credit: DC Comics
It might appear that we’re getting down on heroes lately, but with the call for a little more realism that comes from time to time, it’s necessary to put the superheroes, and even the villains, under the microscope at times. The villains are kind of simple, they’re out to cause as much havoc as possible, meaning that there’s no need to talk about how they’re in the wrong and how they might need to be put in check.
The heroes, on the other hand, are the ones that sometimes push their own boundaries a bit too often and then attempt to cross back and forth over said boundary, justifying their need to do so at every turn by claiming that ordinary law enforcement and soldiers can’t handle what they can.
This is true in a lot of ways, but at the same time, one can’t help but think of heroes as hypocrites in a big way since the justifications they give appear to only be good enough for heroes, as the average citizen who made it their business to fight crime would no doubt find themselves incarcerated along with the villains they were trying to stop. There’s something that feels a bit off about that, especially since heroes, despite being fictional, aren’t really held to the same standard as the people they attempt to save.
Here are five reasons why heroes are hypocrites.
5. They get away with doing things that ordinary citizens would get arrested for.
Just about every caped crusader in a mask, and even those that don’t wear masks, are operating on their own and are doing so in a manner that’s outside of the law. Batman’s superpower is being rich, he even said so in the movies, but that could also mean that he has the money to pay off anyone that might even look in his direction to assume that Bruce Wayne has something to do with a certain vigilante.
Quite a few heroes get away with taking the law into their own hands, and while there are times when it’s necessary since normal human beings can’t take on various criminals on their own, there’s still that air of legitimacy that the vigilantes don’t have.
4. ‘With great power comes great responsibility’ is not a universal concept.
There are some heroes that believe that might makes right and that there’s more than one way to justify using their powers for the best possible good. There are also heroes that take the responsibility factor to such a degree that one can’t help but want to tear their hair out in an attempt to understand why these heroes can’t realize that the people they’re putting away, the most powerful ones, especially, aren’t going to sit quietly on average and serve their time unless the writers can’t come up with an adequate storyline. More often than not, villains are going to seek their freedom and take it any way they can. Sometimes responsibility means more than checking yourself when the time comes, sometimes, it means recognizing the greater evil.
credit: Marvel Comics
3. Political and geological boundaries mean nothing to superheroes, but asking them to be regulated is somehow a horrible thing.
This was proven in The Dark Knight when Batman was able to cross over into another country to obtain a known criminal. Someone might need to explain this (I’m not versed in legal matters) how it would have been legal to keep the criminal in question in the states if he was illegally apprehended.
But there’s also the thought that heroes can apparently go anywhere to do anything they need to when it comes to their given mission. The Avengers did this in the Age of Ultron, and while they did save a great number of people, they also set themselves up as the fall guys, which gave way to civil war and the ramifications of causing massive damage in other countries.
2. Heroes from other planets who claim the earth as their home rarely have to face human justice.
That is unless they’re willing to consent to human justice since a lot of them are so insanely powerful most times that humans could do whatever they wanted, and it might not make a bit of difference. Imagine if the USA wanted to bring Superman in for one thing or another that he’s done in the past, such as breaking apart Metropolis during his fight with Zod. Would he go willingly? Or would he remind the world that while he claims earth as home, he still doesn’t have to follow any of the laws that have been put down over the years, long before he arrived? In other words, he can do what he wants and still claim earth as his home planet if he desires.
credit: DC Comics
1. The no-killing rule is one of the biggest hypocrisies of all time.
This is something that’s governed by the writers and the desire to avoid having people glorify killers, but there are many other reasons for this or at least half-assed justifications, such as the lack of desire to show kids violent comic books. Sorry, I couldn’t even keep a straight face writing that since comics have been violent in one way or another for a long time now.
But while there are characters such as the Punisher, Wolverine, and several others who will kill without hesitation if they’re being attacked or if they know their enemy to be evil enough that they won’t stop harming others, there are even more heroes who won’t kill because they won’t sink to the level of the villains that they incarcerate. That kind of begs the question of why these same heroes don’t think about the pain and suffering that will be caused when the villains they just locked up escape once more to do even more damage. I mean, that’s what usually happens.
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