Comic Books: An American Mythology

Published January 18, 2007 by:

Robert Gambell

http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/119547/comic_books_an_american_mythology_pg2.h
tml?cat=38

the myths are flexible enough to change and fit our times. It's no coincidence that now that we are
fighting a questionable war in Iraq that in comics Wonder Woman is dealing with having killed a
villain, and in the Marvel universe heroes are pitted against themselves regarding whether they
should register their powers and work with the government or remain vigilantes.

The comics are just reflecting our own moral ambiguities about our world, our government, our
lives. This can be seen with the rise of darker comics in the early nineties like Dark Horse and
Vertigo comic books, and the popularity of Spawn and Sandman titles. Frank Miller rewrote the
Batman character as a very dark and conflicted man just one step better than the villains that he
caught. These are just reflections of our own society in the handling of the mythologies of our
heroes.

In the more popular titles there is also more going on that is subtle that draws us to them. The
characters are iconic in who they represent too. Superman represents the immigrant. He fully
embraces America and will do anything to help his country, but at the same time he has to
remember where he came from and that he is not truly an American (or even a human). The Hulk
is a representation that anger can take over even the most rational of people and make them into
a monster. Batman is an avenger, and uses fear against those who use fear to intimidate regular
people. Captain America is an example of the truly patriotic and righteous as he fights the Nazis
and Red Skull. The X-Men represent the outsiders, the people who suffer prejudice in the real
world. It is these subtleties that also draw us in to these characters and stories.
The Greek and Roman myths changed too. The mythologies reflected morality and human nature,
but there were many different versions of the stories just like in comics.