I Need a (Super)Hero

A few weeks ago, I started watching Due South – the Canadian show about a Mountie who goes to Chicago to find his father’s murderer. Truth be told, it’s not the greatest show on the planet, but the lead character, who’s played by Paul Gross (who’s awesome), is this adorable Dudley Do-Right type. He spends all his time helping people and keeping them safe – I’m pretty sure he even saves a kitten from a tree in one episode. Basically, he’s a superhero.

Anyway, it got me thinking. You don’t see heroes like this very often anymore.

I don’t just mean superheroes in capes and tights in comics (although that’s what I mostly mean). I’m also talking about protagonists in movies and TV shows. Seriously, if I see one more Omega Male or dark and brooding anti-hero, I’m going to kick him between the legs. Get off my lawn, you crazy young whippersnapper! Back in my day…

Before I get too ranty, it should be said that I tend to prefer my heroes and villains to be, well, good and bad. I certainly do appreciate the complexities of the morally gray areas and characters. It’s something that, when done well, can be very compelling. But I think it’s starting to become overdone.

Case-and-point, The Dark Knight. I think Christopher Nolan’s second Batman film was amazingly well done. The writing, the characters, the narrative is all near perfectly executed, and the movie was more than deserving of its accolades. The Dark Knight has done a lot of good for the superhero/comic book movie genre. It had record-breaking box office numbers, which, let’s face it, are always a good thing in Hollywood, and it showed a lot of people that this capes-and-tights things can be taken seriously.

But The Dark Knight is far from my favorite superhero movies. It’s dark and tense and, to paraphrase the movie, the good guys are pushed to the point where they become villains. While that all makes this particular movie very compelling, sometimes you just need a big blue boy scout.

Maybe it’s because I’ve gotten dark and twisty in my old age, but I don’t really gravitate to the superheroes I can “identify with”. I don’t want them to be conflicted about the good they do. I don’t want them to have a crisis of faith unless it’s for a damned good reason and has a real pay-off. I don’t need to see all the emotional turmoil they go through that makes them who they are. And would it kill them to be, well, nice? I mean, I love Batman as much as the next girl, but he’s a dick.

I want more Supermen.

I know people get hung up on the perfectness of Superman. But you know what, he’s kinda supposed to be like that. He’s inspiring. He gives you hope that, no matter how dark and twisty your life is, there’s someone who fights for justice, who’s out there to protect you, who’s kind and caring. That when you’re about to lose faith in humanity, there someone to help you believe that there is still good in this world.

Someone said that I don’t want my superheroes to be flawed. But that’s not it. Sure, Supes and Captain America and even my girl Wonder Woman are as close to flawless as they get. There are plenty of capes that have some pretty major flaws, but they’re still honest-to-goodness good guys.

Spider-Man (my number one superhero husband) is a walking calamity. Pete can blame the Parker Luck all he wants, but it’s usually related to his own actions. The guy really doesn’t have his stuff together, but everyday, he puts on his booties and web shooters and keeps New York City safe. He may not be very responsible, but he damn sure understands responsibility. And even though he complains about it, you know Spidey loves what he does.

Power Girl is stubborn and punches things more than she should, Cyclops has terrible sense when it comes to women and relationships, Batgirl has a lot of baggage, and Buffy has literally been to hell and back. But they’re the best at what they do, and what they do is save people.

And that’s why I love them.

This guest post was contributed by Ali Colluccio.