Human nature is based on groupings and incapable of handling blame, the aim of folklore and heroic stories was to cast a shadow over these flaws, or had planned to. Folk tales depict heroes. Heroes were always deciphered as doing what is right by all, not for a few, whilst being brave enough to take the blame. That is why the concept of Superman is exceptional in thought processes. Superman is not only valiant in power, but is also thick skinned to whenever his arch nemesis Lex Luthor uses him as a pawn in his media campaigns to show the world that Superman is the true villain. The greatness of this ideology, is that Superman is not affected by this, he carries on doing his job or self imposed righteous duty to mankind. The same rule applies across the board to all superheroes.
If we were to dwell deeper into examples, Spiderman (the latest trending hero) suffers this from the hands of his publisher who is adamant that this hero is actually a negative character within this story. Furthermore you can blame Batman for being shunned by the corruption of the police. Many sociological elements can be understood from these situations. A system that fails to protect its citizens usually leads to the calling of a single hero. However, these heroes have their own problems that occur from doing good.
Superheroes are those who speak out openly and take all the blame, but deep down inside are well aware that they have done a good job. That good job consisted of saving lives, and protecting people, whilst the human race blames them for bringing harm to their day to day lives. Hence, we always see superheroes as aliens, and a few men and women who were of great character to be chosen. But the ratio shows how society thinks. Not all members of mankind became superheroes, and not all members of mankind protected their heroes, they rather shunned them.
The youth is given these ideologies to develop themselves as characters, not to be amazed by the physical features, that is merely a by-product. However, the young population doesn’t recognize the elements it should have grabbed from these stories. There is a reason heroes have secret identities, they are well aware that the world will never understand them, and will only be used as pawns to blame.
Reality sees this amongst the medical practitioners, police officers, and judges. These individuals are blamed for not fulfilling their jobs when a result does resonate with their clients or patients. Police officers are usually either over-worked, under stress, or merely corrupt, and are incapable of assuring all lives are saved. Judges sometimes lose their grip on the matter by the hands of the jury, or sometimes victim to incompetent advocates. Doctors can’t save all lives, but are the perfect person to point a finger to in hindsight. However, these professions do have one thing in common to superheroes, and that is the sense of duty. Duty, regardless of outcome, must be fulfilled without the element of personal gain. That is what makes them heroes of the real world.
It is a very simple ideological conflict. One must be a superhero in an unfair world, however we choose to be the Jokers and Luthors by damaging goods, property, and protesting aggressively which in itself is an act that only leads to more loss than gain. Heroes were built to follow in their virtuous footsteps, not their looks and costumes. To be a hero, is to be thick skinned and filled with the concept of duty towards others, a selfless task, and a difficult one to find in the modern world.
