The
graphic novel Superman: Red Son,
depicted a world in which instead of landing in Kansas, the craft that carried
young Kal-El landed in Soviet Russia during the height of Communism. As such,
Superman ended up being raised a communist. Now in the normal DC Universe,
while Superman is American, he has no allegiance to the American government. In
this Elseworld (DC stories that occur outside continuity) story though, Superman ends up becoming the Russian Premiere, not just a party member but the literal embodiment of the philosophy. Communism
under Superman nearly takes over the world.
And
he is still Superman. He is still this paragon of morals and virtues. This is
not a story where Superman is the bad guy (of which there have been a few),
even though he is part of a philosophy that Americans have been told are the
ultimate bad guys. But with the ultimate superhuman as their standard bearer,
even the Communists become heroes. Russia fills the role of America as a nation that protects and helps the rest of the world.
That
first example might be a bit of an extreme. In that storyline, the Super-hero
actually becomes the State, as opposed to an agent of it. Perhaps a better
example would be Marvel’s Civil War (2007).
For those unfamiliar with the storyline, a group of young heroes are involved
in an incident that claims the lives of over six hundred innocent civilians.
Because of this there is public outcry for accountability for the actions of
super heroes. The government then decides to put all super heroes under the
command of S.H.I.E.L.D. (if you saw the Avengers, you know who they are). If
you want to be a hero you have to register your powers and identity with the
government or you have hang up your mask and cape.
This
simple bit of legislation causes a rift in the super hero community in the
Marvel universe. Many heroes do not want to be told who they can and cannot save, or how to do it. Two sides are drawn among the heroes, with the pro-registry heroes being led by
Iron Man and the anti-registry heroes being led by Captain America. I was of
course shocked that Captain America was the hero who ended up fighting the
system. If there is any hero who is a better example of “agent of the state”
than Captain America I can’t think of it. But fight the system he did and it
ended up in his death (of course comic book death ain’t what it used to be and
he was back within a year). Still, the lasting damage was done. Heroes who had
once been friends and allies were torn apart and repercussions to that stories
is still being felt in the comics today.
Another
great example of the evils of super heroes being agents of the state is Watchmen. For the sake of my own sanity
I will be referencing the comic NOT the live action film. Now in the world of Watchmen, two of the heroes in this
story are prominent figures in the government, Edward Blake aka The Comedian
and Doctor Manhattan. The first is the ultimate wetworks man, doing all the
dirty deeds that every conspiracy theorist thinks our government does on a
daily basis. The other is the ultimate nuclear deterrent. Not only are these
two super heroes agents of the state but they represent the two things people
think are most evil about any government.
Assassination and nuclear annihilation. These are not the roles of super
heroes, yet in a world where super heroes work for the government that is EXACTLY the role super heroes are called into play.
As I
said in my previous entry, super heroes are supposed to be better than the mere
mortals that they protect. They are supposed to have a higher moral code that
only people of near godly status could attain. To put them in the employ of the
government drags them down to our level. And I say they are not meant to be
pulled to our level, we are meant to rise to their' level.
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