Superheroes as New Mythology
Superheroes as New Mythology refers to the emergence of superhero narratives as modern-day myths that convey cultural values and moral lessons. This phenomenon began in the late 1930s, during the Great Depression and on the brink of World War II, when traditional myths no longer resonated with the American public. Characters like Superman, introduced in 1938, became symbolic figures representing ideals of bravery, individualism, and the triumph of good over evil, offering a new framework for understanding societal challenges.
Superheroes often embody godlike traits, with powers that allow them to confront formidable adversaries, reflecting collective hopes and fears. They serve not only as entertainment but also as vehicles for propagating moral codes, much like ancient myths did. The 1940s saw a proliferation of these figures, including Captain America, whose narratives were intertwined with patriotic ideals during wartime. Over the decades, the genre has evolved, incorporating elements from various mythologies and creating diverse pantheons, further enriching its narrative depth.
In contemporary culture, superheroes continue to play a significant role in storytelling, illustrating timeless themes of heroism and morality, while also adapting to reflect current societal issues. The mythological aspects of these characters have solidified their status as cultural icons, demonstrating their lasting impact on American society and beyond.
Superheroes as New Mythology
Definition
Myths are stories that explain to members of a culture who they are, from whence they came, their role in the universe, and what the future holds for them. As Americans staggered out of the Great Depression and toward World War II, the mythic tales that had served to convey the society’s moral codes no longer seemed to fit the realities of the late 1930’s. Superheroes, led by Superman, built new mythologies that became dominant cultural motifs for much of the remainder of the twentieth century.
Introduction
The mythologies, both religious and secular, upon which the United States was built had grown thin and tired by 1938. The country was in the midst of the Great Depression and faced another world war. The tales of the Founding Fathers taught in schools and those of supernatural gods taught on the Sabbath no longer offered young Americans the same balm or hopes for a better future. However, with the launch of Action Comics and its dashing protagonist, Superman, both a new type of myth and a new type of god were born.
The new stories and deities that followed created textual tapestries that offered young readers a worldview in which the forces of light always overcame the forces of darkness. The tales spoke of the sweetness of success achieved through individual bravery and hard work. These myths advocated many of the same moral structures as their American predecessors but did so in a way that was more exciting, topical, and timely than the old myths. With its simple plots, complex symbolic language, and exciting and imaginative art, superhero mythology proved to be a powerful means of communicating American societal values. In the twenty-first century, superheroes and the comic book form are still used to instruct, indoctrinate, and proselytize.
In the Beginning Was the Cape
Prior to the dawn of the superhero, the heroes of American popular literature had one troublesome trait: They tended to be human. These human heroes were not overly interesting or much of a match for the colorful and daring villains they faced. In 1938, issue 1 of Detective Comics’ Action Comics hit the newsstands, and American forms of storytelling, as well as myths and legends, were forever changed. The cover of that breakthrough book features a stunning young godling, dressed in blue tights and sporting a scarlet cape, effortlessly destroying an automobile by holding the vehicle above his head and slamming it into a hillside while the human villains flee in terror.
Superman was created by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster and, like so many of the character’s ancient forebears, is a sun god, or god of light, in that his powers come directly from the sun. As a god of light, he established a clear moral framework for his followers, and through the stories of his adventures, he showed his followers the righteous path. He was a messianic god, sent from the heavens by his father to use his godlike powers to save mankind. He was also a patriarchal god in that from him, many others were born.
The instant commercial success of Superman turned the comic book business into a major industry. All other comics publishers looked for their own spandex-clad gods, leading to a dramatic surge in the creation of costumed heroes.
Enter the Gods of War
DC Comics and other publishers were quick to fashion other gods and goddesses to capitalize on Superman’s commercial success. Among the critical early additions was Fox Publications’ Blue Beetle, who first appeared in Mystery MenComics and originally gained his power by wearing a blue chain-mail outfit and eating his potent “vitamin 2-X.” Thus, he was a demigod, his powers a gift from the gods of, in this case, nutrition.
In 1940, Fawcett Comics introduced Captain Marvel, a solar deity whose powers came from a magic “occult” word that, when spoken, turned the young Billy Batson into a supremely powerful being. Timely Comics (later Marvel Comics) added gods of fire and water to the mix with the Human Torch, a synthetic human who caught fire when exposed to oxygen, and Prince Namor the Sub-Mariner, who starred in Timely’s Marvel Comics beginning in late 1939.
By 1940, most Americans realized that war against the Axis Powers was inevitable, and comic book publishers were quick to send the new gods to the front of the fighting to delineate clearly the proper moral beliefs all good Americans should hold concerning the pending conflict. Martin Goodman, Timely’s publisher, announced in 1938 that he would use his publishing line as a propaganda weapon against Adolf Hitler. Perhaps the hardest punch he landed was with the publication of Captain America Comics, issue 1.
Created by the team of Joe Simon and Jack Kirby, Captain America was a new breed of American demigod, as his powers came as a gift from the gods of science. Artist Kirby explained that Captain America was created when the United States “needed a super patriot.” The cover of the first issue depicts Captain America punching Hitler, and he kills Nazi sympathizers in his origin story.
World War II bred scores of superpatriots, including the Young Allies, who worked with the British Secret Intelligence Service. In 1941, Quality Comics introduced Uncle Sam, a godly superhero, in Uncle Sam Quarterly and Blackhawk, a superaviator who led a band of guerrillas fighting for the Allies, in Military Comics.
Superheroes also played godlike roles in the allegories spun about future wars; however, American antipathy toward those conflicts often led the heroes to spout mixed messages. Both Captain America and Nick Fury, agent of S.H.I.E.L.D., were resurrected for the Cold War, but at times, they seemed to be sending a message of wariness of the government rather than the one of all-out patriotism seen during World War II.
Multiple Pantheons for Multiple Universes
As comics matured as an art form, two practices increased the role of the divine in graphic novels. The first was borrowing gods, demigods, or heroes from pantheons outside the realm of comics. Among the more notable of these characters was Marvel Comics’ Thor, who was cast out of Asgard in the 1962 Journey into Mystery, issue 83, to learn humility. DC’s best known contribution was the Amazon Wonder Woman, a blend of Aphrodite (goddess of love) and Mars (god of war) concocted by psychologist William Moulton Marston. The character premiered in All Star, issue 8, in 1941.
Other creators developed entire pantheons fully peopled with gods and goddesses. Kirby created the Fourth World for DC. This epic saga played out across three titles in 1971: The New Gods, The Forever People, and Mister Miracle, which pitted an evil faction of gods led by Darkseid against the righteous followers of the Highfather. DC’s Vertigo line also hosted another of the great comic book pantheons, the Endless, in Neil Gaiman’s The Sandman (1989-1996). The Endless embody the most powerful forces of nature, such as Death, Dream, Delirium, and Destruction.
Impact
The mythological aspect of superheroes was the main reason for the first explosion in comic book sales and popularity in the late 1930’s and early 1940’s and was also why so many of the superheroes quickly became cultural icons. The adventures of the godlike superheroes were the twentieth century’s version of the myths and religious texts of the preceding epochs of human history. These colorful tales were simple wonder tales through which strict moral codes were passed from one generation of Americans to the next. The serial nature of the stories allowed publishers to create entire universes in which the theogony, or stories of the lives of the gods, could be played out.
The theogony, which kept readers coming back to follow the exploits of their favorite heroes, allowed for the moral codes embedded in the stories to be reinforced. Without their moral teachings, superhero comic books would have had little lasting impact on their young readers and would likely have been quashed because of their violence, as horror comics were in the 1950’s. Although the Comics Code Authority toned down violence in superhero tales, it tended to strengthen the moral stances of the books’ protagonists. Readers of superhero comics recognized the significance of comics in their moral upbringing.
Bibliography
Feiffer, Jules. The Great Comic Book Heroes. New York: Dial Press, 1965. Provides a firsthand account of coming of age during the initial explosion of comic book heroes and explains the cultural impact of these texts.
Goulart, Ron. Over Fifty Years of American Comic Books. Lincolnwood, Ill.: Mallard Press, 1991. Chronicles the publishing history of the first half century of modern comic books, from Famous Funnies (1935) through the beginning of the direct market and independent press boom of the late 1980’s.
Knowles, Christopher. Our Gods Wear Spandex: The Secret History of Comic Book Heroes. San Francisco: Weiser Books, 2007. Traces the history of theocratic symbolism of superheroes and divides the pantheon into such respective types of gods as wizards, golems, and messiahs.