Limelight

Limelight
The lure of superheroes
By Lubna Abdel-Aziz
With the recent passing of Egypt's cherished heroes, the legendary football maestro Saleh Selim, and the chivalrous, shining knight of the silver screen Ahmed Mazhar, our horizon of heroes has been greatly diminished. We need our heroes. The world needs its heroes. Every culture creates its heroes, symbols of all the finer qualities that man can aspire to and the supernatural abilities that are beyond his reach.
Prior to the advent of film or the onset of the printed press, our heroes came from literature, history or embellished and exaggerated folk tales and legends. Lacking scientific explanations, early man analysed life in terms of gods, goddesses and demi-gods, developing stories or myths, which we call Mythology. By studying mythology we learn how different societies and cultures viewed themselves, their heroes, their world and their place in it. Mythological beings possessed supernatural powers far greater than human's. The superhuman qualities of their mythological gods reflect the society's ideals. Such mythological accounts existed in all corners of the globe. Norse, Greek, Roman, Indian, Eastern shared many similarities. Ancient Egyptian myths greatly influenced mythologies of later civilisations. We created legends of brave knights slaying dragons, valiant noblemen and courageous warriors overcoming great armies, saving the powerless and downtrodden. The Old Testament gave us common heroes possessing divine powers: "David vs Goliath" and "Samson before Delilah". Sheherezade engaged generations with her fantastic tales of exotic Arabian nights with Sindbad sailing the Seven Seas and Aladdin rubbing his magic lamp. Figments of our imagination fed our cravings for the infinite power of mythical heroes, extensions of our real live heroes.
With the birth of the 20th century we needed new heroes to fit our modern times. The Comic Books, with their depiction of super human heroes, became an immediate hit. Their sketches and cartoons of figures possessing supernatural capabilities who dedicated their lives to the common good of mankind, upholding society's higher moral values, and serving the distressed and the persecuted, wholly captivated the imagination of the young and the young at heart.
Before there were 'Super-hero' comic books, there were the Funny Books. The first issue was published in the US in 1910, selling 10,000 copies. They soon were translated in many languages around the world. Some of the issues contained stories about 'ordinary' heroes fighting crime: Dick Tracy, Flash Gordon, The Shadow and even Popeye the Sailor, whose spinach-fed muscles, displayed above-average feats, as he fought his nemesis Bluto.
With the success of commercial airplane flights in the early 1930s, man's imagination began to soar above the clouds. In June 1938, Action Comics #1 featured a brand new hero. He wore a red and blue costume, could bounce bullets off his chest, lift a car over his head, run faster than a train; he was Superman. The series was created by artist Jerry Siegel and writer Joe Shuster. Today, Superman is one of the 10 most recognised people on the face of the planet.
It was Freidrich Nietzsche (1844 - 1900), German philosopher, poet and classical writer, who first introduced us to his 'overman' or 'superman'. Nietzsche's major psychological theory is that all human behaviour is motivated by the "will to power". "Superman" is he who learns to control his passions and use them creatively. By that he meant that people wished to gain power and control over their own unruly passions. Nietzsche believed that the self-control of ascetics and artists was a higher form of power than the physical bullying of the strong over the weak.
The idea of a superman was a gold mine, for filmmakers, too attractive to resist. The first screen Superman was actor Kirk Alyn featured in a 15-chapter film serial in 1948, based on the comic book. He was replaced by George Reeves in 1950, who also stared in a very successful television series. After the success of Star Wars, science fiction heroes became the rage. A new Superman blockbuster production in 1978 featured Marlon Brando as Jor-El, Superman's father, Gene Hackman as Lex Luthor, his enemy, and Christopher Reeve as Superman, the first in a series of four highly successful films.
The success of Superman Comic Books spawned several facsimiles. Bob Kane created Batman in 1939. While Superman was pure and clean, Batman was grim and gritty. Batman survived by focussing on his detective abilities with stories more of a mysterious and suspenseful nature. Batman did not have superpowers, but he did have an intellect, a costume and unusual tools and weapons that gave him certain superpowers. He too, has enjoyed life on the screen in a big way. There were four Batman films so far starring Michael Keaton in Batman 1 and 2, Val Kilmer in B3 and George Clooney in B4. The villains in the series were more than impressive with the likes of Jack Nicholson, Danny deVito, Jim Carrey, Arnold Schwarzenegger, so were the leading ladies including Michelle Pfeiffer Kim Bassinger and Nicole Kidman. Robin was also introduced in B4 to the delight of the younger fans.
The comic books kept churning out their super-heroes and the silver screen kept exploiting them. There was Wonderman, Captain Marvel, The Flash, Captain Thunder, and on and on. In 1941, Wonder Woman first appeared in All Stars Comics. Not only could she battle Superman and Batman on equal terms but her adventures became one of the biggest hit serials on television in the 60's, making a major star of Lynda Carter.
With the Cold War came 'Spy Heroes', possessing superior intellect, wisdom and daring. James Bond and other spies came in from the cold. As the iron curtain was finally drawn, we concentrated on ordinary men's extraordinary feats with Rambos and Rockies, Terminators and Gladiators. Comic Book heroes reappeared. There were the Men in Black, X-Men, Daredevils, Incredible Hulks and The Matrix. And then came the space heroes of Star Trek and Star Wars. Children learned of lofty ideals from Frodo the Hobbit from Lord of the Rings, and were mesmerised by the magic of Harry Potter. Volume after volume, Potter sold millions of copies to children and adults who rushed to see the film version last November. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone until last week was the weekend box-office record- holder of all time amassing $93.3 million in its first three days in the US alone in November 2001. Last week, a film version of , another comic book hero, broke all previous records in box-office returns grossing $115 million in its first three-day weekend. The story first appeared in comic books in 1962. It centers on student Peter Parker who, after being bitten by a radioactive spider, gains superhuman strength and spider-like abilities, which he uses to fight crime. had the best opening in box office history of cinema, becoming the fastest film ever to gross $200 million. Director Sam Raimi took a chance on casting two relatively unknowns -- Tobey Maguire and Kirsten Dunst. Maguire has been praised by critics as giving the perfect superhero performance. Not only has the film shattered all existing records in the US, it has also made history in its international debut with record-breaking openings in Korea, Taiwan, Malaysia, Singapore, The Philippines and Thailand. Its extraordinary success is a tribute to the comic book character and to the imaginative vision of its author Stan Lee.
It will be more than interesting to watch the wars of the superheroes, as Star Wars II -- Attack of the Clones opens May 16th and is expected to equal, if not surpass . Could it be that the lack of heroes amongst us, the lack of honour and courage, the lack of moral values, of justice and truth, is what makes us cling all the more to our screen superheroes from other worlds and other planets?
Like an intoxicating elixir, holding us in its grip, our fantasies inspire us to create those who embody the sacred and sublime elements of nobility and supremacy in which we have become so deficient; feeding our hungry souls with tales of courage and valour, of purity and decency. It appears to be a necessary tool for our survival.
Perhaps Nietzsche was right when he observed "Man is something that is to be surpassed".
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