Comics, Sci-fi, and our Secret Identity

Unless you have been living in a cave somewhere, you may have noticed that our film industry has become obsessed with comic books. Batman, Superman, the Hulk, Spiderman. Not to mention graphic novels. Sin City, Road to Perdition, a History of Violence, and now 300. It’s on TV too. Heroes is a huge hit. LOST repeatedly draws inspiration from the comic genre. What is the drawing power of the comic/graphic novel? What is it about this fantasy, sci-fi, surreal genre that packs theaters and enslaves viewers?

I am not an expert, but I think I might have figured it out. Life sucks.

It’s that simple.

We live in a pretty broken world. Don’t get me wrong, it’s our own fault. Pollution, disease, oppression, war, pain, suffering, hunger, poverty…it’s all humanity’s collective fault. But the fact that this world is less than perfect inspires hope. Most of these stories focus on something bad, something impending, something oppressive. Then they shift gears and focus on a hope, a hope for some resolution, that this world could become better, healthier, whole.

Sci-fi and fantasy stories allow us to think about and discuss topics that might not feel all that safe. Like terrorism, nuclear threats (or nucular if you are from Texas), natural disasters, political oppression, human atrocity, etc.

Because in a comic, the enemy is always a bad guy, an alien, a fascist warlord, or a demented megalomaniac. The enemy is not exactly your everyday, run-of-the-mill person. We put this idea of “enemy” with a face and now it can be fought.

I admit, I am addicted to the TV show, LOST. Although the line between “good guys” and “bad guys” is often a little blurry, there is usually a definite “us” and “them.” For the most part, the “good guys/us” are the survivors of a plane crash. The perceived “bad guys/them” are a mysterious group dubbed “the others.” In typical sci-fi fashion, the others can represent many enemies. To some, they might represent corporate greed and exploitation, to someone else – fascist government, to another – oppressive religion. Whoever the enemy is, their face is the “others.”

Why do we equate our fears with the bad guys in comics/sci-fi? Because we are afraid to face them in our real lives. Often the fears we have are connected to things outside of our control. Often we fear what we have no power to change. It is cathartic to overcome the enemy in a comic or sci-fi story. I think that is why so many kids get into the genre, and I am sure that is why so many men are hooked. Men, in general, are taught to crave control, but we are often not in control of so much of our lives. We wish that we could overcome our fears, but we often feel powerless. So when the wimpy nerd is bitten by the radioactive spider and develops super powers we cheer him on, because he is everything that we wish we were.

Why am I spending so much time on this? Because the real question is not about comics and sci-fi. It’s about us and our identity and where we find our own value.

There is this lie, it goes something like this:

“You are stupid.

You are unattractive.

You are untalented.

You are unlovable.

You are worthless.

You are nothing.”

Have you heard this lie before? Maybe somewhere in the back of your mind, this lie repeats like a broken record.

Because of this lie, we are afraid. We are afraid of others, their judgment, ourselves, our potential, of failure, and sometimes even afraid of success.

Most of the time, comic heroes have secret identities. Why is this? Often it is because the rest of the world would not understand their need to fit in. Most superheroes just want to be normal, while the normal people would give anything to be extraordinary.

The reason the lie sinks its hooks into us is because we have an identity crisis. We desire an identity that is not true. We want a secret identity.

Identity and value are rooted in perception. When others want to be around us we believe that we are valued. We find our value in what others think of us. In this way we create an identity that displays the qualities and characteristics that we think others want from us. We root our identity in the judgment of others.

Hollywood will continue to make comic/sci-fi movies because they draw the crowds. We will continue to go because we desire hope. But at the end of the two hours we will still have a lie playing over and over in our heads. If we believe the lie, no amount of Hollywood hope will overcome it. And the only way to defeat the lie is to embrace your true identity.

You are intelligent.

You are beautiful.

You are gifted.

You are loved.

You are valued.

You are somebody.


There is a sermon in here somewhere.