When a former detective from Fox’s crime-drama series “Gotham” told Detective Harvey Bullock, “Gotham’s golden rule, Harvey: no heroes,” he wasn’t just trying to reason with his reckless partner. He spoke for the fictional city’s darkness as a whole, covering a lot of heroic ground upon which the new generation continues to define what it means to be a superhero and how they’ve changed alongside America.
It’s a given that with the popularity of American heroes, they have infiltrated every major form of entertainment, from comic books to television to films, and their changes speak volumes on societal demands. Costume designs, for example, have gone from cartoonish tights with underwear worn outside to muscular and military-like in appearance, which reflects a growing expectation for realism. People want to believe in the doable and durable, even in universes where mutations happen in every laboratory and aliens join earthling ranks.
In terms of production dynamics, there has been a great shift between the humorous 1966 “Batman” compared to what today’s audiences seek in “The Dark Knight,” “Gotham” and “Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice,” all of which darkly challenge heroic beliefs and crime, with an emphasis on society’s need for justice, even fulfilled by the hands of terrorists and men in black.
Though the serious undertones were received well by fans in the new adaptations, the 1960 Batman emphasized aspects such as safe police engagement and stable family life, elements missing in current American society. When a society takes a turn for the worse, villains are more likely to wreak havoc upon heroless cities, but in return, the Caped Crusader became less of a running gag and more of an inspiration to people seemingly searching for heroes to arrive.
Batman isn’t the only hero that’s undergone monumental evolution. When Starfire first appeared in the early 1980s, she modeled the decade’s big hair perm and introduced sexual confidence to women fighting for control of their bodies. People considered her a breath of fresh air because of her promotion of bodily freedom and wilder, curlier hair. Additionally, after years of exploring relationships, she’s had arguably the closest happy ending a hero’s ever achieved, nearly marrying Dick Grayson, the original Robin, in an alternative timeline and remaining his love interest in the 2000s animation “Teen Titans.”
Unlike heroes who represent concepts larger than life, the Hulk, designed by Marvel’s Stan Lee who was inspired by Frankenstein, struggles to get through the day because of his chronic depression, bipolar disorder and bouts of anger. His is a story that has progressed from 1962 until now as the most grounded of the Avenger lineup. However, his understanding nature and isolation from humanity was poorly showcased in both the 2003 “Hulk” and 2008 “The Incredible Hulk,” films that stressed origins with little to no fleshing of who the Hulk is and could be. With the recent “The Avengers: Age of Ultron,” years of misunderstanding from not only his colleagues but audiences he was created for were dispelled when he found acceptance from heroes like Black Widow. Though Bruce is not alone in his battle against mental illness, he has a come a long way and made the Hulk a positive thing.
When we look back on the relationship between superheroes and our culture, there is a distinct connection between fictional and societal development.
A lack of heroes in our day and age mimics why villains and heroes alike are more complex and fall into gray zones. In the end, perhaps there are no superheroes, but those who rise above their circumstances and make the best out of a tough situation.
TCHS School Newspaper