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With the exception of the glorious 1960s Adam West TV series, Batman has always been a Fascist character. I thought this was explored to excellent effect in Frank Miller's original "Dark Knight Returns" miniseries from 1986, written before Miller himself had become a dreadful warmongering neo-conservative. Miller basically portrayed Batman as a psychologically disturbed fascist vigilante, while Superman is portrayed as a government stooge. Only the Green Arrow comes across as in any way sympathetic, as a sort of veteran of the 1960s New Left. Of course, the best exploration of the reactionary character of the superhero genre ever was Watchmen (also released in 1986), by the anarcho-communist writer Alan Moore. Ironically, Watchmen has been recuperated by fans as basically just another "grim and gritty" superhero story, when I think it's pretty clear from the context that Moore is showing us what unpleasant, psychologically disturbed people these are. Under the influence of The Comics Journal and comics auteurs like Pekar, Crumb, and Spiegelman, I've come to really loath superheroes. Just about the only one I can still derive any joy from is the original Steve Ditko Spider-Man, since spidey is basically just a working-class stiff trying to make ends meet, using his powers out of a sense of responsibility to the public good rather than any kind of vengeance or god complex. ________________________________________________ Send list submissions to: Marxism@greenhouse.economics.utah.edu Set your options at: http://greenhouse.economics.utah.edu/mailman/options/marxism/archive%40mail-archive.com
