Seduction of the Innocent (updated)

Nicolas Pearson
12/10/11

June 1938, Nazis occupy Austria, a giant meteorite explodes above Pennsylvania, and two Americans create a devastating marvel that still hasn’t been forgotten. Their creation was faster than a speeding bullet, more powerful than a locomotive, and able to leap tall buildings in a single bound but then it became faster, capable of reversing the spin of the earth simply by running, stronger, able to lift planes and crush tanks with its bare hands, and rather then be limited to leaps and bounds it now possessed the power of flight all the while corrupting the minds of our nation. But this Super “man”, truly an alien menace, wasn’t alone in his crusade to destroy the values of the United States. No, joining him was a creature of the night, the terrifying Batman. Usurping a prominent role in popular culture, Superman and Batman began damaging the minds of America’s youth on a mass scale. Today inspired by these so called heroes, vigilantes such as Phoenix Jones, The Ace, and the Petoskey Batman roam our streets interfering in police work while putting themselves and others in jeopardy. Of course when children are exposed to such dangerous role models as Batman and Superman, intolerable acts such as vigilantism are expected. The actions of Superman and Batman’s mentality make them inappropriate role models.

You might think of Superman as a champion of justice; however, his actions suggest a sinister status. Not only does Superman solve all his problems with violence but he employs Metropolis as a personal battleground when facing his enemies; these foes wouldn’t even attack Metropolis if Superman hadn’t declared it home. After all Darkseid, a godly entity of destruction, invades Metropolis solely due to a vendetta against Superman, General Zod, the battle harden Kryptonian who hates humanity, was released into the city by Superman from the phantom zone, Doomsday, who’s name describes what its capable of, literally follows Superman back to Metropolis, Parasite, an energy sapping monstrosity, gains his powers from Superman, and finally Lex Luthor, cunning and ruthless mastermind, only threatens Metropolis when Superman meddles in his business affairs. Thus, Superman by luring these menaces to Metropolis or by pressuring them into a brawl is responsible for the devastation inflicted upon the city. By extension this behavior has resulted in the Daily Planet where Superman works being the most commonly destroyed building in Metropolis. Yet despite all the mayhem he causes in Metropolis, Superman will never leave; after all these years of rebuilding a Metropolis devastated from fighting his villains, he simply hasn’t demonstrated concern about the consequences of his constant presence in city. Clearly, Superman is careless. Furthermore, although smart enough to repair a dying sun, able to answer an impossible question, and creator of his own robot duplicates, he’s incapable of resolving his problems in a manner that doesn’t always involve fighting. In over 70 years of adventuring Superman has rarely tried a peaceful approach preferring brutal tactics even killing a few foes. Moreover, given that Superman’s affairs always seem to work out, one might see mimicking his actions as offering a potentially viable solution to life’s challenges since if it works for Superman, it could work for Joe Average. However, violent and negligent, Superman promotes improper behavior by inspiring a brawn over brain mentality akin to a barbarian rather than a member of enlightened society and by suggesting that the repercussions for ones actions are of minor importance. By following Superman’s example one would quickly find his/herself in a hospital or jail from resolving problems with violence and incapable of making significant life choices due to a failure to perceive repercussions.

While Superman acts as a poor role model as a result of his actions, Batman’s mental instability makes him just as inappropriate. Batman, often seen as a figure who has risen above the tragic death of his parents, instead is obsessed with that single moment defining his entire life around it. Bruce Wayne has spent his entire existence preparing to become Batman from learning how to beat a man until his face resembled a mashed potato to studying chemistry and forensic science; however, despite all this training and self discipline he never overcame his loss. Obsession drives Batman. Obsession also compels nearly every member of his rogues gallery, his collective villains, who each possess their own tragic moment that pushed them over the edge. Mirroring aspects of Batman including his implementation of fear tactics which the Scarecrow also employs, his genius intellect, a mind comparable to the Riddler’s, and his vast fortune- Penguin also has one, Batman’s rogues, the majority of which are patients at an insane asylum, act as what could have been if Batman decided to perpetrate crimes rather than stop them. Comparing the mentally unstable lunatics that roam Gotham to Batman with such ease, suggests that Batman himself isn’t sane. In fact the inmates of Arkham Asylum welcome Batman as one of their own, a fellow monster driven to madness. In addition to being insane and obsessed, Batman also suffers from paranoia. During the “Tower of Babel” story line Batman’s contingency plans to handle his enemies but also kill all his allies, his comrades in crime fighting, are established. Such demonstrates a high degree of paranoia since he can’t even trust those who are his closest friends. Hence, if one were to emulate Batman’s example then one could never have a healthy relationship due to paranoia preventing any trust, possess numerous grudges and frequent depression due to obsessing over events rather than moving on, and simply suffering from insanity. Consequently resulting from his paranoia, obsession, and insanity, Batman is an atrocious role model.

All in all, Superman, the alien menace from a dead planet, and Batman, the nut in a bat suit, offer a unique dilemma to American society. Not only do they prescribe twisted morals and practices, but they remain popular enough to actually influence the actions of citizens who then decide it’s their job to uphold the law. Operating in a comic world where good and evil truly exist, the lessons of Superman and Batman can’t be applied to our real world with real world results often ending in situations similar to that of vigilante Phoenix Jones who will be appearing in court after assaulting a group of innocent dancers; perhaps if Phoenix Jones hadn’t been paranoid about people gathering together and had thought through what diving into this crowd might lead to, these dancers wouldn’t be suing him. Endangering the citizens he swore to protect, Jones demonstrates why dawning a costume similar to one’s favorite hero is a dangerous and hypocritical practice. With such a dilemma stemming from Superman and Batman acting as inappropriate role models through their actions and mental states, American society must search for new heroes to revere.

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