Adam Graham's Blog: Christians and Superheroes - Posts Tagged "frank-miller"

Continuing to respond to some thoughts raised by Frank Miller in the video, "Men Without Fear," Miller states that Matt Murdoch "intends to do good and causes much damage." (Aside: Wouldn't that suggest that fundamentally Frank Miller's version of Daredevil is a failure.)

He then adds, "He should have been a villain. He had a terrible childhood. His romantic life is the worst."

Here I think Frank Miller hits on something interesting, though it has little to do with Daredevil specifically. In fact, most Superheroes had pretty crummy childhoods. Exhibits A and B: Batman and Robin both (parents murdered right in front of them). Exhibit C: Spider-man (mocked and bullied). Exhibit D: Captain America (belittled, struggled with weakling status.)

And beyond childhood, there are other temptations to villainy. Think about how many powerful beings have hit the Earth in the pages of Comic books bent on global domination. Yet Superman, even before DC comics recognized any significant role by his parents was a force for good.

But we're confronted with a question. So many comic book characters and real life ones as well who similarly situated have radically divergent outcomes and outlooks. What makes a mutant become a hero while another mutant who experienced a similar accident becomes a villain? What makes one billionaire a philanthropist while another is greedy?

While atheists like to jump Christians with the problem of evil. The problem of good is a tricky one both in real life in fiction for atheists in particular. In fiction, this is seen particularly clearly in the world of superheroes where evolutionary impulses really can't explain. This happens in real life to with policemen risking their lives.

Some of this can be explained by Christians acting out of love for God. But not all. There are undeniably good works done by people who are not at all involved with God.

What explains this? It's the Christian doctrine of Common Grace which God gives to all humanity through his providence whether they serve him or not. In Matthew 5:45,46, Jesus described this characteristic of God:

But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven. For he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust.-Matthew 5:45,46 (KJV)

Paul describes the Civil Authority as God's minister in Romans 13 to punish evil and uphold good. The presence of law and police is a gift from God. It may be corrupted (as any gift from God can be), but imagine our world without them.

I think wherever you find goodness, you ultimately find the Hand of God, whether the people doing good acknowledge it as such. Whether its in an FBI agent tracking down terrorist, or a cloudburst that waters a dry and barren land, a spring of cool water, or in a Superhero that upholds justice, you'll find the hand of God, his goodness towards us.

As bad as this world can be, it would be intolerable if not for the common grace of God.

In my final post responding to thoughts in Frank Miller'sinterview in Men Without Fear.

Miller expressed frustration with comics' tendency to have heroes pair off with normal people. "Why is Superman with Lois Lane? Why isn't he going with Wonder Woman. She can match him." He argues that Superheroes should be as operatic with their love lives as they are with their fighting and then he goes to explain his work was with introducing Electra.

For better or for worse, DC seems to have taken him up on that offer with Superman and Wonder Woman sharing a long kiss in the new 52 version of Justice League with Superman unattached with his marriage having been retconned out of the series and Clark and Lois being just friends.

However, I think the reason that we traditionally see superheroes dating "normal people" is that it makes them more identifiable with humanity. If you're Superman, in particular, this is important because the concept of Superman can be scary or unrelatable if you think of him as some Greek God having a relationship with another Greek God.

I think that in addition to that, there can be some normalcy in a life defined by the unusual in having a normal woman to go home to. Of course, the operatic quality is not limited by a partner not having superpowers. If you watch the last two seasons of Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman, you'll see a lot of tension and drama in that relationship and in trying to get married and stay married.

Plus all Superhero marriages and relationships generally don't go well. Think Green Arrow and Black Canary, Ant Man and the Wasp and that ongoing cat and bat game between Catwoman and Batman. It's just not a good situation. The big exception to this is the marriage of Reed and Sue Richards.

We'll talk more about marriage in our next series on some of the recent comic marriage dissolutions with the New 52 from DC and One More Day in Spider-man.