Superman was my clean cut, midwestern, heart of gold superhero. He had a clear view of right and wrong. And besides the fact that I always thought his get up was way too over the top, I appreciated the kind of comfort he had to have in his femininity to wear it. It also broke my heart in a thousand pieces when in the miserable third movie Superman went "bad." And like any real fan, I even dragged my butt to Superman Returns, where although I thought the overall movie was lacking, I could see what Bryan Singer was doing to pay a little homage to the films that came before it.
When the first Batman movie with Michael Keaton came out, I was in my early teens. Suddenly a superhero that didn't have any magical powers, but used his brain to create technology seemed brilliant. Unlike ordinary people, he was stepping in to help out folks in his community. But like regular folks, he was broken and tormented in too many ways to ever be repaired. He wasn't straight laced. There is nothing wholesome about Batman.
Batman was a more complex superhero to me. And although I had watched the old Batman episodes with the "Pow" and the "Bam" (also questionable fashion sense), the Tim Burton Batman always appealed to me. But more to the point, Bruce Wayne rang my bell. Here was a superhero that was human and became super because of tragic loss as a kid.
Thus, a long line of broken superhero lust was born: Spike, Angel, Michael (from La Femme Nikita), Veronica Mars, etc. I also was able to look back at past favorites and understand why I loved them (Han Solo, Indiana Jones, etc.).
The other day I was in a store with X-man. He looked up and saw a picture of a superhero. Normally he'd ignore it. But yesterday I was faced with the fact that X-man now knows who superheroes are, even though he's never seen any one other than Superwhy from PBS at our house. "Look Mommy! Superman is flying!"
Followed by "Watch Superman, please?"
And so it begins... "They could be a great people Kal-El, if they wish to be. They only lack the light to show the way. This reason, above all, is why I send them you, my only son."
1 comment:
The whole superhero concept is odd to me. We've never discussed it, and we've never seen Superman, but when Wubbzy is dressed up in a cape and mask, Bubba knows, "Wubbzy and Daisy are superheroes, Mom!"
Is it in their DNA?
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