In Defense of the Superhero

A few days back, Dave Sim discussed in some detail what is basically his lifelong abhorrence of the superhero genre. And while Dave Sim is an exceptionally bright man who has inarguably done as much or more for comics as anyone in the superhero genre - whether you see his contributions as good, bad, or largely pointless, no one can argue that his wasn't a lasting effect - I have always disagreed with pretty much everything he has to say on the superhero genre.

I don't find the superhero genre inherently "gay." I fully realize how silly it seems to some that superheroes dress in tight-fitting spandex underwear -- clothing we can all agree is probably not best-suited for fighting crime and avoiding damage -- but, as an artist, I love to draw the human form. Stacking armor on superheroes would completely prevent me from drawing musculature. It's that simple and that's the long and short of it. 

I could dress it up any number of ways, but the truth is that it looks a lot cooler to see muscles flexing and titties a-jiggling when a superhero is beating up on the bad guy because, at its essence, the whole idea is one of fantasy fulfillment.

I wish I were a better man - better-looking, stronger, faster, smarter, more capable of controlling my emotions in times of emotional upheaval, capable of taking an ass-whooping without letting the guy who's giving it to me know how much it hurts, more appreciative of the full ramifications of my choices and decisions before I make them - but the truth is that I'm not. God forbid I should be the victim of road rage, but should I be, I'd most likely get the living hell beaten out of me and I might even cry when it was over. I am avoiding back surgery and living in pain because I fear surgery (well, more specifically, I fear the process of many surgeries over the course of my lifetime, but it's the major point that counts). Your average superhero doesn't consider such things because such things don't affect him.

I was bullied in school. A lot. Often. And maybe this is what drew me to comics to begin with? They allowed me to be by myself, they entertained me, and they allowed me to live vicariously through heroes who were capable of doing what I physically, mentally, and emotionally could not: defeat The Bad Guys, whether they be iconic of my personal demons and bullies or larger injustices. And I think even Sim can appreciate that seeing the straining muscles is not just more cinematically effective, but really the only way to impact on the reader.
(When I was a Sophomore, one of my better friends [a fellow comics fan and penciler] had his jaw broken in the school hallway right after art class by a guy who had bullied me, and several others, since grade school. The bully was a senior and he did it on a bet that he couldn't break my friend's jaw in one punch. There was absolutely nothing any of us could do about it because we just weren't capable. I'm not 100% positive, but I'm pretty sure he got expelled for it, but who cares? If The Law worked, it never should have been allowed to get that far; he would have been punished long before this incident and either have already been expelled or at least been warier of whatever punishment he should have [known] he would receive if he went through with it.)

Further, I question his definition of homosexuality, specifically in this sense.

Brad Pitt is far more handsome than your average guy; he's more handsome than probably a good 75% of all men... and at least 45% of all women (no sense lying about it). I don't particularly want to engage Mr. Pitt sexually, but I certainly wish I were as handsome as he. And this, in part, is what makes him such a popular actor: when male viewers watch him do whatever he is doing, they vicariously assume being him doing those things, and they can then see themselves as looking that good doing it. Like it or not, it just is what it is, and I'm not sure I consider that homosexuality or even homosexual in nature. To say that it has to do with sexuality, in general, is absolutely true, but in my mind, it's certainly no worse than seeing a rocket's launch as slightly phallic: if you should think of a phallus or intercourse when you see a rocket launching, it doesn't make you gay and it doesn't necessarily make you a perv. It may not be what everyone thinks of when they see a rocket launching, but I'd be willing to bet that you've got a lot more company than you'd think or will ever know, and you don't need bother dwelling on your sexuality if launching rockets causes a reaction - whether that reaction is "the church giggles" or a slight erection.

As for the costuming - the capes and masks and so on - I still don't see a connection to homosexuality, or "the gay facade," as Sim calls it. While it has often been explained as a device by which to intimidate enemies, I don't see anything wrong with saying, "They're just being flashy." In fact, historically, many pirates dressed like dandies for these very reasons. If you can fly around and have an incredibly muscular body, and you beat up the bad guys, you might want someone to notice you - and what better way than by dressing up in flashy tights, which show off your muscular body? Real-life heroes dress in uniforms and since no real-life heroes fly around beating up bad guys, who's to say what form such uniforms would take? You'd need flexibility in such a uniform, that's for certain. It would need to be aerodynamic. It would need branding if you wanted to be known (whether the reason was to be feared or envied, or even literally to be seen as a sexual object). Say, aren't those the very criteria for athletic uniforms?

And most superheroes struggle with all of these things as part and parcel of their character within the context of their story. Almost all of them are looking for some sort of recognition and, in a sense, living vicariously through their alter-ego. That, in fact, is one of the primary running themes within the entire breadth of the genre. They are often seeking some adventure, some fame, and they want to be noticed - not unlike Mr. Sim himself, when he was drawing fuzzy antiheroes and wearing his long, leather duster and his girl-o-the-moment to every con he attended...

I'm just saying.

As far as the attraction to vigilantism which is omnipresent in the genre, I think he's more on-target. The thing is, which is why I brought up the earlier point, a lot of people who are drawn to comic books are somehow up Against The Wall. Sickly kids who have no real recourse against their illness; small kids who suffer daily ass-beatings at the hands of bigger, meaner kids; nerdy outsiders who suffer social ostracization by the "cool" and "beautiful" people; and, yes, even gay kids who are socially condemned to "their kind" - these are the comic book fans and The System doesn't protect them, even though it ostensibly purports to.

The System (which Sim refers to, appropriately, as The Law) is made by, and for, the mainstream - specifically to protect them, be they righteous or (most often) iniquitous, from those of us who refuse to bend our knee.

I was actually considered a problem by school personnel because I complained of being bullied too often! As far they were concerned, and I was told, learning to stand up for myself was part of growing up - which is a really half-assed way of saying they didn't care, that's not what The Law is for - but there were all sorts of limits as to how I was allowed to defend myself and if I violated those, I was responsible.

Go back and read that again:

You are responsible for your own protection, but we'll only let you protect yourself in certain ways; if you end up getting hurt, then You Got What You Deserved, but if you end up hurting your oppressors, then The Law will come down on you with everything it's got and you'll Get What You Deserve. Damned if you do, damned if you don't; there is no place for individuals within such systems, which is why all such systems are inherently flawed (not that I am advocating anarchy or vigilantism!).

That's what that means; it isn't even so much implied as literally stated by The Law and those in power! That I was a small "intellectual" was not their concern and that bigger, meaner kids bullied me simply because they could was My Problem, but if I resorted to carrying a weapon or some other protective or retaliatory measures (aside from constantly getting my ass whipped and "Taking It Like a Man"), then I was going to come up against The Law. See, that's the problem with The Law, Mr. Sim: it almost never protects those who need to be protected; it is made by, and for, the more powerful and the more powerful don't need protection from anyone...

Except, say, Batman.

And that's why Batman rocks so damn hard, kids! And that's why I want to see how much bigger and tighter his muscles are when he smashes some villain's face right the hell in; it just doesn't pack the same punch (pun intended) if he did it in a Kevlar poncho. Not to mention that obscuring his physicality would shift focus to the violence of the blow.

[An aside: perhaps I doth protest too much? After all, a lot of superheroes - generally antiheroes - wear trenchcoats and the like, which certainly aren't form-fitting...]

And on another note, as it concerns sexuality, how many of us would fantasize over Wonder Woman in a frumpy dress? Is it pandering? To some extent, I suppose it is, but the more important theme is wish-fulfillment, and to suggest that the whole genre and medium can be summed-up as homosexual or juvenile or any other negative blanket assessment, is like saying, "This movie has a steamy sex scene, so it's pornography and all movies with steamy sex scenes are pornography," or, "This movie has some funny scenes, so it's a comedy."

Oh yes, and the last point I wanted to make on this subject, Mr. Sim, is what made you decide that wearing a leather jacket was cool and how do you separate whatever emotion or compulsion that is from homosexuality? Did you see a guy you thought was [whatever it is, you found him attractive - he was "cool" or "suave" or "tough," but whatever quality it is that he possessed, you found it attractive and wanted to be more like him] wearing a leather jacket? Or did you see a girl wearing one?

What factors led to your own image and style choices, and how do you divide those from the 'inherent homosexuality' you see in superhero comic books? What made you decide to go your own way and self-publish the aardvark and how do you separate that from 'vigilantism'?

A lot of comics' attraction comes from the reader vicariously living through the superhero - wish fulfillment of defeating one's Bad Guys (as explored in-depth in Dark Knight Returns), being feared, being envied, being the subject of awe, righting wrongs, etc., etc. - and that's why superheroes are... well, hot.