The Golden Age Of Superheroes: Universal Themes And Challenges

We are currently living in the Golden Age of Superheroes. They dominate our cultural life, and have become seemingly permanent fixtures in modern media. Since X-Men burst onto the screen fifteen years ago, we have witnessed the release of over forty superhero movies. By 2020 we will have seen the release of more than twenty-five more. Today, the much anticipated film Superman vs. Batman has come to theaters. Though a plethora of superhero movies have been released, it is to the dissatisfaction of many, having long been exhausted by the stories of the Hulk, Batman, and Spider-man. Although I must agree that it is quite easy to get bored with the constant action, and flashing colors of these films, if one looks deep enough into the story they will discover universal themes and metaphors. Though they may be fighting off alien invasions, these heroes are also battling with their personal challenges, challenges which we can

In the comics, the look on Green Arrow’s face is one of any concerned father, older brother, or friend, that discovers a loved one in this predicament. As the problems in America in the 1960s and 1970s evolved to become more complex, so to did the conflicts of superheroes. One can’t simply punch drug abuse in the face (though not for lack of trying in the comics.) The 1980s birthed, the Watchmen, and the Dark Knight Returns, dragging these dark elements of society into these funny book pages. By infusing these darker struggles of society into comics, they were transformed into some of the best graphic novels reflecting reality.

Imagine a Batman birthed in 1939 aging with his readership, so come 1986 he is retired. Who would his villains be? Not the Joker, or the Cat Woman, but Nuclear War, Reaganomics, a Bipartisan government, and the fear of nuclear attack. And so once again, Superman and his friends helped us solve our problems, the enemies of the common