Babel Clash

I’ve been thinking all day about how to respond to Adrian’s rather excellent first post on Superman and the ‘superman’ concept in general. What’s interesting it that it’s made me realize that – although I’ve always considered myself to be someone who rather likes the character (who doesn’t like that first Richard Donner movie!) – no one is ever going to put me in a dock to defend the guy.

That isn’t to say, however, that I agree entirely with Adrian’s provocative opinions about the superman archetype. But mostly I do.

I think where Superman can be useful (or supermen, if we’re talking about the use of the ‘superman’ archetype in a broader sense) is the exploration of religion and power in a story. I’m talking about Superman as the quasi-Messiah: the embodiment of ultimate supernatural power on Earth.

Isn’t that what Superman’s actually all about? The all-powerful entity who arrives to save mankind from its own decadence and frailty? Who teaches us a new kind of morality based on inner strength and righteousness, and becomes the ultimate symbol of how that strength can manifest itself for good? Isn’t a world without Superman just a world without God?

Personally, I’m not religious, but I can see where Superman could have a use exploring concepts of Christianity and/or religious archetypes in fantasy fiction, examining a world without a savior – or what might happen if we come to rely on that savior too fully. What I’m interested in when I read a Superman story is not what Superman does, but the impact he has on the real people of the story, the little people like me. I want to know how I’d react if Superman came calling. I’m not terribly interested in seeing Superman simply bash the bad guys and save the day.

I also believe that, in some respects, Superman represents wish fulfillment, the embodiment of pure goodness. The perfect man. It’s interesting that Adrian talks about what would happen if Superman lost his temper, went off the rails and rampaged across the Eastern seaboard. Because Superman could NEVER do that. By definition, Superman is incapable of doing that. He cannot show human frailty, and he cannot show moral ambiguity. He is above that fallibility. He would cease to be Superman – indeed, he would prove that he had never really been a ‘superman’ at all. Essentially, Superman has transcended: he has no humanity.

And that’s what makes him such a terrible bore.

Now Batman. Batman’s a different kettle of fish. Batman is everything I want in a character. He’s human, for a start. And by that I don’t mean that he’s not an alien like Superman. I mean he’s human: he’s weak.

Batman is a multifaceted character. He harbors a terrible darkness inside of him. He believes in justice, but he’s essentially an outlaw. His actions are sometimes ambiguous. He’s one of us, and he makes mistakes. And when he wins through, we’re with him, cheering him on, because we feel his pain and we feel his achievements. He’s a character we can empathize with, not simply someone we are told to admire.

Now that’s someone I want to read about. I want characters with grit; I want people. And this is where I completely agree with Adrian. This is where modern fantasy authors are getting it right. They’re giving us living, breathing people; characters whose motivations are not always clear. And that makes for an engaging story. Characters are what do it for me every time.

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