Marveling at Superheroes

     The final mini-essay for the Study of the Novel course at Rogers State University during the Spring 2015 semester. We were supposed to give a quick recap of a novel from the last fifteen years and recap the main course concepts.

      What I chose for this project was a 2008 graphic novel called Marvels, which is a Marvel Comics collection of a 1994 comic-book miniseries of the same name written by Kurt Busiek and illustrated by Alex Ross.
     The plot follows the life and career of everyday photojournalist Phil Sheldon while he tries to come to terms with what it means to live an ordinary life in a world filled with incredibly-gifted people, set against the semi-seen background of the biggest events of Marvel Comics' history. He also struggles with how to best take care of his family; observes how society ought to and does in fact act towards heroes; battles the human instinct of prejudice, and ponders what our reaction should be when our heroes fail us.
     The story is told through first-person perspective, mostly through Phil's eyes, but it opens in the eyes of the original android Human Torch, seeking an escape from a prison which society placed him/it into, much like Meursault in Camus' Stranger. Like many of the protagonists in the novels we've studied this semester, the Torch comes to a moment of individual realization. This realization leads to a breakout that changes Phil's life, and all of New York, forever - signaling the dawn of the superhero era. "Their faces told a different story - A story of fear and awe, and a world cut loose from its moorings" (Busiek). Change is terrifying, and so is uncertainty. Then World War II added its anxieties and pressures onto life, but also (in this world) gave us Captain Americac. His actions against the Nazis, along with the Human Torch and the Sub-Mariner, changed public opinion into supporting these gifted "Marvels", as Phil terms them, as heroes. But then came the X-Men and mutants. It is unclear exactly what they are supposed to represent, so that can be interpreted as teen alienation, racism, homophobia, Communism or religious intolerance, to name a few. It was the 60's, there was a lot going on. They are different, and that can lead to irrational hate on both sides. Gabriel's attitude towards whites in Baldwin's Go Tell It On the Mountain and the town's attitude towards Sula are good examples (Baldwin 34, Morrison 122). This tension leads to wild rioting in the streets: "They weren't thinking. They were just afraid and angry, and they were lashing out" (Busiek). Phil comes to realize that though the mutants are very different, they are still people and ought to be treated like it. A comparison would be Craig's contact with Raina's family in Blankets (Thompson 233-242).
     After having their world saved from an enormous calamity yet again, Phil thinks that people ought to be grateful. But instead: "The whole city seemed embarrassed, somehow - ashamed of their terror, now that it was over and they were still alive" (Busiek). And to conceal that terror, people blame the heroes. But yet they remain, not trying to win the approval of the "petty and small-minded", but to protect those everyday citizens, those innocents (Busiek). Phil is haunted by Gwen Stacy's death, feeling betrayed by Spider-Man's failure to save her. He retires, disgusted and worn out with following the exploits of the Marvels. But our heroes are human, too; as Marianne found out about Willoughby, Nick discovered about Gatsby, or Craig realized about Raina (Austen 152-164; Fitzgerald 64; Thompson 520-527). Even though they inevitably fall short, we still hold them high as examples because they give us hope. And as long as we have hope, we an keep going about whatever our mundane tasks are, with our heads held a little higher and our stamina increased to where we can hang on a second longer.
     Though graphic novels are still seen as having an aura of being disreputable, the format is evolving much like the novel did - beginning with something paint-by-numbers simplicity but gradually diving into deeper themes about this life, in addition to wrestling with questions of critiquing society and experimenting with perspectives and choice of narrators. And superheroes fight our tendency towards cynicism by reminding us that basic concepts like right and wrong are concrete; not relative. These stories can run across the near-infinite pathways of human experience. At the end of the day, we need that reminder.

WORKS CITED
Austen, Jane. Sense and Sensibility. 1811. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1998. Print.

Baldwin, James. Go Tell It On the Mountain. 1952. New York: Vintage International, 2013. Print.

Busiek, Kurt. Marvels. Illus. Alex Ross. January-April 1994. New York: Marvel Publishing, 2008. Print.

Fitzgerald, F. Scott. The Great Gatsby. 1925. New York: Scribner, 2004. Print.

Morrison, Toni. Sula. 1973. New York: Vintage International, 2004. Print.

Thompson, Craig. Blankets. Marietta, Georgia: Top Shelf Productions, 2003. Print.