My friends are evenly split on a critical topic of our times.
It’s not Trump or Mueller. It’s not Bernie or Biden. It’s not paper or plastic.
It’s superheroes. In short, why is so much of our entertainment today wrapped up in masks and capes and “up, up and away” instead of, well, anything else? What makes caped crusaders the go-to for the last 10 years or so?
They can make it about DC versus Marvel or all superheroes versus Shakespeare and Hemingway and the rest of the world of more literary literature. And no, it’s not as simple as not wanting to grow up.
No, I think it’s a frustration with leaders who aren’t really heroes.
The more polarized our society gets with party politics and the dug-in heels of taking sides, the more we seek an escape in a world where right and wrong are easy to identify.
The guy who lives by a code of great power having great responsibility is going to save the world, even at the expense of his own life or his own career or his own love. A girl who commits to a cause commits fully — not until a better offer comes along or until she can command more money on a speaking circuit.
With superheroes, we don’t have to question motives. We don’t have to wait to be disappointed. We know that we will not be surprised with a history of racism or domestic violence or date rape.
The gross revenue of “Avengers: Endgame” sits at $2.74 billion, and that’s before a penny has been taken in an announced re-release with additional footage and a much anticipated credits scene.
The Marvel franchises had pulled in more than $5 billion before its biggest releases in the last two years, including “Infinity War,” “Captain Marvel” and “Black Panther.” The least successful of the 22-movie string was “The Incredible Hulk” in 2008. It grossed only $264 million worldwide.
When we talk reality, we join together with those who agree with us like the Justice League. We fight the opposition like they are all black hats and henchmen. We want the motives in Washington to be as obvious as they are in Metropolis or Gotham. But nobody dresses like a supervillain. We are left looking at people in suits and trying to puzzle out if each one is more Superman or Lex Luthor.
So in our dreams, we don’t have to guess. We know who is fighting for truth, justice and the American way.
Maybe there are too many superhero movies and TV shows and streaming services.
But maybe the solution to that is more real-life men of steel and wonder women who can be the heroes we crave.
