Superhero Motifs
According to Reynolds11 there are several motifs that create the story of Superman. Looking at these attributes we can see that they certainly hold true and could be considered pertinent to the superhero story in general. The first is lost parents or at least a disconnection and strained relationship with parents. This can also go into the notion of the "orphan." Several superheroes are considered orphans when we first meet them and thus their struggle is acted out in the services and choices they make. We see that Superman was found as an orphan baby on the streets after being launched in a rocket from Krypton, his home planet that was being destroyed. Spiderman also was a baby orphan after his parents were killed in an airplane crash, thus leaving him to be raised by his Aunt May and Uncle Ben. As a young child Batman witnessed the murder of his parents which subsequently led him to fight crime in his city. The list of superheroes separated from their parents continues, giving us reason to believe that this is a storyline requirement for most superheroes.
A second motif is upholding justice. Most superheroes are intent on fighting crime and bringing the lawbreaker or sinner to justice. However, many times the superheroes themselves do not carry out the punishment but leave the final decision to the authorities.
Many superheroes are transformed from their human selves to their superhuman selves when danger is imminent. The sense of danger spurs their inner self to emerge. Sometimes they must excuse themselves from the company they are with in order for their identity to remain secret. We see this in Superman while he is with Lois Lane, over and over again. It is this innate desire to fight crime that makes superheroes transform themselves in unexpected situations.
The double identity of superheroes is the most common characteristic. In order to maintain balance there must be a distance between the superhero self and the human self. It is a recurring theme that the superheroes must continually keep their identity hidden. There have been many times when they have been close to having their identity revealed, but of course it continues to remain a secret. One reason to keep the superhero identity hidden is to protect their loved ones. Enemies would love to find out the double life of the superhero so they could use family and friends as bargaining tools and victims of torture. The consideration also has to be made about which of the persona's is the true person. For example, Superman is the real persona while Clark Kent is the fake persona. The opposite is true for Spiderman and Peter Parker. In studying these superheroes it is wise to note who the "real" persona is and how that affects the everyday life of the superhero.
"Superpowers versus politics" is the balance between what is morally right versus what is legally right. Many superheroes will break the law during the course of catching the bad guy if they feel that the bad guy is a greater danger to the public than is the law being broken by the superhero. The reality is that most superheroes are far stronger and greater than the police force or military force that may be present. They are constantly making choices between legal and moral issues.
In the beginning most superheroes' creation had a direct link to science. The superpowers that many embody could be traced back to a scientific explanation. This is true of Spider-Man's spider qualities after being bit by a radioactive spider. The same holds true for Iron Man who invented his iron suit as a way to keep himself from dying from the shrapnel that was near his heart. Superman's ability to leap and carry heavy weight is directly related to the abilities of a grasshopper and ant respectively. As the superhero and subsequently the supervillain evolved, less attention was paid to the thought of relating powers to direct scientific explanations. The characters of X-Men are simply mutants who are born with an extra power that they must learn to harness. No true scientific explanation is given, it is just stated as being fact; they are mutants. In all of the above regards, the science that has given the powers can be used for good or evil, which creates the anti-superhero, the supervillain.
Comments: