Romanticism of Superheroes

"Thrillers are the product, the popular offshoot, of the Romantic school of art that sees man, not as a helpless pawn of fate, but a being who possesses volition, whose life is directed by his own value-choices...Thrillers are a simplified, elementary version of Romantic literature. They are not concerned with a delineation of values, but, taking certain fundamental values for granted, they are concerned with only one aspect of a moral being's existence: the battle of good against evil in terms of purposeful action." - Ayn Rand, The Romantic Manifesto

As people, we crave art that portrays a vision of humanity that is elevated and above our current existence. We enjoy works that idealize and present us in a positive light. Seeing a hero overcome obstacles and define life on his own terms is refreshing and inspires us not to settle for things the way they are, but to go forth with courage and strike out to improve our own lives.

Contrast that with a lot of the films we have in theaters today. As I mentioned before, Twilight and 50 Shades of Grey portray bleak passive outlooks on the nature of love. Many comedies portray reality as bleak and harsh, with no purpose other than our immediate moments and any attempts to plan a cause for mockery. Pointlessness to existence and the elevation of primitive emotion over reason are the themes in many films.

However, one genre has succeeded not only in defying the predominant themes but also in finding popularity: superhero movies.

Superhero films are almost entirely derived from comic books/graphic novels. As many have observed, these comic books form our modern mythos. Our pantheon of today is not filled with Zeus or Vishnu or Thor (well, maybe that last one), but with aliens from other planets, billionaires investing in fighting crime, and teenagers given great powers.

These heroes have something major in common: they have a great hand in shaping the world around them. Indeed, most of the stories of heroes involve them defying the odds, overcoming obstacles that would break lesser beings, and changing what seemed inevitable. That concept - that one or a handful of people can change the world an defy the odds - is a value ingrained into the genre.

With a several notable exceptions, many comics are not complex or deep. They fit squarely into the thriller subtype of romantic works, much like the spy thrillers of the 1960's. Just as James Bond achieved critical and popular acclaim for the thriller aspects presents, so today have modern superhero films brought back an interest in romanticism and romantic works as people rediscover the refreshing feeling of watching a clash of values.

Values of the Superheroes

So what are some of the values of popular comic heroes? What are some of the romantic notions embedded into their fabric, apart from the "good vs. evil" plot device? There are many takes on that. The field of comic studies has produced many fine essays on the topics. These are my opinions on the matter:

Superman - Unlimited capacity, mentally and physically. He is what we hope to one day be ourselves in all respects. The ultimate goodness and power of humanity in a single form.

Batman - Man at his peak. He is what we could be in this lifetime, with enough dedication and discipline.

Captain America - The leader and soldier. He is the leader who has earned his place through his own efforts.

The Question - He is someone who hunts doggedly for the truth and lets nothing stop him from revealing it, no matter how much personal sacrifice he has to experience. (I refer here to the original Steve Ditko version.)

Spider-Man - "With great power comes great responsibility." The everyman who, gifted by something extraordinary, shoulders the burden of the world's ills on his back.

That's just a small number. You can fill in your own for other characters, such as Wonder Woman, Hulk, or Iron Man. In general, most of the iconic comic characters, those who have stayed with us for decades, have these fundamental - if simple - values attached to them.

Value-Free and Interest-Free

Comic book heroes don't always have values attached to them, of course. When they don't, the usual result is they fade away.

The 1990's saw the trend of "extreme" heroes catch on: much of Image comics and other indie comic publishers tried to break free of the "goodie two-shoe" mode of storytelling. They creates heroes who were violent, grim, gritty - and wholly forgettable. Linkara of Atop the Fourth Wall has done some very good jabs at Youngblood and other work from this era.

The core problem with the 1990's was simple: the writers focused on the superficial aspects of the genre. To them, heroes were about action, explosions, costumes, etc. It was about appearances. What they forgot were the themes, the defining traits that drove the characters to behave how they did - the values that prompted the character to be who they were. Without values, all they had were people in silly costumes shooting guns.

Some publishers turned to sex, loading the market with "nude cover" variants of their female "heroines." Instead of a heroic amazon warrior like Wonder Woman, they just banked on cheap titillation to get people reading about their generic female characters.

We see this issue today: DC's New 52 has been "grim and gritty" all over again, often discarding the basic values of the heroes in favor of "realism." In doing this, they make the same mistake as Image in the 90's, spawning stories driven by fancy art and action rather than any appeal to the characters' fundamental nature. That kind of comic is empty and hollow, unable to inspire or attract fans.

Some blame anti-heroes for the problem. However, anti-heroes can be done well. The Punisher, for example, acts from a very black and white view of justice and a belief that vengeance is best dispensed by his hands. His values often bring him into conflict with others who oppose those kinds of measures, such as Spider-Man.

Creating New Heroes

Now, it is possible to create new heroes that stand-out. Alan Moore has done this multiple times in a last few decades. Tom strong, Promethea, and V are all amazing values-driven characters. He and other writers show us how we can generate memorable heroes.

First, start with the moral, idea, or concept they represent. This isn't their powers or their name or origin. It's the fundamental value that is central to their being. It determines how they will act, how they'll respond to adversity. This value also comes from you: what opinion or perspective from your worldview do you want to put out there for others to see? Stan Lee created so many wonderful characters because he had views he wanted to share with the world. Be bold and do the same!

Now that you know what you want to express with the character, then come up with an origin, name, and powers. Try to keep them consistent with the idea you picked before. Use symbolism and myths to flesh things out. By knowing what you're trying to say first, the creative choices at this step become easier.

You can also flip these as needed - if a clever idea for a power hits you, by all means see if you can create an ideal to fit it. The important thing is to remember the concept. Skipping that step is what gave rise to the "extreme" heroes of the 90's. One of the critiques of Venom, the famous Spider-Man villain, is that while his powers were neat, he lacked that grounding concept behind him (at least at first). Interestingly, Carnage, with his belief in chaos, nihilism, and that life is meaningless, has arguably had a stronger ideology base to his actions.

Conclusion

Real people are complex and don't perfectly adhere to principles - and that can be an element in your writing. Straying from our ideals is one of the ways we make mistakes and then improve. Here's the trick: you can't introduce that kind of development unless your character has those principles to begin with. There has to be a path to stray from.

In creating Daizhong and the other facets of my new steampunk world, heroes obviously play a role. When designing the characters I want to serve as heroes and villains, I use the techniques I outlined here. I start with what values I want to express in my world and then think of ways for characters to express them. It's not easy - it's so much simpler to just rely on cheap hooks and flashy outfits - but I find it gives them much more life to them. I comprehend what they are much better because I have poured some measure of ideology into them.

In many ways, values are the spark of a life for a character the same way they are the sense of life for us.