Superhero Philosophy

When we think about culture in relationship to the United States, it is impossible to fully grasp our national cultural identity without mentioning superheroes and comic books.  Ever since the release of Action Comics No. 1 in June 1938, generation after generation of youth have had their childhood intertwined with the fantastic worlds expressed through comic books and superhero cinematography. The level at which these larger than life figures have cemented themselves in our society is expressed by the box office. Last year, Avengers: Infinity War grossed 2.048 Billion dollars alone. The impact of these superhero stories is clearly evident, but what philosophical lessons can be derived from them?

An important philosophical question we need to ask is how these comics have adjusted our view of what is possible and what isn’t. This idea of the possible and the impossible can be witnessed when looking at even the first issues of Action Comics. Upon first seeing superman you can immediately convey a understanding that he is greater than the average man. Superman is the foil to the average citizen he is a embodiment of the extraordinary, or in this case a symbol of the impossible. The average citizen in the case of comics is typically what ties us to our understanding of reality in this early comics; with early superheroes such as superman helping the day to day citizens out of precarious situations that have come to be by natural or unnatural methods.

As more superheroes and even super villains were added into the universe of DC comics and Marvel comics, we see a change in how superheroes are portrayed compared to the average citizen. The biggest example could be shown in X-men No. 1 on September 1963, in X-men the superheroes are members of a school created by doctor Xavier. In X-men we are introduced to the concept of a creation story, or a explanation to their powers. The creation story being that the X-men are mutants with extraordinary powers that come about through mutations their their DNA. It could be argued that by giving superheroes a logical reasoning based in science, (even if not entirely accurate), erodes at the impossible nature of these heroes and brings them closer to the citizens they protect. By making this assumption you could then determine that by trying to ground these fictitious characters and events into the laws of our reality these stories suddenly become more believable and impact our views on what is possible and isn’t possible.

These stigmas towards certain beliefs that are not the norm which I will coin as the

“stigma of disbelief”. Our stigma of disbelief is slowly decayed by these stories that have ties in science fiction and resonate with the idea of “What if?”, causing what could be described as a change in our view of reality. This change in our view of reality changes how we perceive what is and what isn’t possible and opens us up to either new possibilities such as in the case of X-men, a open mindedness to genetics and what is possible along the lines of its research. This shift in viewpoint also can affect how we would react to questions of morality and ethics.

Another philosophical connections to comic books that stands out is the idea of the face behind the mask. When a superhero puts on a mask, they are giving away their identity to a greater cause. This action of removing ego and saving the world anonymously helps the reader feel as if they are part of the fight against evil and emphasizes the point that these heroes could be any member of society. The Stoic philosopher Marcus Aurelius says “A human being is formed by nature to benefit others, and, when he has performed some benevolent action or accomplished anything else that contributes to the common good, he has done what he was constituted for, and has what is properly his.” The idea of stoic cosmopolitanism, which is the idea of being a citizen of the world and showing kindness and respect to even people you don’t directly know, is reflected in the action of superheroes.

Quiz Questions

What is a mutation?

What year was Action Comics No. 1 released?

What year was Batman The Movie released?

Name two famous comic book writers.

What is the Punishers real name?

Discussion Questions

Discussion questions

Is the punisher justified in his actions?

Is our society better without the stigma of disbelief?

Who is your favorite superhero and why?

Has a superhero ever made you question your morality?