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When people think of mythology they think of names like Zeus, Gilgamesh,
Thor or dozens of other old gods. One wonders why they don't also include
names like Superman, Wonder Woman or The Incredible Hulk. The question arises:
are super heroes the modern mythology?
In 1949's 'The Hero of a Thousand Faces', philosopher and theologian Joseph
Campbell postulated that all mythology is comprised not of hundreds of thousands
of stories but one basic story with various names and masks for things within
the human pysche. He called this idea 'the monomyth'. His work was influenced
by Karl Jung.
To examine the idea of super heroes as a mythos, one must run them
through the trials Campbell set up and see if there is any correspondence. For
the purpose of being iconic as possible the heroes selected for this test are
Superman, Batman and Spider-Man.
Step One: The Miraculous Birth- The miraculous birth, while not
necessary, exists in almost all hero myths. It is an element that pushes them
beyond the stature of normal man and into the larger than life category. The
hero is then raised in safety and given a 'normal life'. It can range from
the orphan in the woods chosen by a sword to be king of England, to a human
mating with a god to the ever popular virgin birth scenario.
Superman: As an infant Kal-El was rocketed from the dying planet
Krypton. He is raised by Jonathan and Martha Kent. He soon develops a vast
variety of powers. Most people, as far as they know, aren't acquainted with any
extraterrestrial life forms. Superman does indeed fit this portion of the
monomyth.
Batman: Young Bruce witnessed the murder of his parents. He then swore
to seek justice. Some would argue that Batman does not meet the requirement for
a miraculous birth. While he was orphaned, there was nothing beyond mortal
about the circumstances of his birth. He was just a very rich person whose
parents were killed. However, Campbell's work used Oedipus as a test case.
Oedipus was a merely a king. Bruce Wayne is an American. The United States
does not have a hereditary system of government. The closest thing we have is
top 2% of wage earners which would include Bruce Wayne.
Spider-Man: Richard and Mary Parker were murdered while on assignment for
S.H.I.E.L.D. leaving their son Peter in the care of his aunt and uncle. Later
bitten by a radioactive spider, Peter gains the proportionately enhanced
strength, reflexes and other abilities of a spider. When I began researching
this topic last year, my first instinct was to speak to writer J.M. Dematteis.
He said: "The one element of the Spider-mythos I've always hated was the idea
that Peter's parents were spies. I think it was a major blunder on Stan [Lee]'s
part and it really violated the 'everyman' nature of the character." A major
break from the norm does, however, qualify Peter Parker for a miraculous birth.
Two Fathers, One Son
Most heroes in mythology have absentee fathers or are orphaned. Hercules
was raised by a centaur. Various legends give Arthur various adoptive parents
and reasons for hiding. Luke Skywalker was raised by Uncle Owen and Aunt
Beru. One parent or set of parents binds them to the godly and extraordinary.
In most cases the other exposes to them to world of mortals. Centaurs may have
been magical creatures but they could be killed. This is an element common to
all three heroes mentioned. Superman was raised by the Kents. Bruce Wayne was
raised by Alfred, his butler. Uncle Ben and Aunt May raised Peter like their
own son.
The Call to Adventure
The bulk of what one thinks of when it comes to mythology takes place in this
section because this is where all the action takes place. The hero leaves
home usually seeking knowledge or some means of fulfilling some sort of
destiny. Jason took to the sea with the Argonauts to seek the Golden Fleece.
Thor traveled the world with Baldur. Superman left Smallville for Metropolis.
Spider-Man and Batman do not quite fit this pattern. Most of Batman's
adventures did not take him further than Gotham. Peter Parker lived in Queens
but his adventures rarely take him out of the greater New York City area.
However Parker did eventually move out of Aunt May's house. Batman on the
other hand has 'The Lost Years' that readers have seen bits and pieces of over
the years. It's at this point where he trained in the art of the ninja and
obtained dozens of college degrees.
During this period the hero meets many different obstacles, the most common
being:
The Monster: This is simple as it sounds. A horrible beast with almost
endless strength and usually a significant lack of intelligence. A prime
example is Odysseus and the Cyclops. In the case of Superman, one needs to look no
further than Doomsday. Batman has a few monsters in his rogues gallery
including Killer Croc and Man Bat. Spider-Man has fought many monster
archetypes before; most famously The Lizard.
The Trickster: Tricksters are not evil by their nature. They merely
interested in game play and teaching the hero about the absurdity of life. A
key figure in much of Asian mythology is the frog in the road. Some versions
of the Arthurian mythos have the knight guarding the holy grail being a bit of a
helpful prankster. This version was re-popularized by George Lucas and Stephen
Spielberg in Indiana Jones and The Last Crusade. In Superman's case this foe
is easy to spot- aside from one or two stories- Mxyzptlk has never really tried
to hurt anyone. He's an omnipotent and very bored child. Superman is his
favorite toy. From the time the comics code was enacted up until a few years
ago, Riddler wasn't out to kill Batman. He just wanted to outsmart him. While
slightly more dangerous than the other foes mentioned, the original Mysterio has
many traits of a trickster.
The Seductress is usually female figure who attempts to distract the hero from
his quest and embrace physical pleasure. There have been male versions of this
character type but the female is by far more common. Batman famously has
Catwoman and Poison Ivy in his rogue's gallery. Spider-Man has former foe,
turned girlfriend, turned ex-girlfriend and occasional teammate The Black Cat.
Superman has his foe La Enchantadora and the 21st century version of The Insect
Queen.
The Sin of the Father is one of the most common archetypes and also the most
diverse in the way it is presented. It is often a literal evil parentage.
There is that classic moment in Empire Strikes Back: "What did Obi Wan tell you
about your father?" However this could also present itself as an evil sibling
or favorite student of an evil legacy and it can even be a legacy of the adopted
family. Or it can be a villain with ties to the hero's family. In the case
of Batman there are at least two villains who sum this up: the first being a
little known street hoodlum named Joe Chill. While only shown in a handful of
stories, his impact on the legacy of Batman is enormous. He is the man who
killed the Waynes. The other character was a big mystery villain from the
60s- The Outsider. As a shock to readers of the time The Outsider turned out to
be Alfred Pennyworth- Batman's surrogate father. According to Geoff Johns and
Richard Donnor, General Zod and Jor-El had been best friends at one point in
time. One could also count the Eradicator, an ancient artificial intelligence
built by the house of El centuries before, amongst this category. Spider-Man
has two well known villains of this type as well- The Man-Wolf and The
Scorpion. Some might disagree but if you look at the way J. Jonah Jameson has
treated his son John over the years one sees a pattern of controlling, bordering
on megalomaniacal behavior. On the other hand, Jonah also clearly loves his
son. Then if you must look at the way he treats Peter Parker, what you see is
rather surprising. He clearly underpays him for his photos of Spider-Man, but
there was a story where Daily Bugle employees were passing a hat
around to raise money for some of Aunt May's medical expenses and they didn't
get very far. Jonah openly yelled at Peter to get back to work. Then by the
end of the issue those expenses were mysteriously paid for. After the death of
Gwen Stacy, Jonah gave Peter a longer break than most papers would allow a
freelancer. When Peter and Mary Jane got married- Jonah paid for the entire
wedding. He claimed it was a tax write off because the Bugle was doing a spring
wedding spread anyway and that it was a Bugle tradition to use staff members
when possible. When one gets right down to it, in almost every way that
matters, Jameson treated Peter Parker more like a son than his own child. Jonah
was also responsible for the origin of The Scorpion. His son John went on to
become Man-Wolf.
The Dark Reflection is often the simplest and most interesting archetype of them
all. Imagine what if your hero had gone the other way. What if a criminal was
killed in front of his child causing that child to swear vengeance on the law?
The answer is you would get Batman's nemesis Bane. Superman has two famed dark
reflections: on the absurd side of things you get Bizarro who has been written as
comic relief. Taken from a more serious perspective you, would end up with
General Zod. While I previously stated that General Zod fell into the sin of
the father archetype, many villains fall in multiple categories as they are
fleshed out to more complete characters. Venom is the obvious choice for
Spider-Man's dark reflection. His origin is directly tied to the black costume
that Peter himself wore. Eddie Brock, the first Venom host, was a fellow
reporter with a real unlucky streak. A man who cut corners and had little in
terms of ethical standards. He was also a jock. In almost every way he was
Peter's exact opposite.
The Destroyer is not quite what the name implies, even if destruction based
deities like Shiva do fit this category that is not all there is to it. While
they do tend to destroy, they represent a disruption in the balance of human
existence- either control to the point of absolute lack of freedom or freedom
to the absolute lack of control. In Christopher Nolan's 'The Dark Knight',
Joker himself describes himself as the latter. In the same manner Spider-Man's
foe Carnage also fits the mold. The more atypical destroyer is Lex Luthor. He
doesn't want to destroy Metropolis as much as he wants to rule it with an iron fist
whether the city knows he's in control of them or not. He wishes to destroy the
city spiritually and not physically. The only one he wants physically dead
is Superman. If anyone else gets hurt along the way is of very little
consequence to him.
The four other most popular stages of a hero's journey are:
Encountering the wise man: Usually early on in the hero's quest he meets a
mentor figure. Arthur had Merlin. Superman had both the Jor-el simulator and
Perry White. Batman had Ra's al Ghul. (Who would also fit into the either The
Destroyer or Dark Reflection archetypes). Early on in his career, Spider-Man
had Curt Connors and Robbie Robertson.
The Dark Wood: This is a place the hero must pass, willingly or not, to purge
His inner demons and accepts his fate. While most commonly tied to the story
of Jesus, it appears many other places as well. It is Oedipus on the road. It
is Arthur on his return to Camelot. It is Superman in the vision given to him
by the flower in Alan Moore's 'For the Man Who Has Everything'. It is Bruce
Wayne in his yearly visit to Crime Alley to drop flowers over the spot where his
parents died. It is Peter Parker pulling his way out of the grave and being
forced to fight Vermin. In all instances the hero faces what was, acknowledges
what could be, and become what he chooses to be.
The Death: In order for the hero to seem approachable and acceptable to man- to
be the essence of what it is to be human- the hero must go through the most
human of acts. He must die. To be the essence of what humanity wishes it to
be, he must die for a higher purpose. Arthur died saving what remained of
Camelot. Superman 'died' stopping Doomsday from destroying Metropolis. Batman
died saving the multiverse from Darkseid. Spider-man died extracting the
corrupted form of the Spider-Totem from himself. But to truly be a hero there
is one more hurdle.
The Rebirth: This is the area where comics are most in sync with mythology. In
the mythos the hero's death is not as much about death as it is about rebirth.
It is about cleansing the soul and letting go of the pains of old. This same
holds true for comics. However, fans have lost interest in death stories simply
because deep down they know this. Give it a year or two and the dead hero will
return minus some negative story elements. Superman's return was arguably a
much better story than The Death of Superman. It allowed the franchise to grow
and develop and built a stronger supporting cast. It gave him a new burst of
creative energy for several years afterward. Batman is exploring new territory
as well, with Bruce seeing how well Dick Grayson filled his shoes in his
absence. Spider-Man's rebirth was quick enough as to have appeared in the same
arc as his death. It did however allow the creators to drop some dead weight
that had been bogging the Spider-titles down for awhile and let the titles find
a new direction.
Now that the issues of whether or not a comic book or science fiction
character can be considered a myth have been addressed, be back next month as I
discuss the issue of whether the hero's journey has to be played out in order as
I examine the life of Benjamin Sisko.
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