4-Color Philosophy: Tragedy Breeds Heroism

   In the world of comics as well as in all great works of fiction it is a very common occurance for most of the heroes we love to read about to be born out of some personal tragedy. For 75 years now in comics superheroes have had all kinds of different powers, traits, and abilities. But even dating back to the Man of Steel himself the ones that seem to hold the most longevity and importance all seem to in one way or another stem from some terrible loss, conflict, or personal downfall. It’s this sense of vulnerability that seems to be what we grab on to and relate to. We can’t fly, swing from building to building via web shooters, and very few of us are master detectives with a billions of dollars to fund gadgets, so we look behind the mask, under the cowl, or past the undies over their pants that provide the wonder and mystery of a hero we care about.

   It’s Kal-El, an immigrant who’s homeland and all of his people have been blown up. It’s Bruce Wayne, a man who was made an orphan when his parents were gunned down in the street in front of him. For me most of all it is Peter Parker, the awkward teenager, who’s parents are long gone, who’s uncle died at the hands of the criminal he could have stopped, who’s girlfriend died as a result of his attempt to save her. The list goes on and on. As humans we look for a little bit of our own personal reality in our fiction, a little piece of something that grounds these fantastical beings to our level.

Horrific events happen to everyone at one point or another, however when a character that is most of the time shown in a very powerful, in control manner these events seem to carry even more weight. Even when the hero isn’t created out of the tragedy eventually it catches up with them. Miles Morales is an example of a young kid that was trying to do the right thing and use his new found powers for good and got away with it for a short period but suddenly all of that changed when tragedy struck causing him to hang up the suit and live a year in self doubt only to be dragged back into the fold later on. It seems in most cases it’s only after we experience a loss, or a hardship in life that we can really value what we have and put it into perspective and be thankful that we do posess it. The same holds true for heroes.

   On the opposite side of the same coin most criminals, and super villains are also born of tragedy. They however cope with their loss with more greed and selfishness as opposed to the sense of great responsibility and heroism. A perfect example of this would be Magneto, a Jewish holocaust survivor who gained incredible powers through a genetic mutation. In the Marvel U the mutants by and large are the social outcast and often deal with extreme prejudice and even attempts of imprisonment. Professor Charles Xavier’s X-Men attempt to educate and work with man kind to live together in harmony where as Magneto’s Brotherhood of (evil) Mutants try their hardest to eliminate the bigotry through any means necessary even at the cost of humankind. Though Magneto often times straddles the line between villain and anti-hero he always has been consumed by his own personal agenda.

   Looking to characters in other genres of comics will also prove to hold this theory true. The Locke family of Locke and Key face the brutal murder of their father only to spend the following year finding fantastical keys that give them various abilities to fight off evil forces to stop impending doom. Alec Holland lost his life only to be elected the avatar of the green and be given the responsibility to fight against the rot to keep the balances of nature in tact. Watchmen is a commentary on all of the above looking at super heroes from all different parts of the spectrum in a subjective, intimate, in between the panels manner and really focusing on the flaws they have after being thrust into the superhero business. All of whom spawned from one form of tragedy or another.

   We hold these works of fiction in such high regard because we see a little piece of ourselves in these heroes. For me seeing the problems, flaws, and tragedies that shape them and seeing them overcome and move forward is what makes them mean so much to me. If for no other reason at all but to see that maybe, just maybe there’s a little hero in all of us and we will overcome.