Superman uses heat and x-ray vision to battle evil. Spider-Man has a keen spider-sense to warn him from danger. Batman utilizes his smarts and fighting skills in order to combat crime. Many people who do not read comic books will most likely recognize these infamous characters. Movies, television shows, and even action figures have spawned from the popularity of comic book super heroes. Their popularity came mainly from the child audience, which was enticed by the extraordinary power the ’super’ heroes wielded. Superheroes started out simple enough with a simple saving of the damsel in distress story, but as time passed on, the stories and characters began to evolve along with the readership. Superhero stories essentially matured along with the original audience they were written for. As the readers became more adult like, so did the stories. Writers began to add more drama and artists began to use more detailed work. Superheroes are the defining genre of the comic book medium, but they have been growing along with the audience that they had enticed since their creation.

Comic books originally didn’t consist of superhero stories. Some of the early works consisted of collections of published comic strips from newspapers made up of tame funny stories and simple cartoons. The 1950’s soon introduced the publisher EC comics, which created now infamous comic books such as Tales From the Crypt and the Vault of Horror. These books brought a lot of attention to the medium for its use of crude art and writing in telling horror stories. So much attention that a medical doctor and psychiatrist named Dr. Frederick Wertham published his notorious “Seduction of the Innocent” in which he scrutinizes and blames comic books on their effects on children. He was convinced that comic books contributed to the delinquency of minors, and also to their sexual perversion. America was quick to embrace this, looking for something or someone to blame. The U.S. Senate Subcommittee Investigation on Juvenile Delinquency in the United States then started a full-scale examination on comic books. Wertham was a key speaker at the Subcommittee Investigation, and in his summary, stated, “Hitler was a beginner compared to the comic book industry.”

Comic books received a beating from the scrutiny the government was putting on their creativity. In order to dodge the bullet, comic book publishers got together and created the Comics Code Authority. The Code represented a self-imposed set of rules for comic books to follow to ensure politicians and parents that any comic with the seal meant that it was safe for younger audiences to read. This ultimately led EC comics to their demise. However, superhero comics were easily adaptable to the Code, and thus flourished and became huge successes. Superheroes had already been introduced earlier during the 1930’s. Two high school students from Cleveland, Ohio, writer Jerry Siegel and artist Joe Shuster, had unsuccessfully submitted material to several newspaper syndicates. However, their work was eventually discovered and published. They were the creators of Superman, a character who immediately enticed the American imagination and “became our first twentieth century folk hero, a perfect mythological figure for an age of technology in which man was methodically to step beyond every limitation on his intellectual and physical abilities and master the universe” (Inge 141).

National Periodical Publications published the first few stories, consisting of Superman saving the day, in Action Comics. They also created Detective Comics, which was to give the firm its initials “DC” and also introduce the vigilante hero, the Batman. When reading the early stories of Superman, one can see how childish and immature the writing was. One story pits Superman against the villainous “Lighting Master,” who, apparently, can control lighting. The female reporter, Lois Lane, also gets into trouble numerous times, and always relies on good old reliable Superman to save her. However, the plot ends with Superman electrocuting the Lightning Master with no ramifications whatsoever for committing the execution. Everything then just returns to normal in the last panel, with Lois meeting Superman’s alter-ego, Clark Kent, at the Daily Planet exchanging witless banter.

The story can be read and easily understood by young readers. They don’t need a deep comprehension of the characters or settings, just their imaginations to enjoy a simple hero saving the day. However, time passed and the readers also matured a little more. Superhero stories began to mold and evolve to the maturing readership while adapting to the Comics Code of Authority. The characters began to lead more realistic lives and have more problems to deal with. One such classic and recognizable individual is the Amazing Spider-Man, created by Stan Lee and Steve Ditko of Marvel Comics. The origin of Spider-Man basically consists of a teenage nerd who is bestowed upon the powers of a radioactive spider. However, it is really up to the reader to see if this is truly a gift or curse for Peter Parker, the boy who gained the power to climb walls, super human strength, and spider-like agility.

The origin story of Spider-Man perfectly exemplifies a superhero with actual real life problems and drama. Peter deals with the teenage life of being alienated and bullied by the more ‘popular’ kids for being a bookworm. However, at an unexpected turn of events, he is bitten by a radioactive spider and gains extraordinary powers. Knowing full well that he could exploit these powers for his own personal gain, he begins a career in professional wrestling while wearing a mask to protect his identity. One night, a criminal flees with money and a gun right by Spider-Man. Peter did not do anything to stop him, only thinking of looking out for himself. Later, readers find out, however, that when Peter returns home, Uncle Ben, his guardian and father figure, had been shot and killed. With anger and rage, he dons his costume and seeks out the murderer. Peter eventually catches him, only to realize he is the same criminal that he had let escape earlier. Now wrought with guilt that his decision to not get involved led to the death of his only father figure, Peter vows to fight in the name of good and follow his Uncle Ben’s advice, “With great power, comes great responsibility”.

Readers now have a more fleshed out character to identify with that is more down to earth. The story involves more drama and character interaction that is more lifelike than earlier ones. Soon, many other heroes began to adopt such characteristics. The X-Men consisted of teenagers who were mutants, or people who were born with a special gene that gives them super powers. However, the world they lived in feared and hated mutants, so the X-Men and many other mutants dealt with discrimination and persecution. The Incredible Hulk was a beast created from a radioactive blast. Scientist Bruce Banner had been out on a testing field when the explosion bombarded him. Now, whenever Bruce becomes angry, he would change into a monster with incredible strength, yet limited intelligence. He would be hunted down by the army and be deemed dangerous. A lonely character for being a creature that is not understood, the Hulk shows how even with superpowers, one cannot expect to lead happy lives.

Superhero stories continued to dominate the market, with more and more stories and characters becoming more believable. The 1980’s and 1990’s showed a more rapid progression of the tone of stories being told. Around 1986, DC comics published Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons’ Watchmen, a renowned and critically acclaimed graphic novel that spanned twelve issues. The story itself is complex and the art is astounding. Basically, the world is not yet a perfect place to live in, with crime and war still imminent. Superheroes exist in the world, however, they need to register with the government in order to operate or else be branded a vigilante. Subtle details abound, Watchmen encapsulates more human-like characteristics with the superheroes. The Comedian is murdered in the opening issue, but as the reader learns later on, he wasn’t the most respectable hero. He was more of an anti-hero that dealt justice with violence and anger. Also, readers learn of his disreputable raping of a teammate. Rorscharch is another vigilante that deals with crime in a violent way, although his look on life can be thought of as a result of traumatic events, such as him seeing his mother as a prostitute or discovering a murderous kidnapper who fed the remains of a child to his dogs. Violence and blood are not absent, and readers can see that comic books have been taken to a new level of story telling when adults can actually understand the intricacies of Watchmen. Even the revelation at the end of the story can give readers an idea to think about.

During the 1990’s, DC comics began to make headlines with stories that were so out of the ordinary for superheroes. One of the most infamous storylines was the “Death of Superman.” Apparently, DC had made it a marketing event by having Superman battle a villain called Doomsday and actually be killed. News broadcasts had picked up on the story and were intrigued that such an American icon had fallen. The kids that had grown up with Superman are, by now, adults, and seemed intrigued by the fact that the mightiest superhero could die. Of course, anyone who frequently reads comics knows that characters do not truly die, because a writer can simply write in a way to bring them back to life. Another plot DC contrived was the breaking of Batman. Fighting the villain, Bane, Batman had fallen to his backbreaking technique. A new Batman was recruited while the original Bruce Wayne recuperated. The new Batman had battle armor and a more violent attitude toward criminals. Again, this caught the attention of the media due to the extreme change to a character that was introduced at the beginning of superhero comics.

DC comics had many other stories that involved major events to their long recognizable characters. There have been several that actually had lasting effects and ramifications on the “DC Universe.” The Green Lantern had been known to be a heroic and brave guardian of Earth. With his power ring, Hal Jordan wielded one of the most powerful weapons in the universe that can create anything that the ring wearer can imagine. He was part of the Green Lantern Corps, a sort of galactic police force. DC comics had introduced a Green Lantern around 1940, but another different one, Jordan, had been pioneered in 1959. During a storyline called Emerald Dawn, Hal Jordan returned to his hometown, Coast City, only to find it in ruins. Apparently, one of Hal’s enemies obliterated the city when he was out. Devastated, Hal tries to recreate the whole city with his ring. However, the Guardians, the omnipotent beings from space in charge of handing out the power rings, are upset at this, for Hal is using his ring for personal gain. They take his ring away, and Hal is left a broken man. Soon after, Hal becomes mad with anger in his heart for the Guardians to betray him in such away. He then proceeds to become one of the most powerful villains in DC history by obliterating the Corps and taking their rings and power. Hal Jordan becomes the powerful villain Parallax. Readers now see that even superheroes can feel pain and react to trauma as any human being may react.

Comics have come a long way to become a literate art form. They no longer involve simple stories for children to pick up at a newsstand to read. Now there a series of comics that involve complex characters with realistic emotions. Writers create more dramatic plots and mature story lines. Many adults read comic books because the medium was able to adjust to their changing tastes and interests. Young readers are now becoming fans with the largely successful movie adaptations. Marvel is also making an effort to reintroduce their characters to the younger generation with their Ultimate books. They essentially reinvent characters such as Spider-Man and the Avengers by retelling their origins and stories set in modern times. The comic book medium has been catching a lot of attention, so much that even classes are being taught in educational institutions. But will superheroes ever become a thing of the past? Some say that these stories are the mythological epics of the modern 20^th century. Perhaps in the future, superhero stories will be viewed as literate and artistic works that can be used to interpret our own society, just as we do with Greek or Roman mythology. But for right now, superheroes remain to enrich our lives and entertain.

1. Inge, M. Thomas. Comics As Culture. Jackson and London: University Press of Mississippi, 1990.

2.Moore, Alan. Dave Gibbons. Watchmen. New York: DC Comics, 1986.