What if superheroes arent really the good guys?

[arenean]

Really interesting article in today's Guardian.

"We’ve always thought of them as flawed, noble and on our side – but perhaps they’re just dangerous rightwing vigilantes."

https://www.theguardian.com/film/2018/apr/27/what-if-superheroes-arent-really-the-good-guys

[exboyfil]

1. You mean like the Watchmen

concept has been used in many different comic series. Kingdom Come, Marvels, and the The Dark Knight Returns.

[arenean]

2. Yep

Yes, they mention the Watchmen.

[DetlefK]

3. I have been thinking about that for a long while:

It was after reading a certain Marvel-comic where the Avengers team up with aliens to defend Earth and other planets from a big alien threat.

Nobody has given the Avengers any legitimacy to act as ambassadors towards alien races.
Nobody has given the Avengers any legitimacy to make foreign-policy on behalf of all of mankind.
Nobody has given the Avengers any legitimacy to make life-and-death decisions for all of mankind.
(And in case of the "incursions": Nobody has given the Avengers any legitimacy to commit genocide on behalf of mankind.)
And yet the citizens in the Marvel-universe are somehow okay with that.

Through their actions as protectors, the heroes have effectively been elevated to a separate social class of rulers, similar to the "sword-nobility" of medieval Europe or the Samurai of medieval Japan.




What's also interesting is the effect of superheroes/supervillains as amplifiers of societal tendencies.
Supervillains amplify destructive, selfish tendencies that put the individual over society.
Superheroes amplify authoritarian, socialist tendencies that put the osciety over the individual.

A society with supervillains, but without superheroes, will descend into anarchy.
Isn't it logical to deduce that a society with superheroes, but without supervillains, will descend into authoritarianism?

[TlalocW]

4. A few DC comics take it the other way and kind of both ways

But I suppose it depends what you mean by superheroes.

In, "Kingdom Come," Superman retires when an anti-hero kills the Joker after he blows up the Daily Planet as society doesn't side with Superman, deeming him too old-fashioned. A lot of heroes take their cue from Superman and do likewise to one degree or another - two who don't are Batman, whose body is too damaged to continue so he patrols Gotham with robots, which does turn his city authoritarian. Flash, though, has fully merged with the Speed Force and is literally everywhere in his city, righting every wrong no matter how small, and has turned it into a paradise. Everywhere else, due to the new crop of superheroes that replaced Superman and his ilk and who are more willing to use deadly force, there aren't that many supervillains anymore so the heroes fight each other for turf out of boredom until the old guard superheroes return and put in prison any hero who doesn't want to fall in line with them.

In, "Batman Returns," Gotham has become chaotic due to Batman's retirement years ago (due to government mandates) with a street gang called the Mutants running roughshod over the city. In the end, Batman, who has come out of retirement and attracted the attention of the government (which sends Superman, who is now a government operative, after him), takes what's left of the Mutant Gang (now calling themselves the Sons of Batman, after Batman publicly defeated their leader) and begins training them to take over for him.

In, "Batman Returns 2," Luthor and Brainiac have taken over the US, hiding behind a holographic president. Most of the Superheroes are now blackmailed into working for them - Superman because they've taken Kandor, Wonder Woman because Themyscira has been located and can be nuked, Captain Marvel/Shazam because they're holding Mary Marvel hostage, Flash because his wife, Iris, is a hostage, and Green Lantern has pretty much left, and the world is very authoritarian. In the end, after the heroes have won with help from Superman and Wonder Woman's daughter, Superman, with prodding from Batman, has decided to take more of an active role in guiding the Earth, even asking his daughter, "What do you want to do with our planet?" So they're going from authoritarianism to authoritarianism.

TlalocW