Reconsidering the Super Hero

For this topic I decided to read “Arkham Asylum” and “Kingdom Come”. What’s so interesting about these two graphic novels is that while it deals with Superheroes we’ve grown up with as kids, it depicts them in a very realistic and human way. It is also important to note that both of these pieces of work show how visual graphic narrative can be seen as a highly valued art form. Both of these are beautifully painted. These, to me, are Dave Mckean and Alex Ross at their best.

Arkham Asylum, written by Grant Morrison and illustrated by Dave Mckean, is one of my favorite super hero stories of all time. Batman must enter Arkham Asylum, a mental institute housing the most dangerous criminals in Gotham City, which has gone in riot thanks to the Joker. What makes this story so great is that it has forever altered the way I look at Batman. Our hero is in the same institute as Gotham’s most criminally insane. However, the big psychological twist comes when the viewer faces the question: Isn’t Batman just as insane as the villains are? The work strips Batman in a very realistic light. All of these villains became villains because they had a traumatic past, just as our hero has. The only difference is their methods to deal with the trauma. When we look at Batman in this light, in the most realistic sense, we can say he’s a man with a traumatic past who has grown up to cope with it by dressing up in a bat-suit and going out to the streets to fight crime.

Kingdom Come is up there with Arkham Asylum as one of my favorite reads. Just like the previous read, we see classic super heroes like Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, etc. in a realistic light (though not as drastic as Arkham Asylum) and make questionable moral choices. The story takes place in a future where most of these heroes have retired and later form their league once again to save their people. The main theme deals with their use of power. It is important to note that the entire story is narrated through the eyes of an average civilian. This creates contrast between a normal human being and how these super-heroes are viewed as gods. And that is the main conflict in this story, that even though our heroes have the power to stop evil, they still encounter the same moral conflicts that normal human beings do, which makes them no better judges than us.