Superheroes as Mythology

I love comic books. At least I love how they were. They’ve, admittedly, gotten a little too complicated for my liking both in chronology and politics. But I still love them for the core of what they are.

Modern day mythology.

I have to confess vigilant reader, I grew up reading about minotaurs and magic fleeces, hammers capable of bringing storms and snakes wrapped around the world. What little boy wouldn’t? I also loved King Arthur. Knights took over my world. The idea of kneeling before a lord worthy of service and swearing a solemn oath lead me down the path of enjoy ninjas, samurai, and, for a time, pirates (turns out their oath was more of a guideline, really).

And then I found out about Green Lantern. And of course, it came down to the oath (which is credited as being written by Alfred Bester who wrote the awesome The Stars My Destination).

In brightest day, in blackest night,
No evil shall escape my sight!
Let those who worship evil’s might
Beware my power, Green Lantern’s light!

That was all it took. I was hooked. I had many loves over the years, but I like to think of Green lantern as a knight errant, roaming across the cosmos, The ring his sword, and his Oan Guardian his Merlin. Maybe there aren’t any kings, but hey who needs them, really?

Each of the major superheroes, I think, has a kind of mythos surrounding them. A bit of the Epic which he place around Gilgamesh, or Beowulf. Superman is Balder (he certainly lets people throw weapons at him), Batman is Hades watching over lost souls. Wonder Woman isn’t even a tough one. Her creator actually tied her to the Greek Gods.

Green Arrow, The Flash, even the Joker (Loki. That’s an easy one). They all are steeped in the lore of mythology. And yet they also, for most of the characters, are connected to the idea of the everyman. The person who roams the Earth with us, eats side by side with us, and shakes our hand in passing. It has an appeal that the old gods, with all their cheating and cruelty towards humans, lacked.

And so I love superheroes. Brawn vs. Brain, Good vs. Evil, and Human vs. Superhuman. It’s short, sweet, and a whole lot of fun.