Man and Superman

I remember a dialogue from a famous movie. It talked about how Superman is different from all other superheroes. He is perhaps the only one, the argument continues, who wears a disguise to become normal. Take Batman , take spiderman, all asume different alter egos to show their powers or lack of them ( pardon me Bob Kane ).

Why this phenomenon of hiding ?

The standard explanation comes from the viewpoint of privacy. They too have a normal life, they would also want to go to the supermarket to buy coffee, they would also want to fight with the next door guy about their dog's toilet habits. Thus they assume a mild mannered character , the total anti-thesis of themsleves. Bruce Wayne , prizefighter for the forces of justice is a care for nothing playboy. Bruce Banner, the wild Hulk is a brilliant rational scientist.

All this perhaps, I think arises from our perception about figure-ground settings. A figure is only visible because of the ground it stands on. A black statue on a black back ground is just not there. A super hero is super only because the alter ego is not so super. It is this starkness of contrasts the identity provides. This may be not the tip of the pen of authors but this is the intended effect. To make a super hero super one needs to make it a hero first. Have you ever heard of the super hero accountant who could add up numbers in his head Or have you heard of the cook who could make 10 pizzas are minute. No they are never superheroes !!!

A superhero is the icon of what we all desire in our hearts. The power to fly, the power over fire, the control over mind and matter. They are able to do what we want to do in our dreams. They are able to be what we wanted to be, do what we felt should have been done. They are the manifestation of our desires - They represent what is best in us and what is worst.

Hubris

A term meaning fatal fault. This is perhaps what sets superheroes from super powers. Anyone can have super powers , but it is the hubris that makes them superheroes. They are manifestation of our desires, they represent what is good in our hearts , but they also represent what is worst.

It is only a fact that man is mortal and his death is the manifestation of his fatal fault. Even gods have death, every super hero ages and dies. The ones who can't wont be super heroes. Only the endless ( death, desire, dream, destiny, delurium, despair ) are there forever the rest have to go. Man and superman included.

But then you surround me ... ask me what is the hubris I found in super-man, Batman can't have one, He-Man is only a kid, Spider-man is the son you want to have ?

As I said earlier to be a super hero- You need to be super , you need to be a hero, you need to be a villian. Clark Kent is guise Super-man but at heart a country scout boy - He lacks the ability to think about humanity. Batman is the dark and his heart is so, He is so enamoured by the concept of justice, his breaking the law is just a matter of time, he fights crime in his life and he fights the society for the criminal. Spider Man is a kid wonder, who cares about himself more than others and is utterly selfish in his life. Wonder Woman is a vanquished princess , lured by the return of the mantle. Any more examples will make you stop believing in your self so I stop here.

Super heroes and super villians are just two sides of the same coin depending on which side you see. In one the desires are stronger , in the other the social ego more active. Vlad Tepis can be the saviour of nation or inspiration for Dracula ? History is written by the biased , heroes are made by our dark desires not the one which craves for greatness. Look down and you will find their alters made up of our worst nitemares. We are puny mortals pining for what should not be and what is not to be .................................