The World Needs a Hero

An opinion by James McDonald

Does anyone remember Dana Carvey playing the grumpy old man on Saturday Night Live? Ranting into the camera he would proclaim "And that’s the way it was, and we liked it!" I always laughed at how ridiculous his gripes were. Now I’m not so sure.

When I was young I watched a lot of cartoons. Let me be honest, I still watch a lot of cartoons. Lately I’ve noticed something new in my favorite superheroes – there are no more heroes.

The superheroes I recall were upstanding defenders of justice. Not because they had to, but because it was their responsibility. They felt it was the responsibility of the strong to protect the weak. It was their duty to use their powers to enforce justice. Superman defended "truth, justice and the American way," desiring no compensation or recognition. Super minds like Batman and the Spider Friends created crime fighting technology in their spare time, working with law enforcement to foil evil-doers. The Transformers protected humanity from the evil Decepticons that followed them to earth.

Fast forward to present time. The current trend in comic book and cartoon based movies bothers me. Something has happened to my favorite heroes. To be specific, they don’t want to be heroic anymore. Batman is now a troubled man who fights crime only because of the grudge he holds. The X-Men’s Wolverine just doesn’t want to be a hero. Spiderman fights crime because he’s trying to remove his own sense of guilt. We are now seeing the emergence of the anti-hero who wants to further his own personal agenda as opposed to the true hero, who finds his rewards in making the world a better place.

I can’t help but think, is this an attempt at creating an interesting storyline, or a reflection of our culture today. Have we become such a cynical people that the only question entering our mind is "what’s in it for me?"

Leave the world of cartoons behind and look at literature. C. S. Lewis’ Dr. Ransom was taken by force out of his own world, but willingly gave of himself for the protection of others when he had nothing to lose or gain. Even H. P. Lovecraft’s twisted re-animator Herbert West performed his gruesome experiments in order to be of benefit to the entire human race. Today we have Harry Potter, the reluctant hero who accomplishes his means by deviance, and generally for his own purposes.

I don’t want to see this trend continue. I don’t like the thought of living in a world where the measure of our actions is not "is what I’m doing right," but "what’s in it for me." I want my children to go up with selfless heroes who defend right and wrong. I want them to know the Superman, Spiderman, Justice League, and Jesus I know. To not believe that might makes right, but that power requires responsibility. That’s my opinion. That’s the way it was. And I liked it.