The Homeric Hero

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However, it is important to note that these arguments are not that convincing to discredit the notion and concept of a hero. This is because throughout history individuals especially men (due to the masculinity of the previous societies) have always looked and found heroes to cover for their failures, embody their aspirations, and inspire them to come up with new ways to achieve their goals and develop humanity. Lindberg echoes similar sentiment by outlining that humankind still needs heroes but points out that we should have embraced the changes in the concept of heroes (309). Lindberg noted that the Homeric hero is outdated; the biblical concept of the hero (the David and Goliath story) is hard to think of today; the romantic heroes evidenced…show more content…
These characters together with other characters that served the same function of superhuman such as The Flash, Wonder Woman, Sub-Mariner, or the Green Lantern are represented comic characters of the Golden Age (1938-1949) (Hughes, 546). All these characters, despite their different realms and powers, have one similarity, which the vision of “the good guy” (Van Ness, 33). Ideally, these characters are unlike us as they fight crime in the name of perfect justice, and because of this, they are impossibilities. For instance, some of these characters can fly such as Wonder Woman, Superman, and Green Lantern. The Sub-Mariner can swim at a speed of 100 miles per hour and can talk about all forms of living organisms underwater (Fishbaugh, 191). Finally, the major comic character without superpowers abilities, Batman is able to overcome all evils in the society with an unwavering will and inhuman intelligence. These qualities distance the normal human being from the world of…show more content…
In this regard, Hughes pointed out that this habit-forming nature is attributed to the position of the superhero characters as the champions of justice and the placement outside the realm of ideology; the controlling force of the government (547). These controlling forces of the government are engulfed in the state apparatuses (the military and the police) and the Ideological State Apparatuses (ISA) (forces found in families, churches, schools, and the media) which ensures a submission to the ruling power (Althusser, 88). This implies that, despite the fact that these characters are aware of the ideological state apparatuses such as politics, religion, education, and communication, they are not controlled by them. In fact, no superheroes (except those involved in war or created after World War II) claim any political affiliation, or are cloyed by racism, education, sexism, or bigotry, and while most of them are regularly feature on news, they are not influenced by the images they witness (Althusser, 88). Similarly, Hughes outlined that no superheroes fight forces of evil or crimes because they believe in God or because God is on their side. Nonetheless, it is important to note that religion like the other ideological state apparatuses is present in the world of superheroes, but it does not serve as their motivation. For instance, Daredevils, which was a character

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