In his article, “Masked Heroes”, Richard Reynolds gives a brief history of the superhero comic, focusing mainly on Superman and Batman, though he does mention how Wonder Woman is one of the three “staple” superheroes (99). Reynolds also provides a good break down of the superhero archetype that is easy for fans and non-fans of superheroes to follow. Surprisingly, it was during his writings on Superman that I became most intrigued.
While having heard the history of Superman before and already knowing a little about who his original creator was, I was unaware of the mythological undertones in Superman’s story. Reynolds argues for a variety of mythological representations, from the Christian Biblical story to the Roman pantheon, which I found very enlightening. The idea of the Bible being referenced was of no shock to me; on the contrary, what I found interesting was that Reynolds called Superman the child “born from a marriage of Uranus (Heaven) and Gaia (Earth)” (104). I had never heard the story of Superman’s fall to Earth told in that particular way. It gave a more resounding ‘Superman is of the world’ feel to the character, as opposed to a character specifically meant for the United States, such as Captain America. Perhaps this is why Superman has lasted in comics for so long- he is a representation of humanity as a whole, not just a particular part of it.
It was also interesting that Reynolds referred to the stories of Superman as being mythologies (102). By definition, a myth is “a traditional story, typically involving supernatural beings or forces, which embodies and provides an explanation, aetiology, or justification for something such as the early history of a society, a religious belief or ritual, or a natural phenomenon” (OED). The idea of Superman, or even superhero, stories being considered myths started with the first printing of the superhero comic. This is implied in Reynold’s article, despite only ever explicitly saying that comics were the start of, what are known today as, clichés (102). It is a difficult notion for me to grasp that, before such superhero comics were published, people had no concept of the myth in this sense. Sure, there were religious stories of a god or a hero but they were about Earth and its history. Superman is the first to fuse the two (god and hero) together for a different world.
Reynolds also goes into the spatial awareness that comics bring to audiences, such as in Action Comics #1. Specifically, he explains how the relationship between Lois and Superman vs Lois and Clark can be seen in the distancing between the panels in Action Comics #1 (105). Though the three panel distance is the same for when Lois and Superman are together as it is for when Lois and Clark are together, the ‘distance’ between the Lois and Superman/Clark is vastly distinctive. Lois is more into Superman than she is into Clark. Also, the three panel distance is meant to mark the distance between Superman and his secret identity, Clark (105). Readers, myself included, would understand this difference in distances because the writer and artist placed such metatextual elements so skillfully into the comic. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Work Cited
“Myth.” 1a. Oxford English Dictionary. 25 Jan. 2013. Web.
Reynolds, Richard. “Masked Heroes.” The Superhero Reader. Eds. Charles Hatfield,
Jeet Heer, and Kent Worcester. Jackson: U of Mississippi, 2013. 99-115. Print.
While having heard the history of Superman before and already knowing a little about who his original creator was, I was unaware of the mythological undertones in Superman’s story. Reynolds argues for a variety of mythological representations, from the Christian Biblical story to the Roman pantheon, which I found very enlightening. The idea of the Bible being referenced was of no shock to me; on the contrary, what I found interesting was that Reynolds called Superman the child “born from a marriage of Uranus (Heaven) and Gaia (Earth)” (104). I had never heard the story of Superman’s fall to Earth told in that particular way. It gave a more resounding ‘Superman is of the world’ feel to the character, as opposed to a character specifically meant for the United States, such as Captain America. Perhaps this is why Superman has lasted in comics for so long- he is a representation of humanity as a whole, not just a particular part of it.
It was also interesting that Reynolds referred to the stories of Superman as being mythologies (102). By definition, a myth is “a traditional story, typically involving supernatural beings or forces, which embodies and provides an explanation, aetiology, or justification for something such as the early history of a society, a religious belief or ritual, or a natural phenomenon” (OED). The idea of Superman, or even superhero, stories being considered myths started with the first printing of the superhero comic. This is implied in Reynold’s article, despite only ever explicitly saying that comics were the start of, what are known today as, clichés (102). It is a difficult notion for me to grasp that, before such superhero comics were published, people had no concept of the myth in this sense. Sure, there were religious stories of a god or a hero but they were about Earth and its history. Superman is the first to fuse the two (god and hero) together for a different world.
Reynolds also goes into the spatial awareness that comics bring to audiences, such as in Action Comics #1. Specifically, he explains how the relationship between Lois and Superman vs Lois and Clark can be seen in the distancing between the panels in Action Comics #1 (105). Though the three panel distance is the same for when Lois and Superman are together as it is for when Lois and Clark are together, the ‘distance’ between the Lois and Superman/Clark is vastly distinctive. Lois is more into Superman than she is into Clark. Also, the three panel distance is meant to mark the distance between Superman and his secret identity, Clark (105). Readers, myself included, would understand this difference in distances because the writer and artist placed such metatextual elements so skillfully into the comic. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Work Cited
“Myth.” 1a. Oxford English Dictionary. 25 Jan. 2013. Web.
Reynolds, Richard. “Masked Heroes.” The Superhero Reader. Eds. Charles Hatfield,
Jeet Heer, and Kent Worcester. Jackson: U of Mississippi, 2013. 99-115. Print.