Heroic Moments: A Study of Comic Book Superheroes in Real-World Society
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Heroic Moments: A Study of Comic
Book Superheroes in
Real-World Society
Christian Russell
Greensboro College
Faculty Mentor: Paul Leslie
Greensboro College
Abstract
Comic book characters are a pop culture phenomenon. Many characters have been in publica-
tion for more than half a century and now star in annual blockbuster films. Many of these char-
acters have enduring popularity, but why? Marvel Comics and DC comics have told Captain
America and Batman stories since 1940 and 1937, respectively,. These two characters have
only become more popular with the release of Batman’s Dark Knight Trilogy films and Captain
America: The First Avenger and Marvel’s The Avengers; These characters were not always this
mainstream, however. In the late 1990s and early 2000s, the comic book speculation market,
wherein comic book were bought by collectors and resellers because of their perceived value,
had just collapsed, leaving comic book publishers, vendors, and collectors looking to reformat
their business practices. Yet Batman and Captain America stories were still published each
month. How did these two characters maintain their fans and keep going into more fiscally-
stable climates? People will always need heroes, and by acting like classical heroes, teach-
ing and inspiring their readers to be something more than themselves, Batman and Captain
America captured an audience, weathered the post-market collapse storm, and are now multi-
billion dollar characters. Using content analysis, I found lessons in universal values that can be
taken from the comic books of Batman and Captain America and those lessons were consistent
throughout the decade between 1999 and 2009. I believe that these lessons are the reasons that
these characters have maintained their relevance over time, and I will demonstrate these find-
ings within this
thesis.
121Explorations |Social Sciences Introduction qualitative view of the plot in order to discuss This thesis is designed to show the two what those moments mean. This research types of heroes who are most prevalent in method is not without limitations. By only comic books as role models for readers. The looking for specific data, it could be easy two heroes being examined are Batman and to miss more qualitative assessments of the Captain America and each of these characters text itself (Babbie, 1992). This situation will represents the pinnacle of their hero type. be remedied by using a two-fold analysis: Captain America is a typical “Golden Boy” first looking for the Heroic Moments within hero with traditional American values, while the comic books, and then reading the story Batman is a brooding loner whose stories add around them in order to learn more about the an element of darkness to his comic books. context in which they take place. This second These heroes are known to many people, pass at the source material will mitigate the even outside of those who regularly read risk of losing context surrounding the mo- comic books. ments identified in the first pass. The purpose of this thesis is to demon- The Heroic Moments I intended to strate that comic books are a useful literary find were Teaching Moments, Archetypal medium through the occurrence of “Heroic Moments, and Ideal Moments. This is an Moments”. These Moments indicate that original technique I designed to better dissect comic books deliver to readers information the latent messages of comic books. During that they will not only enjoy, but also give preliminary research for this project, I identi- them a staging ground from which they can fied these three types of moments as regular take away something more. The characters features in Captain America and Detective examined in this project have been consis- Comics and I wanted to isolate these mo- tently published for nearly seventy years and ments and show them in a new light. In many they have gained mainstream popularity out- instances, these moments seemed to insist on side of comic book readers. What is it about themselves, overtly sending a very clear mes- Batman and Captain America that resonates sage, and it was that insistence that allowed so strongly with readers? me to bring the moments out of the context In order to gather data to measure the of their stories and isolate them for analysis. “Heroic Moments,” I performed a content “Superhero” has become a catchall term analysis on a sample of Detective Comics for fictional heroes who wear costumes or and Captain America comic books published masks, and may or may not have superhu- between 1999 and 2009. Content analysis is a man abilities like flight or super-strength. method used to draw numerical data from lit- This group has even come to include aliens erary sources such as books, magazines, and and robots too. In spite of the wildly varying movies. I believe the use of content analysis traits and abilities of these characters, they for this project is not only necessary, but vital are all inherently good, and fight for justice. in order to present a credible argument and The general term “superhero” can be divided conclusion. Content analysis is particularly into several categories: humans with super- useful in this line of study, where quantifiable human abilities, costumed vigilantes, gods, data are not readily available. For this proj- goddesses, aliens and robots. ect, I have endeavored to gather both quan- Humans with superhuman abilities are char- titative data for analysis, and qualitative data acterized by having some sort of innate abil- for narrative discussion. To do this I have ity above that of normal humans. Examples taken extra care and time analyzing each of these abilities are flight, invisibility, tele- comic book, first examining examples of the kinesis, and super-strength. The way these characters portraying a “Heroic Moment,” characters gain their abilities varies greatly, or any of the three types of “Moments” de- but the most common methods are genetic tailed below, and then reading the text for a mutation (The X-Men by Marvel), irradiation 122
Christian Russell
(Spider-Man, The Incredible Hulk, both by and came to be defined as a nearly-mytholog-
Marvel), or they are given powers by mys- ical figure who, though superpowered, could
tical beings (Ghost Rider by Marvel, DC’s integrate themselves into a fictional society
Captain Marvel). Heroes with these types of very much like our own. One of the greatest
abilities are typically the most powerful over- strengths of a superhero story was the basis
all, using their abilities to dwarf the power of the character and their powers in reality;
of other heroes without superhuman abilities. even early on in comic book history, superhe-
The next category of superhero is the cos- roes saw their stories set in a world that was
tumed vigilante. These characters do not have essentially the real world, grounding their ad-
any superhuman abilities, but typically have ventures in plausibility. This set the ground-
some sort of skill or great athletic abilities work for more comic book stories in the
that are useful to crime-fighting. Examples of future. Many popular superheroes debuted
this type of superhero are Batman and Green during this time period, including Superman,
Arrow, both published by DC, and Iron Man, Wonder Woman, Batman, Captain America,
published by Marvel. Also included in this and Captain Marvel. The Golden Age was the
category are humans who are given objects first time comic books had become a main-
that grant them temporary abilities that can stream art medium, with some comic books
be deactivated with the removal of the ob- printing 1.4 million copies per issue (Lavin
ject. The primary example of this is the Green 1998).
Lanterns, published by DC. These heroes op- In the real world, the Golden Age covered
erate with a great regard for justice and what post-World War I, the Great Depression, and
is right, often taking to the streets only after ended with World War II and the atomic era.
they have seen their local law enforcement Though World War II was at the end of the
fail time after time. Golden Age, it had arguably the greatest im-
The third category is a sort of “everything pact on comic book stories during that time.
else” category. This includes various gods After the atomic bombings of Japan in 1945,
and goddesses (Thor, Ares, both by Marvel), superheroes with radiation-gained powers
aliens (Superman, Martian Manhunter, both began to emerge; various superheroes fought
by DC), and robots (DC’s Red Tornado, Nazis and caricaturized Japanese soldiers
Marvel’s The Vision). These heroes also (Magnussen). Comic books sold even more
have widely varied abilities and origins, but copies during war time because the stories
they most commonly have powers or abilities within them reflected events happening in the
equal to the superhumans. This group must real world, thus giving their audience a way
also put in extra effort to blend in with so- to relate to the war effort; though Americans
ciety when not operating in their hero guise. left at home, especially children, were not
Another important concept in the fictional able to participate on the field of battle during
section of this project is the identification of the war, the war stories told in comic books
the time periods during which the stories ex- allowed them to feel closer to their fathers,
amined take place. The history of American husbands, and friends who were fighting in
comic books is commonly divided into the Europe. In this way, comic books provided
Golden Age, the Silver Age, the Bronze Age, readers with vicarious participation in the
and the Modern Age (Ryall 2009). All of war through the superhero characters. Within
these need to be adequately defined in order the context of sociology, this is important
to understand the common motifs in comic because of the close ties readers were able
books during these time periods. to form with the comic book heroes. By as-
The Golden Age of comic books began in sociating these heroes with their own, real-
1938 with the debut of Action Comics #1 and life heroes, a psychological tie was formed
lasted until 1950 (Ryall). During this time between the two, perhaps causing a “bleed-
period, the superhero archetype was formed ing” effect between superheroes and military
123Explorations |Social Sciences personnel serving overseas. the Silver Age and lasted from the 1970s until After the war, comic sales declined, and 1985. The primary characteristic of this time in order to retain readers, comic book com- period was the darker storylines that dealt panies began to diversify their stories from with real-world issues like drugs, violence, superhero comics. New comic genres that and alcoholism. Superheroes from minority emerged during this time were western, hor- backgrounds were first featured during this ror, romance, and jungle stories. time period. The common art style changed The next period of comics was the Silver to incorporate more realism, rather than the Age, which began in 1956 with the introduc- stylistic art from the Gold and Silver ages. tion of the second Flash, Barry Allen (Ryall). Characters appeared in other comic books This period lasted until 1970, and was char- that were not their own more often than ever acterized by the many renowned and influ- before (Ryall), and even entire comic book ential artists and writers who came to promi- companies crossed over their characters for nence during this time. Stan Lee, Gil Kane, the first time. The most prime of these events Steve Ditko, and Jack Kirby all started their are 1996’ DC vs. Marvel Comics, which re- careers in the Silver Age, and their stories sulted in a temporary alliance between the and characterizations are still in existence to- companies called Amalgam Comics, and day. The Silver Age also had a new Comics 2003’s JLA/Avengers, which saw the two Code Authority, a regulatory organization superhero teams fight against each other, that monitored and controlled violent or and then together to defeat an enemy more questionable content in comic books. Of par- powerful than either fictional universe could ticular infamy was an incident with a Spider- defeat alone. Man comic involving an anecdotal lesson The Modern age began in the mid-1980s about the effects of alcoholism. According and continues to the present day. At the be- to the Code, comic book characters could not ginning of this period, the primary storylines be seen consuming alcohol, so when Marvel were much darker than ever before, especially Comics wanted to show a supporting charac- in the case of the market-changing graphic ter going through the wringer of alcoholism novel, Watchmen. The modern age also in order to demonstrate that alcohol addiction brought company-wide crossover events that was a clear and present danger, they did not rebooted or refreshed continuities every 5-10 gain approval from the CCA. Breaking with years; examples include Civil War, Blackest tradition, Marvel elected to publish the story Night, and Infinite Crisis. Though these anyway, even without CCA approval. This types of events have become commonplace, led to the subsequent revisions and eventual their effects on stories and characters last abandonment of the Code altogether. for several years after the event takes place. Though there is no unanimous consensus This means that even though company-wide on the end of the Silver Age, Ryall and Tipton crossovers are now commonplace, they are (2009) state that the Silver Age ended with not a one-trick pony where after the cross- The Amazing Spider-Man #121 in 1973, with over is over, the status quo is back to normal. the death of Gwen Stacey, Spider-Man’s girl- The story elements introduced in these cross- friend. Never before in the Silver Age had overs have ramifications on storylines later such a significant character been killed and on as well. certainly not as violently as she was. Though Setting the stage for my time period of this event can be interpreted as an end to the study, the 1990s saw the fall of the comic idyllic stories of the Silver Age, it can also book speculation market. Since the Silver be interpreted as a harbinger of the violence Age, comic book collecting had become very and grittiness that was to come in the Bronze profitable, and the first appearances of char- Age. acters, or significant story lines had become The Bronze Age of comic books followed valuable. Speculators began to purchase 124
Christian Russell
comic books that they thought would be valu- concept of “archetypes.”
able. Comic book companies responded by The study of heroic archetypes is a well-es-
printing many “collectable” issues and mem- tablished field of research. The most influen-
orabilia, like incentive covers, foil-stamped tial research on archetypes was perhaps done
covers, and special extended issues. In order by Carl Jung in the early 20th century. His
to fulfill the collector demand for these spe- work is the basis of my own research on the
cial items, comic book companies began to evolution of the superhero archetype.
manufacture them on a much larger scale. According to Jung, archetypes are “ancient
Because the supply of these items skyrock- or archaic images that derive from the collec-
eted, the aftermarket prices plummeted, and tive unconscious” (Jung 1968). An example
the comic book market crashed. Without the of a Jungian archetype is that of the Shadow,
speculation market, comic book companies the mental image of the darker traits that lie
were forced to scale back their operations within, a darker version of our own selves.
because of decreased revenue. After becom- Jung’s work on archetypes was a revolution
ing used to the sales that the special-edition in and of itself; he rejected the tabula rasa
comic books had brought in, the sharp de- theory of human consciousness of his time,
cline in revenue was a shock to comic book and instead theorized that archetypes were
companies and their vendors. Nearly twenty evolutionarily common to all people, form-
years later, comic book companies still have ing a sort of predestination for an individual.
not regained the fiscal confidence that they Jung described these archetypes as primor-
once had. dial images. This means that they would be
The early 2000s provided comic book com- similar among all people, making them uni-
panies one last chance to get back in the good versal ideas. Jung came up with hundreds of
graces of readers and become marketable different archetypes. Archetypal events are
again. After focusing on collectability for birth, death, and marriage; archetypal fig-
so long, writers and artists had to tell better ures are mother, old man, trickster, and child;
stories to get readers purchasing their books and archetypal motifs are the Deluge, the
again. After this market crash, it was almost a Apocalypse, and the Creation (Jung). One of
surprise that the 2000s existed in comic book the more popular archetypes and one that ap-
history at all. This decade was perhaps the pears in multiple guises is the hero archetype.
most exciting of all for many reasons. First, While Jung provides the basis for the con-
both story and art styles were adjusting to a cept of archetype, Max Weber supplies an
new audience and a new century; gone were application for these ideas in the form of
the hard-edged technopunk drawings of the gleaning intelligibility from social behavior.
1990s, and more classic stories were told in In the study of human behavior, Weber posits
their place. Second, the September 11, 2001 two simultaneous orientations, one towards
terrorist attacks had a great effect on super- historical significance of events, and one to-
hero comic books, in that the stories became wards sociological events. The sociological
more focused on “American” values and im- perspective is most relevant to this project
ages of American protection. because the sociological orientation is meant
to mentally reconstruct social institutions and
Literature Review their functioning with the help of concepts
The best way to demonstrate the central (Aron 1970). These concepts, within the con-
pieces of this project is to illustrate the fic- text of this thesis, are the Jungian archetypes
tional concepts of the Heroic Moments, and of heroes as shown in the stories of Batman
then define the methodological concepts of and Captain America. Raymond Aron sum-
content analysis. Perhaps the most critical marizes Weber’s work as being “defined…by
concepts of this project are the fictional con- an effort to understand and explain the val-
cept of “superheroes” and methodological ues men have believed in, to understand the
125Explorations |Social Sciences works produced by men” (228). The values Kolenic’s Madness in the Making, a study people assign to their heroes, and how super- of The Joker and Batman from the film, The heroes function as role models in real world Dark Knight. That project compared the society are the primary focus of this project; Joker’s complete unpredictability and mad- therefore Weberian analysis will be instru- ness to the persona created by Seung-Hui mental to the overall quality of the thesis in Cho, the student who opened fire at Virginia order to adequately discuss the real-world ef- Tech in 2007, killing 32 people and wound- fects Batman and Captain America have on ing 17 others, eventually taking his own life people. as well (Kolenic 2009). The basic design Before a Weberian analysis can take place, of Madness is of similar design to my own however, I will focus in on one subgenre of project in that attributes of a fictional char- the hero archetype. Though there are many acter can be observed in real-world situa- types of heroes, including child heroes, ro- tions. Kolenic was able to demonstrate that mantic heroes and tragic heroes, I have fo- the shooter, though seemingly unpredictable cused on a relatively new type of hero: the like the Joker, was given by the media an superhero. Superheroes have only existed in easily-understood persona for the benefit of their current form for just over eighty years, the viewing audience. The audience needed but the superhero is based upon heroic fig- to understand the shooter as a person with a ures from classic mythology. The work of mental condition, having a cause for what he LoCicero (2008) supports the argument for did; the Joker in The Dark Knight was made the relationship by drawing specific com- more villainous because there was no verifi- parisons between modern superheroes and able cause for the violent acts he committed. mythic heroes (LoCicero 2008). Since that My own research relates to Kolenic’s re- research is well-established, I will be focus- search but is not quite of the same form. By ing on the presentation of the superhero ar- analyzing the character traits of the Joker, chetype alone. and comparing them to character traits attrib- The work of Mark and Pearson (2001) uted to the Virginia Tech shooter, he creates demonstrates the importance of any arche- a parallel from the comic book world to the type in marketing products to an audience. real world. Kolenic’s character analysis al- In addition to Jung’s work, their research lows for the reader to see the need for a real operationally defines archetype as it applies person to have an identifiable persona versus to a “real” practice, rather than an abstract the lack of that need for a fictional character. concept. This means that this work shows the real world significance of archetypes, rather Methodology than just defining them in literature. Because Keeping in mind Jung’s work on arche- this work is extant, I will not be going into types and Weber’s methodology for applying great detail about how archetypes can be im- those types of concepts to the real world, the portant to an individual’s everyday life. This key questions of this project are as follows: work served to bridge the fictional subjects of my research to analytical application in 1. Can the Heroic Moments defined in this the real world, allowing the reader to form a thesis indicate a relationship between the practical basis from which to understand my comic book superheroes and their audiences? project. There have been numerous studies of 2. Do Batman and Captain America follow comic books (Lavin (1998), LoCicero (2008), traditional heroic archetypes? Magnussen (2000)), though none have taken the route that I took during the course of my To answer the questions above, the meth- thesis. There have been numerous character ods of this project include content analysis studies done on superheroes, like Anthony of two superhero comic book titles from the 126
Christian Russell
2000s. Content analysis will be the primary publishers were trying to get into the “good
research device for my thesis, in the form of graces” of their readers again, and that prac-
observing occurrences of certain attributes tice was radically different from the business
within selected comic books in the 1999- practices of the 20th century. Secondly, post
2009 decade. This decade is important for 9/11 America saw comic books turn to a dif-
two primary reasons. First, this decade was a ferent group of villains. DC Comics went
rebuilding time for the comic book industry; with more fantastic villains in order to per-
after the collapse of the comic book specu- haps give readers a villain they could under-
lation market during the 1990s, comic book stand as evil, but one who was not necessarily
companies were trying to regain the trust of real. Marvel, on the other hand, confronted
their readers by improving the quality of their terrorism in a more realistic way. Whereas
stories and internal artwork, rather than rely- the Avengers previously fought supervillains,
ing upon limited-edition book covers. This they began fighting terrorists in the home-
time period was also significant in the real land and abroad and later delved into such
world; how comic books dealt with the ter- contemporary issues as personal privacy and
rorist attacks of September 11, 2001 and the corporate greed. This difference in corporate
rise of terrorism paranoia in the United States story policy was a large contributor to my
is a very interesting topic that is potentially analysis of one character from each company.
culturally significant. Even though Batman and Captain America
Items for analysis will include the afore- fought very different kinds of villains during
mentioned “teaching moments,” defined as this time period, they both continued to ap-
moments where the heroes act in a manner pear in stories that resonated with their au-
that is obviously aimed to teach a lesson, diences. How Batman and Captain America
“archetypal moments,” wherein a hero acts were presented during this time period is an
in a very traditionally heroic way, based on especially interesting topic, ripe for the study
the Jungian “hero” archetype, and “ideal mo- of the function of superheroes.
ments,” when a hero appears to act in a man- It was essential to narrow down the quali-
ner that is meant to inspire the reader to act in fications for any given scene in the story or
the same way. frame or artwork within an analyzed comic
I analyzed every fourth issue of Batman, book for it to be considered a “moment”.
and Captain America comics from January Therefore, I determined that any “moment”
1999 through September 2009. While this had to be performed by Batman or Captain
percentage does not include every issue, a 25 America, with the exception of one notable
percent sample will be an adequate represen- instance described in the Findings section.
tation of the general stories being told during This meant that observed moments could not
this time period. That sample accounts for a be performed by alter ego Bruce Wayne or
total of sixty-six comic book issues for the Steve Rogers; only when the character was
observed time period, with thirty-three issues in his superhero persona could a moment be
for each series analyzed. observed. During the course of the story for
This observed decade was chosen because each of these characters during the observed
of the conditions the comic book industry decade, both Batman and Captain America
and the primary audience were in during were killed and had other heroes rise to take
the 2000s. After the comic book specula- their mantles., These new versions of Batman
tion market crash of the late 1990s, it was an and Captain America were also included in
uncertain time for comic books: publishers Moment recognition as well, as long as they
had to scale back their ventures and become were in the Batman or Captain America
more focused on what readers wanted to buy, personas.
initiating a new relationship between enter- Images were included in moment recog-
tainment producers and consumers. In a way, nition because comic books are such visual
127Explorations |Social Sciences
media that relying on speech and text alone America (sixty-six comic book in total),
would have made my analysis incomplete. I found that Detective Comics had eight
The internal artwork of a comic book is per- Teaching Moments, six Archetypal Moments,
haps the most important part of the book as and four Ideal Moments. Captain America
a whole. A story and script are also neces- had six Teaching Moments, eight Archetypal
sary, but those items cannot be conveyed as Moments, and two Ideal Moments (see
effectively without the artwork; the artwork Figure 1 below)
is meant to draw readers in and keep them Batman’s archetypal moments primar-
there for the duration of the story. Simply ily emerged from imagery. This reinforces
looking at dialogue would have meant miss- elements from Batman’s own origin story
ing perhaps the richest and certainly the most wherein he designed his costume in order
unique area of comic book research. to intimidate his enemies. To show just how
A Teaching Moment occurs within dia- visual Batman’s “moments” are, five out of
logue or narration when the text is written to his six Archetypal Moments were visual, and
imply a life lesson. This lesson can be simple one out of four Ideal Moments was visual.
or complex, ranging from mundane tasks to Typically, these images involve Batman ap-
ethical values. As long as there is a textual pearing out of nowhere to confront a villain
indication that a lesson should be learned in (issues 732, 760, 836, and 844). Sometimes,
that moment, it was counted. however, these images are reserved for some-
An Archetypal Moment can occur within thing more profound. In issue 788, after a
text or artwork when the hero observed does particularly devastating rampage by that is-
or says something that is in line with the tra- sue’s villain du jour--a wrongly-accused and
ditional heroic archetype of Carl Jung. In now superpowered man named Eddie Hurst-
text, an Archetypal Moment can occur if the -Batman is seen carrying an injured police-
hero says that he will save someone or do man to a medical center. Though Batman and
something heroic, or the same moment could the Gotham City Police Department do not
occur within the artwork of the hero actu- always get along, he recognizes that they es-
ally carrying out that action. An Archetypal sentially have the same mission: protecting
Moment can also occur solely in the artwork the people of Gotham City.
by showcasing the traditional heroic phy- The rest of Batman’s “moments” are les-
sique of large muscles, square jaws, and he- sons in justice and/or why people do bad
roic posing that goes beyond “normal” depic- things. In issues 736 and 800, the issues of bad
tions of these heroes. childhoods and religion are brought up. The
An Ideal Moment can also occur within stories suggest that growing up badly does
text or artwork, and may be related to the not give someone the right to be a criminal
Teaching Moment in that lessons are to later in life, and that religion cannot protect
be learned in both. However, whereas the someone from justice. It can be further ex-
Teaching Moment tells or shows the reader trapolated that one is always accountable for
what is to be learned directly, the Ideal his or her own actions, no matter the cause. If
Moments are usually more nuanced. Ideal the characters addressed in these issues will-
Moments are meant to give readers inspira- ingly commit a crime, they must be willing
tion and aspirations of greatness. to face the consequences. Unfortunately for
The search for and cataloging of these mo- them, in Gotham City, the consequence is of-
ments served as the primary research of this ten Batman, the Dark Knight. This suggests
project. that justice and the law enforcement system
may not always be the same entity despite
Findings having the same goal.
Through the analysis of thirty-three comic Captain America’s moments are much
books from Detective Comics and Captain more about dialogue than Batman’s imagery.
128Christian Russell
Of the 16 moments observed in Captain to the people who observe them. With the
America, only three of those moments were observed moments occurring with such fre-
based purely on images, while all of the rest, quency, it seems that the stories observed
barring one notable exception, were based on in Detective Comics and Captain America
dialogue. For example, Volume 5, Issue 13 are ones that are important to teach and the
has three quotable moments on its own: two stories that readers want to learn. That these
teaching moments involving the discussion moments happen at all suggests that people
of morality among a backdrop of heroes and assign values to these heroes and think they
villains and a mention by Captain America are important enough to engage at a basic
that he would prefer to face his opponents level. Since the three types of moments were
fairly in battle. The same issue also features observed with such high frequency, it can be
an Archetypal Moment, wherein Captain inferred that Batman and Captain America
America can be seen lamenting the loss of serve as role models for their audiences.
freedom of speech which was then being
suppressed in the story. These moments were Conclusions
singled out in my research because of their What does this research mean within the
perceived significance to the reader. realm of established knowledge? I believe
As stated above, Detective Comics had that the rates of moment occurrence that I ob-
eight Teaching Moments, six Archetypal served can be used to suggest a relationship
Moments, and four Ideal Moments while between the way these characters act in their
Captain America had six Teaching Moments, stories and the way their readers can interpret
eight Archetypal Moments, and two Ideal these Teaching Moments, Ideal Moments,
Moments. Because this is a 25% sample and Archetypal Moments.
of all of the issues of Captain America and The number of Archetypal moments
Detective Comics from 1999-2009, it can observed shows a strong relationship be-
be extrapolated by multiplying the observed tween Batman and Captain America and the
results by four that Detective Comics fea- Jungian hero. By perpetuating this hero type,
tured roughly thirty-two Teaching Moments, a large percentage of society has shown that
twenty-four Archetypal Moments, and six- it is important to have these heroes in the col-
teen Ideal Moments for a total of seventy- lective consciousness. Weber endeavored to
two moments during the ten-year observation explain the works of men, from literature and
period. Using the same reasoning, Captain art to governmental policies, and to find the
America should have had twenty-four reasons behind recurring concepts. Weber’s
Teaching Moments, thirty-two Archetypal conclusions assist in the interpretation of the
Moments, and eight Ideal Moments for a to- significance of various intangible aspects of
tal of sixty-four moments. works. By understanding the origins of the
Assuming these estimates are roughly cor- concepts, it is possible to understand the
rect, the data above suggests that Detective significance of their continued recurrence.
Comics had a 60% rate of “moment” occur- Within the context of this thesis, these con-
rence during the ten-year observation pe- cepts were the heroes themselves and their
riod. Captain America’s rate of “moment” importance to much of the larger society.
occurrence came to 53%. This suggests that By continuing the heroic tradition, Captain
60% of Detective Comics issues and 53% America’s and Batman’s continual popular-
of Captain America issues from 1999-2009 ity suggests that there is a desire by much of
probably contained a Heroic Moment. humanity to keep the heroic archetype alive
To gain intelligibility from these findings, in popular literature.
a researcher like Max Weber would apply The Teaching and Ideal Moments are both
these data to the real world and mentally re- meant to convey a message, and following
construct what these heroic concepts mean from Weber’s theory of social constructs, it
129Explorations |Social Sciences
is evident that these messages are embraced the Jungian hero and teaching readers what it
by many consumers of popular culture. means to be a hero. As a serial media, comic
The primary message within the observed books must be tied into the trends of the
comic books is what it means to be a hero. larger culture and often must rapidly adapt
The dedication, self-sacrifice, and vigilance to changing social conditions . That Batman
of Batman and Captain America suggest to and Captain America comic books have been
readers that being a hero does not necessarily released in this monthly fashion for so long
mean having superpowers or wearing a cos- is indicative of their social significance. The
tume. Instead, being a hero can simply mean moments that I found are important because
being a good person. Without this deep mean- they are the moments that much of the larger
ing, these comic books and characters could society seems to value. With that in mind,
not have existed for as long as they have. comic books will continue to have Heroic
These stories perpetuate the hegemonic Moments, and readers will continue to appre-
ethos of a dominant cultural association by ciate them.
reinforcing the existing social constructs of
Figure 1
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