People who know me know that I still like comics. Yes, I'm one of those weird thirtysomethings that reads comic books. Recently I started thinking about four tragic stories that come to us from the pages of these books. Superman, Batman, Spiderman and Martian Manhunter. All four lost their families and all four have these tragic events lead them to become heroes. I have taken these stories and rated them on "sadness" or "tragedy". From least to worst, in my humble opinion:
1. Superman. We all know the classic tale of a "strange visitor from another planet". Baby Kal-El was placed in a rocket ship by his father and sent to Earth to escape the destruction of his home planet of Krypton. He was found and adopted by a loving couple that raised him on their small Kansas farm where he learns to be a good upstanding man and soon to be a super man. I list him as the least tragic of the four because although he lost his parents (and entire world for that matter), this happened while he was an infant. He was raised by a loving couple as their own and didn't realize where he came from until he was much older. In some versions of the story the Kents also die, but again much later in his life.
2. Spiderman. Peter Parker lost both parents when he too was an infant, and was taken in by an elderly couple, his uncle and aunt. Again, much like baby Kal-El, he was raised as their own in a loving home. He really doesn't experience tragedy until Uncle Ben is killed (because of Peter's inaction) and then moves on to become a hero. It seems most of the tragedy in Pete's life comes after gaining his powers.
3. Batman. Another classic DC hero. On the way home from the movies with his parents little Bruce gets to witness his parents gunned down in front of him when he's only eight years old (in the original tale his mother dies of a heart attack from witnessing the father's shooting, but either way they both die). He is fully aware of the two people he loves the most having their lives ended in front of him by a petty thief. This of course leads him to come to spend the rest of his life avenging their deaths by taking down an endless supply of criminals.
4. Martian Manhunter. J'onn J'onzz is, in my opinion, the most tragic of the comic book superheroes. Much like Superman he lost his entire world, except J'onn was an adult when it happened. I can't imagine not only losing my family and everyone that I love, but everybody I know or could have known. Yes, Mars is still there, unlike Krypton, but its a dead planet. It just sits there reminding him of all the death. Every NASA mission to find life on Mars shoves it into his face that everyone he ever cared about is gone.
So what do we learn from this? Hold tight to the ones you love and let them know how much you love them often, because you never know when you might become America's next superhero.
1. Superman. We all know the classic tale of a "strange visitor from another planet". Baby Kal-El was placed in a rocket ship by his father and sent to Earth to escape the destruction of his home planet of Krypton. He was found and adopted by a loving couple that raised him on their small Kansas farm where he learns to be a good upstanding man and soon to be a super man. I list him as the least tragic of the four because although he lost his parents (and entire world for that matter), this happened while he was an infant. He was raised by a loving couple as their own and didn't realize where he came from until he was much older. In some versions of the story the Kents also die, but again much later in his life.
2. Spiderman. Peter Parker lost both parents when he too was an infant, and was taken in by an elderly couple, his uncle and aunt. Again, much like baby Kal-El, he was raised as their own in a loving home. He really doesn't experience tragedy until Uncle Ben is killed (because of Peter's inaction) and then moves on to become a hero. It seems most of the tragedy in Pete's life comes after gaining his powers.
3. Batman. Another classic DC hero. On the way home from the movies with his parents little Bruce gets to witness his parents gunned down in front of him when he's only eight years old (in the original tale his mother dies of a heart attack from witnessing the father's shooting, but either way they both die). He is fully aware of the two people he loves the most having their lives ended in front of him by a petty thief. This of course leads him to come to spend the rest of his life avenging their deaths by taking down an endless supply of criminals.
4. Martian Manhunter. J'onn J'onzz is, in my opinion, the most tragic of the comic book superheroes. Much like Superman he lost his entire world, except J'onn was an adult when it happened. I can't imagine not only losing my family and everyone that I love, but everybody I know or could have known. Yes, Mars is still there, unlike Krypton, but its a dead planet. It just sits there reminding him of all the death. Every NASA mission to find life on Mars shoves it into his face that everyone he ever cared about is gone.
So what do we learn from this? Hold tight to the ones you love and let them know how much you love them often, because you never know when you might become America's next superhero.
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