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| Pictured above: Evil? |
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| The perfect setting for supervillainy |
This past week I've been in a small cabin on the shore of Lake Superior in northern Minnesota with my wife and kids. It's a great week to relax and unwind as we watch summer wind down. However, my wife's extended family also joins us in the neighboring cabins, bringing a wonderful kind of lunacy to the week as well. I was playing (not necessarily voluntarily) with two of my wife's cousin's children - Teagan (8) and Jace (6) and the idea for this entry is, in part, thanks to them.
Teagan, being an inquisitive 8-year-old, was going from adult to adult asking, "What are you doing?" Since I enjoy confusing children, I responded with "trying to take over the world." This, in turn, led to Teagan and Jace spending the next half hour climbing all over me in an effort to thwart my evil plans. At the end of our time, Teagan asked me, "Why don't you join the good side?"
My reply: "What makes you think I'm not the good side?" This, of course, was met with a blank stare.
Now that I've shared my brief family anecdote, let me bring this into what you're here for: comic books.
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| The real stars of the blog |
I recently read two graphic novels by
Brian Azzarello:
Luthor and
Joker. Each of these focuses on a villain from the DC Universe; the archenemies of Superman and Batman, respectively. What struck me as I read these was the strikingly different portrayals of these two signature villains.
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The most frightening man to ever
wear a purple suit. |
In reading
Joker, it's made clear that the title villain is clearly a sociopath. There is no greater purpose behind his villainy other than personal gain. Joker is evil for evil's sake. Azzarello does a masterful job portraying the controlled chaos that the Joker personifies. I especially enjoyed the more realistic, less campy version of the Joker that Azzarello brings into his depiction. This Joker is similar to
Heath Ledger's portrayal in
The Dark Knight rather than
Cesear Romero's slapstick version from the 1960's
Batman television show. Azzarello's
Joker is a great character study of one of DC's most prolific and, arguably, most depraved villains that explores the basic nature of the character's evil. Be forewarned, this novel is intended for more mature readers and does contain somewhat more brutal violence than typical Batman comics.
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| A study in biased pictures |
As much as I enjoyed reading
Joker and generally prefer Batman to Superman,
Luthor and Azzarello's treatment of Superman's nemesis was, in my opinion, the superior graphic novel. Lex Luthor is depicted as something more than just a force of evil. Azzarello focuses on Luthor's intense distrust of the alien that has taken public opinion by storm. The book is best summarized in Luthor's statement to Superman - "All men are created equal. You are not a man."
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Comics at their best:
Philosophy with pictures |
Lex is shown in turns as generous, obsessive, loyal, protective, and evil. His illegal union busting as he works to complete a construction project stands in stark contrast to his obtaining a scholarship to a prestigious school for a janitor's son. The nuanced and complex portrayal of Luthor leaves the reader wondering, is Luthor really a villain? Are his aims truly evil?
So, I'll turn the question to you, what makes a villain? What draws the line that tells us that Lex Luthor is evil, while Superman is good? Is there a definite line or, as recent comics and other media suggest, is the line blurring?
