Scared of Clowns, Allergic to Rocks, and Other Heroic Flaws

Every hero has some type of flaw - a weakness that exists as a counterbalance to their superhuman powers.  Flawed heroes are common in literature.  The tradition dates back to ancient civilizations.  Achilles with his vulnerable heel is the most obvious example, but there are plenty of others.  Why is it that, as humans, we seem to have an inherent need to attribute flaws to our heroes?

In considering the comics that I enjoy most, I find myself drawn to the most flawed figures.  At the risk of turning the comments for this post into a literal stream of flame, I'll admit that I've never really been a big fan of Superman.  It's really for a simple reason: he's too perfect.  Think about it.  Superman's invulnerable (except to an ultra-rare rock), can fly, can move at supersonic speeds, possesses inhuman strength, has heat vision and x-ray vision (I wonder how many times he scorched a wall learning to change between the two), and, my personal favorite on the ridiculous factor, has super-breath.  I contend that Superman is what you would get if you asked a 6 year old to design a superhero.

Unfortunately, he does not handle criticism well.

So, now that I've had my mini-rant, what do I prefer?  There are a lot of answers, but I'd like to focus on one that I've really developed more respect for recently: Daredevil.

Seen here on a lunch break

For those of you unfamiliar with Matt Murdock (Daredevil), he was blinded as a child when radioactive material fell from a truck involved in a near-accident (which Matt helped to prevent) .  He lost his sight, but all of his other senses reached superhuman levels.  Daredevil has the most obvious flaw of any comic hero, but I think it serves to make him all the more intriguing.  I wonder if his ability to triumph over his adversity makes him more inspiring and/or understandable as an authentic character.

If you've ever read Daredevil with any consistency, you are aware that for some reason he's essentially Marvel Comics' tragic figure.  He's had little more than a constant stream of tragedies make up his backstory.  His father, an amateur boxer, was killed for not throwing a fight.  Every love interest he has had ends up either dead or insane.  His "secret" identity is common knowledge.  The most recent storyline in the current volume of Daredevil has him being slowly driven insane by a complex plot orchestrated by a villain that was supposedly killed.  The highlight of Daredevil's life was probably being blinded.

This should not be part of the high point of your life.

It seems like Daredevil's entire purpose is to suffer.  Somehow, though, that just makes him more interesting. What do you think?  Is the flawed hero better than a perfected one?  Do we need our heroes to have weaknesses?

If you're interested in reading any Daredevil, I highly recommend Ed Brubaker's work on the series, which can be found in graphic novel form.  The current incarnation of the comic, written by Mark Waid, is also quite engaging and can serve as a good jumping on point for those unfamiliar with Daredevil's history.  Finally, Frank Miller's early work on the series, specifically the "Born Again" storyline is considered to be some of the best of the comic, offering a retelling of Daredevil's origins and the basis of his war with his primary villain, the Kingpin.  Lastly, I would recommend the recent mini-series from Marvel, Daredevil: End of Days, which tells the story of Daredevil's death.  I'll be posting a review of this mini-series soon.