Are comic books just cheap entertainment for kids?
The short answer is no. There’s a theory superheroes are based on ancient myths and religions. You can find parallel stories between superheroes and ancient gods and goddesses quite easily. Think Moses. What is the synopsis of Moses?
The Hebrew people were being persecuted,
Michael Uslan
their firstborn were being slain.
A Hebrew couple placed their infant son
in a little wicker basket and sent him down the River Nile.
There he was discovered by an Egyptian family who
raised him as their own son.
When he grew up and learned of his true heritage,
he became a great hero to his people by–
Now, do you remember the origin of Superman?
The planet Krypton was about to blow up.
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A scientist and his wife placed their infant son
in a little rocket ship and sent him to Earth.
There he was discovered by the Kents, who
raised him as their own son.
When he grew up–
What other superheroes are linked to the ancient gods and heroes?
The Greeks called him Hermes, the Romans called him Mercury. But you and I, we called him Flash.
The Greeks called him Poseidon, the Romans called him Neptune. But you and I, we called him Aquaman.
The ancient gods of Greece, Rome, and Egypt all still exist today. Only now they wear spandex and capes. No more skins and heavy armour. What are they doing? They are just fighting the dragons and demons of their day.
Well, we don’t quite need these stories to think about such deep matters, but they sure do help. And they help in a variety of ways. The fantastical elements of early myths helped us share these stories. In cultures dominated by oral traditions, it’s easier to remember and pass along the details of larger-than-life narratives than ordinary ones. For us, communication isn’t the problem. But engagement is. If we want young people to think about power and responsibility, we can sit them down and give them a lecture, or we can hand them Spider-Man. Do you want to guess which one is more effective?
It’s not just about kids, either. As adults, we’re disposed not to tackle deep, emotionally challenging issues directly—we’re often at our best when we can approach a problem at a distance. It’s no accident that Godzilla came out of Japan post-WWII. Was it because the Japanese were just itching for a fantastical story about the destruction of their cities? Certainly not. They were traumatized by what the United States had done to them with the dropping of the atom bomb and what they had done to bring on such attacks. That trauma, and the reflection that comes along with it, is easier to think about metaphorically at first, and so a giant city-destroying, radiation-breathing monster is created, something fantastical to fight.
Superman is a myth about the immigrant experience. Batman emerged as a way to address dissatisfaction with crime and government complicity. The Silver Age focused a tremendous amount of attention on America coming to terms with the unfathomable power it had acquired through the atomic bomb.
As superhero stories continue to be consumed by new generations of people across the world, the challenges facing different communities in different cultures will find their way into our expanding modern mythology of mightily powerful agents of good and dastardly villains. And that is all for the best. Mythologies that last are not static, but dynamic. So here’s to the next generation of globally-informed superhero tales!