The Hero we need and why I love Comics!

I love comic book films, I hope it’s a bubble that will never burst as we are a world in need of Heroes, during the last decade of unstable economies and an ongoing war of abstracts. The War on Terror really has dominated the political and social world and as always we rely on film as an escape from the horrific mundane of the real world. Or as I often find myself, turning instead to escapism inherent in the comic industry, with its wonderful collection of heroes on display.

I came form the generation of a thousand animated superheroes flitting across the screen before and after school, if I wasn’t reading of them I was watching them on Television. They offered the level of comfort and protection no real world force can muster, not my family, nor the countless hollow promises of Parliament and the PM. The kept my mind safe from the real worries, the danger of slipping into a mentality all too popular of late. With countless children preferring to take the easier paths of social unrest and familial destruction, instead of the nobler paths in life.

Heroes in these shows reminded me that even if the journey looks difficult, the means and destination are inherently good. After all Rome wasn’t built in a day. Mankind’s constant internal struggle is over the fact that it can take years to build and only seconds to destroy, with both actions often leaving us with a sense of satisfaction.

The War on Terror is as cruel representation of this theory in effect, instead of building trust and relationships of kindness that indeed would take decades to complete. We fight a war of epic proportions and on an unlimited number of fronts, in the most ass-about-face way imaginable. I’d like to take a moment to look at the actual title of this declared crusade… A ‘War’ on ‘Terror’. Firstly there is the almost impossibly stupid decision to name this campaign a ‘War’ in the first place; since wars are something that is fought using men and women, in trenches and on fields, on grounds and on plains. War is a horrid thing as Baldrick would say, often fought at the whim of a few men, with so few others truly understanding of believing the reasons why. If ever you wanted proof of such a fact, then the instance of German and British troops in WW1 playing football together one cold Winter day should be proof enough.

Then there is the concept of a war on ‘Terror’ a war of course being a cycling act of creating more terror, in fact war itself leads to some of the strongest psychological illnesses surrounding the emotions of fear and terror (Shellshock/Post Traumatic Stress Disorder). War just makes more fear in the world, in the lives of the soldiers fighting, the citizens whose lives are thrown into disarray and increasingly, for those who but for a twist of fate find themselves on the losing side. These men and women could have been your friends had they been born in a different time, brothers and sisters had they not suffered the constant indoctrination each state provides its populous with (free of charge of course).

Finally there is the idea that America can ever win this war, with Terror representing an abstract construction of the human mind. We can’t beat terror no more than we can round up on ‘Annoyed’ behind the bike sheds and kick it in the nuts. It really is a silly construction of sensationalist drama, fed to the population via the mass media that led to a certain amount of hopelessness in the human race.

But that’s where Heroes come in! Just as we’ve managed to create a wholly psychological reason for war, political strife and the general unrest of humanity. So too have we developed an entirely imagined escape from these horrors. The events of 9/11 changed a nation and afterwards America has been running for a hero ever since. With the then newborn wave of superhero adaptations being fed by a desperate world in need of saving, as such we’ve seen the dramatic rise of numerous caped crusaders. All of them in some way reflecting the collage of events taking place in the real world. Who can watch the Joker news videos without recognizing the Osama Bin Laden tapes, or climactic battle in New York during The Avengers as a retelling of that fateful day in a world where Heroes really do save us.

While these are indeed wonderful, and I have no doubt that we’ll see more films in the future, I can’t help but wonder if Hollywood is picking the golden fruit too quickly. I mean, can you really imagine anyone other than RDJ playing Iron Man form now on? This genre lends itself to the constant reemergence of waves over time, with different actors and directors taking on their own stories. Yet considering the success of the new franchising system put into effect by Marvel studios it seems clear that they will simply continue to make film after film, never letting the hype die down long enough for another actor/director to take on the mantle. Barreling another Hero adaptation down the line before people have really finished talking about the last one. DC looks set to start it’s own system as well with Man of Steel as their flagship arriving next week and no doubt many others to follow from its (in my eyes inevitable) success.

Now don’t get me wrong, I will watch these films, I will sit through each and every single second with a childish grin adorning my features, much like I did during my childhood moments in front of the Saturday morning cartoons. Equally should the opportunity present itself I would leap upon the chance to be involved in these projects, but I advise a level of caution. In a world where we find it harder and harder to lose information in the growing digital age and stop these constantly repeating cycles of psychological propaganda. We might find ourselves poisoning the wellspring that comics first presented us with… making it almost impossible to create these wonderful escapist opportunities within society by stretching the veil of believability too far… I mean come on… Guardians of the Galaxy has a talking Raccoon in it.

Keep Watching and Don’t Panic.

What’s going to happen to the Caped Crusader…

Lets not be coy, the film world has changed. Following the release of Joss Whedon’s new Avengers Assemble, multi-layered franchises are the new black and with DC being the only other comic-book publisher out there with a half decent list of superheros who have already been tried and tested in Hollywood… it won’t be long before they too are trying to create a new Justice League in your cinemas.

What I’m pondering is what shape this Justice League will take, who long will it take to hit screens and most importantly of all; after Nolan’s new and gritty trilogy has reached its climax what’s going to happen to the Caped Crusader?

Clearly following the rumours of a Wonder Woman film in DC pipelines and the fans crying out for new Flash and Martian Manhunter franchisees as well, the makings are there. With Zack Snyder having just released the first of many teasers for the new Man Of Steel film, which is thankfully under the caring supervision of Nolan as well, I can’t help but wonder if perhaps the changes to Batman have already happened. Christopher Nolan has firmly stated that his Batman is over, however this does not disclude anyone else from taking up the cowl in Nolan’s world. Snyder’s Superman seems to feature the same washed out visuals and stark realism as Begins, and for all intents and purposes it is the same film, following some of the storyline of Birthright which sees the Big Blue trying to find meaning in is life long before he takes up the cape.

Perhaps that’s where DC’s strengths are going to be played, with gritty realism and hard facts where superheroes are forced into decisions that no other man or woman could ever hope to deal with. An ‘Ultimate’ DC were they must become more than individuals and fight for what they believe in. It could add a whole new turn to the pipelined projects, with Wonder Woman facing the difficulties she first faced in the comics of trying to have her own personal life alongside that of the Amazonian Queen. Barry Allen’s Flash could reach wonderful heights and depressing lows as he is forced to deal with the death of his mother at the hands of a monster he himself created (Professor Zoom). And the possibilities for an old-fashioned Detective Noir in Martian Manhunter, combined with the crushing depression of J’onn J’onnzz watching his entire family and planet laid low by a plague, are simply amazing to think of.

With all this possible for DC if they only take the risks involved and trust in their audiences appreciation of the beautiful sadness displayed in the Dark Knight Trilogy, it becomes something much more than the witty humour of Marvel’s collection. But as the title states… what’s going to happen to the Caped Crusader, well in my opinion someone should take what Nolan has created and try to aim for something similar. By that I mean that the hard facts and brutal realism of Nolan’s Trilogy was a triumph, however his decision to keep Batman so grounded in reality and remove some fo the more outlandish elements of the mythos would make it difficult to mesh with a wider DC Universe.

The stories are there in DC, the villains as uncompromising and heart breaking as Nolan’s Bane or Joker. They just need to be trusted and included and over time I truly believe that they’ll fall into place… it might even be possible to include a certain someone as the next wearer of the cowl (for those who have seen Rises already) drawing existing Trilogy even closer to the overall Universe.

Overall it’s a brilliant opportunity for fans to see soem of their favourite narrative arcs come to life at the cinema, but it rests mainly on the shoulders of the producers to make the right decisions and understand that they already have a good stylistic approach on their hands, instead of just producing a carbon copy of Whedon’s latest.

Keep Watching.