An Introduction to the History of Comic Books in America
America's fascination with comic books and cartoons filled with superheroes has created an empire of almost epic proportions. Upon my arrival in America, two of the myriad of comic book characters on offer immediately captured my attention, Batman and Superman. I was informed by those "in the know that Superman is the greatest superhero there is, and Batman never seems to get enough credit. After watching a great number of Batman and Superman cartoon episodes respectively, I reached the conclusion, that Superman's reputation is somewhat unfounded. Personally, I believe, that there is overwhelming evidence to support the contention that in fact Batman, who by the way, is a regular human, should be considered at least on par with Superman. It is imperative to my contention to analyze the origins of both superheroes, their reputations and their superpowers.
Shortly before the explosion of the planet of Krypton, a baby Superman was evacuated to Earth by his parent's. He lived on a farm in Smallville with his adopted parents, who named him Clark, and raised him as their own. As he grew, under the Earth's yellow sun, he started to gain amazing powers. His Kryptonian body absorbed the sun's yellow rays (as opposed to Krypton's red sun) giving him super-strength and invulnerability, among other awesome powers. Upon coming of age Clark resolved himself to the necessity of using his powers to fight crime in the city of Metropolis. There, he created his alias Clark Kent - a reporter, to mask his true identity. He terrified his enemies and amazed the citizens of Metropolis.
It goes without saying, that Superman is in fact a great superhero. He certainly does a phenomenal job fighting crime and protecting the people of Metropolis. However, the truth that "Clark Kent, also known as Superman is not human, remains. It is unrealistic to hold Superman up as a role model for "the rest of us", because; despite his arguably fundamental humanity he is absolutely not of this world. His qualities of kindness and generosity play second fiddle to his x-ray vision and ability to fly. It is dangerous to create a role model out of a character who's most tremendous qualities a human cannot ever hope to possess. Furthermore I purport that it is dangerous to do so.
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Unlike Superman, Batman is a regular human, who was resolved to devote his life to crime fighting following his parents murder. Growing up, Bruce Wayne used his fortune to create a fully equipped crime-fighting center, and train his helpers; Robin and Batgirl. He fights crime with no superpowers, relying only on his will, knowledge, discipline, training, billions of dollars, amazing butler, friends and a cave full of military-issue technology (sarcasm aside). These resources enabled Batman to protect Gotham from evil geniuses countless times.
His image is intimidating to all evil. He is often referred to as the Dark Knight and the Guardian of Gotham. Batman's exploits at least rival if not exceed those of Superman.
It is also important to ascertain and evaluate the influences behind each superheroes outfit. First and foremost, it is crucial for any superhero to make sure that his clothes are comfortable, good- looking and helpful in fighting crime. Batman's suit fits all these criteria perfectly. Superman's suit, made by his mother, is nothing more than an archaic imitation. Batman's suit was engineered and equipped with all necessary devices, including; a nifty utility belt and cape, actually used for flying (as apposed to that of Superman which seems to be nothing more than a rather distasteful fashion statement). It is also important for a superhero to keep his identity secret. While wearing his disguise, Batman is by far more inconspicuous than Superman, who only has one item of disguise, his glasses. Additionally, unlike Superman, Batman is even smart enough to realize that if you're going to wear your underwear outside your costume, you should stick to dark colors and shadows.
Finally, there is another fact that makes Batman's human background more appealing than that of Superman. Batman realizes that no matter how powerful he may be he might need help one day. Besides, the more crime fighters there are the better. He is never too pigheaded to ask for help from Batgirl or Robin.
Altogether, with all due respect to Superman, I am of the opinion that Batman and his technologically equipped crime-fighting team are far more appropriate role models for children. Instead of wastefully wishing to fly like Superman, people can in fact aspire, to utilizing their fortunes and acumen to build the next transforming Bat-car. Superman is but a dream, while Batman a distant but achievable dream.
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An Introduction to the History of Comic Books in America. (2023, Feb 25). Retrieved from https://phdessay.com/an-introduction-to-the-history-of-comic-books-in-america/
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