Supergods: Our World in the Age of the Superhero
by Grant Morrison
Like the ultra-flexible,
cosmically-adjusted body of Mr Fantastic, superheroes have been bending and
twisting to fit in with the times since 1938. In Supergods, Grant Morrison charts their history, from Superman’s
first appearance in Action Comics
Number 1 to the pervasive presence of costumed characters in the mainstream
media of today.
Morrison explores
how superhero comics have continued to mirror the preoccupations and anxieties of the times,
from the 'Jap-bashing' of Captain America to the Reagan-era paranoia of Watchmen and the post-9/11
soul-searching of Marvel’s Civil War. He also provides some fascinating information
about the origins and early days of the most famous characters – Superman’s oft-derided
‘underpants outside tights’ costume was borrowed directly from the look of
1930s circus strongmen, Wonder Woman’s appearance was based on the shared lover
of her creator and his wife – and his commentaries on the various film
adaptations are perceptive and frequently hilarious.
As well as looking at the changes superheroes have
undergone over seventy years, Morrison reflects on the impact on his childhood
of the stars of DC and Marvel comics and tells the story of own career as a
writer who helped to shape and re-boot a host of famous characters. It’s easy
to see how galaxy-traversing superhumans appeal to the author, whose life often
appears to be a quest (sometimes fuelled by drugs and philosophy) for wisdom
and enlightenment.
What is perhaps most
notable about the book is Morrison’s sceptical view of the harsh realism of
Alan Moore’s Watchmen, in which
superheroes are deeply flawed individuals who are co-opted by an authoritarian
state, and his belief that superheroes can play an important role in a world
that seems to increasingly feed on negativity. ‘It should give us hope,’ he
writes, ‘that superhero stories are flourishing everywhere because they are a
bright flickering sign of our need to move on, to imagine the better, more
just, and more proactive people we can be.’
This is a worthwhile
addition to the study of an area that had never had as wide a reach as in the
present time.
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