Origins of Comics- Where does the word "superhero" come from? Part 2

A beaten down Wolverine has taken enough in this famous splash image from the last page of X-men #132.  Artwork by John Byrne.

Changing Roles

Over time, comic books changed the look and feel of superheroes to reflect changing times and attitudes. By the 1970s, Marvel unveiled Wolverine, a character who went against the usual grain of superheroes and yet went on to become one of the most popular characters in comic history. Wolverine displays an incredibly ferocious nature and fought with his very own claws that popped from inside his hands. In the 1980s, DC Comics published Watchmen, a twelve issue mini-series that revealed a much more human side to superheroes. Watchmen featured Rorschach, a vengeful man who sought justice for the weak, and he did so in the most violent and bloody of ways. Rorschach describes New York City as “this awful city screams like an abattoir full of retarded children.” This character embraces the darker side of life. The superheroes still made sacrifices and fought for justice, but they did it in ways that were “down and dirty.” The Punisher made his rise as a gun-toting, death-dealing vigilante in three magazine of his own, making him as visible a

The Dark Knight Returns #4 (1986)

property to Marvel as Spider-Man.  At this point reigns the anti-hero, a dark reflection of the boy scout image of Superman existing for so many years yet still portrayed to have the most noble of intentions.  In 1986, DC Comics released The Dark Knight Returns that featured an older Batman coming out of retirement to do battle against Superman, a fight unheard of in comics in the past. This fight also takes place in the shadow of a nuclear war. The happier care-free settings no longer existed in cutting-edge comics. The flatness and two-dimensional characters of the past disappeared as the public craved much more intensity and depth to characters dealing with the modern age.  Horror and crisis became issues the superheroes dealt with. With all the darkness and terror within comics of the time, nothing could have prepared the public for what come next.    

Real Life Superheroes

     In the aftermath of the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attack, the sacrifices made by ordinary citizens that morning became apparent to the American public and gave way to a new definition of superhero.  New York City police officers and fire department personnel rushed to the aid of civilians in lower Manhattan and many died trying to save them from the destruction.  With no super-strength or magic eye-beams, these brave men and women found themselves quickly hailed by the public as “superheroes,” It did not take special

powers or a shadowy past for the world to title them as such. They simply conjured the will necessary to run into a tower of burning glass and steel without hesitation to save lives.  The public regarded police officers and firemen more prominently from that time forward as the heroes in our midst.  In a twist of irony, Marvel Comics published Heroes (2003), a comic book dedicated to the policemen and firemen who gave so much that horrible day.  The definition and role of superhero evolved to a level that now truly showed that heroes walk among us everyday. Real life superheroes encapsulated and yet evolved what defines a superhero as events happened before the public’s eyes.

     The word superhero still evolves as the decades go by. The points here show that the definition and role of what defines a superhero changes at the whim of public opinion. The years past show that laser eye-beams or super-strength no longer simply define a person or character as such. It only takes the heart and will to do extraordinary things in the face of great adversity.   This defines a superhero truly exists for. To think beyond your own needs and only of others takes the true will found only in superheroes.