Why Are Super Heroes So Young?

Ladies and Gentlemen, we are living in the age of the super hero. Over the next year we are going to see on average one super hero movie every month between November of 2013 and December of 2014. We are also going to see a huge increase in super hero based television shows, joining the ranks of Arrow on the CW and Agents of SHIELD on ABC. And as I look at all the many actors that are being cast as these masked men and women, a question keeps screaming in my mind: Why are they all so young?

The question first came to me when I saw the actor who had been cast as Barry Allen on Arrow, a character who will be spun off into his own series, The Flash. The actor in question is Grant Gustin, whose previous roles were on Glee and 90210 (not the original, the reboot). How is he able to be on such shows? BECAUSE HE’S 23! And not a mature 23 since he’s played teenagers. A very boyish 23. My problem with this is that Barry Allen is supposed to be a Police Scientist (like a CSI). And as the Flash, he is one of the core heroes of the DCU. George Eads, who looks like a young guy, was 33 when he started on CSI (and voiced the character of Barry Allen/ The Flash on the cartoon show Young Justice). And that’s what I expect from both a cop and a super hero. An older individual. (To be fair, they do make fun of his age in the episodes of Arrow, but still, he should be older).

Maybe it’s just that I perpetually feel a sense of immaturity, but I have always pictured super heroes as being older than me. Hell, Batman and Superman could be my dad. The idea of a young super hero seems to take away some of the authority they should portray as emblems of justice. A super hero who can barely shave (something you’d notice since most of them don’t cover their mouths with a mask) seems impossible to intimidate a world conquering super villain. The few super heroes who are young, tend to have to disguise that fact in order to maintain their super hero identity. Spider-Man had to wear a full-face mask to hide his youth. Certainly I have discussed the issue of sidekicks before (see here) and while many sidekicks are just as heroic as their mentors, they do suffer from the handicap of youth.

"Hey! I'm in costume. How come
he doesn't have his costume?"

A large problem with the trend of young super heroes can be blamed on Hollywood. When a super hero film is being launched, Hollywood executives are both introducing the audience to the hero so they are showing us an origin story, AND hoping to jump start a major film franchise. So initially the character is young because he or she is new to being  a hero. They are also young because it takes a long time to make a big budget film (sometimes two or three years) and Hollywood wants to make many of these films. A young actor is more likely to be willing to do a fifth or sixth film, as opposed to a more elderly actor who may only be willing to do two or three (Robert Downey Jr. being the exception as he has done three Iron Man movies, an Avengers movie, and is signed on for many more future films with Marvel).

If Hollywood truly wanted to portray heroes as they are in the comics, they would definitely skew older. Heroes are always more powerful as they age and gain more experience. Although I hate to use this as a reference for anything, Smallville is an excellent example of this. Clark Kent has barely mastered any of his powers when the show starts. He’s a little strong and can run fast but most of the classic powers are not present. His most iconic power, flight, doesn’t show up at all (well it does a little, but not with regularity). An experienced Superman is more powerful. Which is why in the sequel to Man of Steel (a Superman origin story where he has mostly mastered all his powers by the end of the film) they are bringing in a more mature Batman (played by Ben Affleck, which I talk about here) to supposedly do battle with him (the working title is Batman vs. Superman, but of course that doesn’t mean they won’t team up eventually). The point being that the only way Batman can defeat Superman is if Batman’s experience is equal or superior to Superman’s powers.

Of course while I am vey happy about Ben Affleck being cast as Batman it just reminds me of the young super hero problem because Henry Cavill was cast as Superman. Henry Cavill is barely 30. Again, I understand the Hollywood logic, but personally I would have much preferred seeing Jon Hamm as Superman. Like I said before, Superman is like my dad, whereas Henry Cavill could be my little brother (well not MY brother, but somebody’s little brother).