real life. We know who's who in comic books and whilst our heroes may be tempted over the line sometimes, they always do the right thing in the end. In an uncertain world, we can curl up with tales of Gotham City and Metropolis and its fixed rules of justice.

Childhood comic fans grow up and still return to this comfort zone. At some stage, there is a tipping point when he or she (but mostly he) will be called a geek. Our favorite comic book characters never let us down. They have seen us through the good times and the bad, through the Depression of the 1930s, World War II, the Cold War of the 1950s, the social turbulence of the 1960s, and the Vietnam War and beyond.

Even superheroes sometimes get downhearted and they need a secret place to go, Batman to his Batcave and Superman to his Fortress of Solitude. For the fan, it's a substitute for crawling back to the womb, just as Robin Hood had the forest canopy to hide him, a necessary retreat as he could only fight for justice with a simple bow and arrow. Batman, having no superpowers, relies on his Batmobile and his utility belt of crime fighting tools. The white hot age of technology demands equipment and weaponry to delight the more gadget focused fans, mostly young male techno heads who dream of finding a 1957 Chrysler to convert.

Spider-Man in particular, appeals to the shy teenager, trying to cope with asking a girl out and surviving another day with the boss. There has to be a realistic dimension to a heroic story, away from catching fantastic crooks, otherwise we wouldn't care about the characters.

Most superheroes are lone figures, outsiders who juggle a double existence. The Fantastic Four however, dispense with secret identities and enjoy pop star status, echoing our modern obsession with celebrity. The craggy orange member of the gang known as Thing stands apart from most other heroes. He is neither sexy nor handsome, proving that heroic figures don't have to be perfect specimens.

As church congregations decline and people turn away from religion, something has to fill the void. Perhaps God was the original superhero, purveyor of miracles and old school dispenser of justice. Many people lose their faith or at least feel it wobble in the face of their daily struggle and the problems of the world. The fear of the atomic age has been superseded by the ever present threat of terrorism. Politicians only let us down. Many of us no longer pray to God or expect to see angels. Like a warm blanket, milk and cookies, and bedtime stories, caped superheroes are still there. We watch the sky, not to look for a second coming, but to see a Batsignal. We look to Captain America's shield to keep us from harm. We depend on Superman to catch us if we fall.

Anne Iredale has been a freelance writer for many years, writing feature articles and reviews for popular websites. Her eBook of poetry, ‘Bread and Circuses’ is available on the Amazon Kindle Store.

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