Why Are We Obsessed with Superheroes？

For decades， we have found comfort， even hope， in superheroes. On the last day of planet Earth’s existence， people might think about Superman， blue tights and all. Superheroes over the years have 1）morphed to fit our social needs of the time. Now they are the kings （and queens） of the box office. Avengers： Age of Ultron made over 1 billion dollars in 24 days， So why are we so obsessed？ What explains their enduring appeal？

Everything is changing and everything is dying. Every idea， every living thing， every culture， every language， every thought is in a continuous， nonstop march towards an inevitable change and an inevitable death.

Nothing gold can stay， but nothing bad can stay either. We just continue to grow， reshape and die as long as the Earth keeps spinning and， it too， eventually dies.

Depressing， I know.

But， it is through this process that we begin to create myths to keep something about us immortal and what better way to do that than through superheroes？ Deep within the history of 20th century pop-culture， America has always had a fascination with our caped crusaders. Even if you do not call yourself a “comic book fan，” the influence of superheroes on our culture is undeniable. Just their names alone （Superman， Batman， Spiderman， Captain America and Iron Man to name a few） bring with them an instant image of who they are and what they stand for.

Despite the ever-changing status we find ourselves in， superheroes are the exception to the rule. They are static， developmentally-arrested， and selfless， and we love it.

When I was young， I got into comic books in a big way， specifically my man Captain America. I don’t remember the initial reason why， but in the obsessive mind of kid （or adult）； there is always one that 2）strikes a chord.

Each month I would anxiously wait for the newest issue of Captain America to hit my mailbox and I would try as hard as I could to savor ever moment of the comic. Fast-forward years later and I have just wrapped up Ed Brubaker’s monumental Death of Captain America and Captain America： Reborn story arch. While reading through the last few pages of the comic I noticed something： The Captain America narrative has never changed.

Sure， there were some slightly different nuances here and there， but for the most part， he was the same man. I knew who he was， I knew he was going to win at the end of the day and I knew he wasn’t going to be dead forever. That’s how comics work. In comics the hero never changes. He is predictable， unchanging and static in time. There is no aging， no permanent dying， they are never losing for long and all comics end with the showdown of good verses evil and good will eventually， even if it takes some time， win. The superhero is someone we deeply trust.

The superhero narratives are the modern American mythology.

All cultures that have been 3）around the block before have them， ancient characters like 4）Odysseus or 5）Beowulf that embark on their grand journeys， there and， inevitably， back again overcoming adversity on the way.

America， being the young and developing culture that it is， has turned to superheroes （largely of the Marvel and DC） as our continuing epics. The heroes don’t change， they don’t age， they always stand for the same things and even with slight 6）deviations， they remain on a path ultimately towards selflessness and good.

There is comfort in the static even if society tells us otherwise.

With a continually changing landscape of events and morals， the comic book epics are a way to speak beyond generations and space. Someone who read Spiderman 40 years ago and a kid reading Spiderman today would both know the same hero. They would both know the same origin， they would know what he stands for and they both know that， no matter what， he will win； even if it takes a few 7）issues.

With constant change comes a need to see some things stay completely the same.

An article that ran in Vanity Fair， points to America’s embrace of the superhero culture as a need to complete our own incompleteness as a culture. To see a superhero succeed despite any hardships they have overcome brings closure， and that， we can only count on them to do.

Robin Roseberg goes further in his article for Smithsonian Magazine to write that we are obsessed with the origin story of superheroes above all else. The origin stories show ways to emulate the hero. It is essentially a blueprint with near universal approval.

In the predictability of our superheroes we find a stability and comfort that will keep them forever relevant. Whether one admits it or not， superheroes create a necessary American mythology that we all look to when everything seems to be spinning out of control.

At the end of the day， they always win.

幾十年來，我們在超級英雄身上找到安慰，甚至是希望。地球滅亡的那一天，人們也許會想到超人——那位身穿藍色緊身衣的大個子。最近幾年，為了跟隨這個時代的社會需求，超級英雄的變體層出不窮?，F(xiàn)在，他們已變身成為電影票房的統(tǒng)治者?！稄统鹫呗?lián)盟：奧創(chuàng)紀元》上映僅24天就取得了超過10億美元的票房成績，為什么我們對超級英雄如此著迷？他們長盛不衰的魅力到底源自何處？

一切都在改變，一切都在消亡。創(chuàng)意、生物、文化、語言、思想，所有這些都在前仆后繼、馬不停蹄地朝著必然的變化和死亡進發(fā)。

美好抑或是邪惡，事物終將會消逝。只要地球還在繞著太陽轉(zhuǎn)，我們就會持續(xù)成長、成熟直至死亡。最后，地球也會有壽終正寢的一天。

我知道，這種想法很悲觀。

但是，也正是在這種生老病死的自然規(guī)律下，人類開始創(chuàng)作神話，我們想要自身的某些方面能永垂不朽，而要做到這點，除了通過創(chuàng)造出超級英雄外還有什么其他更好的辦法？深埋于20世紀流行文化之下的，是美國人對斗篷十字軍的迷戀。即使你不承認自己是“漫迷”，超級英雄對我們文化的影響也是不可置否的。只需要說出他們的名字（例如超人、蝙蝠俠、蜘蛛俠、美國隊長、鋼鐵俠）你的腦海就會立即浮現(xiàn)出他們的形象，并且知道他們各自代表什么。

雖然我們知道人類自身總是處于變化中，但是超級英雄卻是這個規(guī)則的例外。他們是靜止的、不變的、也是無私的，我們熱愛這些特質(zhì)。

小時候我總是興致勃勃地去漫畫書店，尤其是為了去看我的美國隊長。我忘記了最初喜歡他的原因，但是在一個孩子（或者大人）近乎癲狂的腦袋里，美國隊長總是在那兒，時時刻刻牽動著我的心弦。

每個月，我總是焦急地等待《美國隊長》的最新一期連載發(fā)到我信箱，然后我會不遺余力地玩味每一期連載里的每一個細節(jié)。幾年的時間眨眼就過去了，此時的我已經(jīng)看完了埃德·布魯巴克的紀念版漫畫《美國隊長之死》和《美國隊長：重生》系列作品。當終于看完了最后幾頁漫畫，我注意到一件事情：《美國隊長》的敘述主線從未改變。

當然，有些地方多多少少會有那么一些細微差別，但大多數(shù)時候，他都是那個為我們熟知的美國隊長。我知道他是怎樣的人，知道他在最后時刻總會勝利，知道他有不死之身。只有漫畫才能做到這點。在漫畫里，超級英雄永遠不會變。他們不會讓人捉摸不透、不會改變，并且于時間上他們是靜止的。他們不會變老，也不會有長眠于地下的那一天，他們的失敗總是暫時的，因為在漫畫書里，但凡是正義和邪惡之間的較量，正義總是會勝利，即使這需要花一些時間。超級英雄就是我們發(fā)自內(nèi)心托付信任的人。

超級英雄的故事其實是現(xiàn)代美國的神話集。

各個國家在創(chuàng)造出各自的超級英雄前在塑造英雄人物上都各有千秋，諸如奧德修斯和貝奧武甫這樣古老的角色都曾踏上各自光榮的征途，而今，在克服了征途上的艱難險阻后，他們再度歸來。

美國的文化氛圍很年輕，發(fā)展空間還很大，我們選擇讓超級英雄（主要是漫威和DC兩家漫畫巨頭）來續(xù)寫傳奇史詩。他們不會變、不會老，他們的象征意義也是如此，即使他們偶爾也會出些差錯，但他們始終都在那條通往無私和正義的大道上前行。

縱然社會給我們展現(xiàn)的是另一副面孔，超級英雄們的永恒卻能帶來安慰。

人和事物持續(xù)變化，漫畫史詩卻能跨越時代和空間長存。40年前的人們和今天這個時代的孩子看到的《蜘蛛俠》只會是同一個人。他們都會知道蜘蛛俠是怎么來的，知道他代表什么，知道無論如何他都會打敗敵人，即使這得等上好幾期雜志的時間。

由于我們經(jīng)常身處于變化之中，我們需要知道始終如一的事物是存在的。

《名利場》中的一篇文章指出，美國之所以擁護超級英雄文化，是出于美國人對完美主義的追求，并把這種完美主義變成一種文化。當我們目睹超級英雄克服萬難最后成功的時候，一種人生圓滿的感覺會油然而生，而這一點，我們也只能寄希望于超級英雄們。

羅賓·羅斯伯格在他為雜志《史密森尼》撰寫的文章中更加深入地談到了這一點，他認為我們對超級英雄的起源故事尤為著迷是因為這些起源故事啟發(fā)我們?nèi)绾畏滦椭颇切┯⑿廴宋?。實質(zhì)上，那是幾乎獲得全民認同的藍本。

我們可以猜中超級英雄的結局，因而我們尋覓到了穩(wěn)定和安慰，這也使得他們能長留于我們心間。不論你是否承認，超級英雄的誕生創(chuàng)造了一種必要的美國神話，當人類無法掌控周圍的一切，我們就會到這些神話里去尋求幫助。

故事的最后，他們總是會戰(zhàn)勝一切。