Comic heroes
For over 70 years, American comic books have been built around superhero characters. While sometimes derided for their fantastical elements and colorful costumes, these characters have cemented themselves in the popular imagination, enduring in countless strips, films, television shows, and other merchandising. But a few characters have been especially meaningful to the world.
Batman
While Superman was the first superhero, Batman appeared one year later in 1939's Detective Comics, and carried a different appeal. Unlike the omnipotent alien, Batman was just a human being, but one that represented the pinnacle of achievement. Haunted by his parents' murder, Bruce Wayne devoted his life to making himself a terrifying threat to the underworld. Batman proved such a compelling concept that he has appeared in media of every type and tone, from the ridiculously campy 60s sthe horrifying and artistic Dark Knight movie of 2008.
Spider-Man
Spider-Man was the quintessential hero of 1960s Marvel Comics, which meant that he was a flawed underdog. Rather than an idealized power fantasy, Spider-Man represented the insecurities of the audience. He was an awkward teenager, shunned by girls and picked on by other boys. His powers often proved more of a burden than a blessing. He and his civilian identity Peter Parker would grow and change over the years, but even as an adult with a college degree and a marriage, he retained his frailties.
Rorschach
Though he only appeared in one graphic novel, few superheroes have demonstrated as much depth as Rorschach, the protagonist of Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons' Watchmen. Like Batman, Rorschach had no powers other than his physical and mental skills. But unlike Batman, Rorschach's war against crime was not sanitized. A paranoid conspiracy theorist with an abusive childhood, Rorschach used lethal force against criminals, torture against informants, and spied on everyone " suspicious." He referred to his blot-test mask as his face, and spoke in disjointed, rambling sentences. Yet his fanatic devotion to justice offered the only clear perspective in Watchmen's ethically murky dystopia.
Iron Man
Though Iron Man has been around since the 1960s, he did not rise to popularity until the 2008 movie with Robert Downey Jr. This may be because, unlike other heroes, Iron Man did not represent the insecurities of youth, but the guilt of adulthood. As weapons inventor Tony Stark, he built machines used in the slaughter of thousands, and it was not until he was injured and captured by terrorists that Tony learned the consequences of his actions. He built a robotic suit in captivity to keep his heart beating and defeat his enemies, but even after returning to America, Tony used the metal skin to fight for peace to atone for his past.
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