In 1986, DC Comics released Batman: The Dark Knight Returns, which among other storylines
portrayed Superman as a borderline-fascist lapdog to Ronald Reagan. In 2006, Marvel Comics launched a storyline
event called Civil War that raised
sociopolitical questions about the government, liberty and security and
personal responsibility to the greater good.
Both comics serve as fitting parables for the individual’s duty to self
and country. The Dark Knight Returns uses Superman as a blind loyalist to a
crumbling dictatorship; Civil War uses
Captain America as a patriot who is surprisingly rebellious in a Colonial-era
fashion. Looking at both stories gives
readers an excellent view into real-world political morality and how it would
play out in a world spilling over with super-powered ideologies.
In The Dark
Knight Returns, Batman and the rest of the Justice League have
retired. Superman, Wonder Woman, Green
Lantern and Green Arrow have all hung up their capes and cowls along with
Batman, and Batman’s civilian identity Bruce Wayne lives in quiet retirement,
passing through middle age and into his golden years. As crime in Gotham City rises, old habits
prove to die hard for an aging Bruce and he resumes work as Batman. He’s admittedly older, and slower, but
believes it’s his responsibility to keep fighting crime and making the streets
safe.
As the news of his return spreads to Washington,
President Reagan passes the burden of what to do with Batman onto the state,
who in turn points to the mayor of Gotham City.
The mayor turns to the soon-to-be appointed police commissioner, Ellen
Yindel, who promises to issue an arrest warrant for Batman upon taking
office. On the page immediately
following Reagan’s answer about Batman, writer/artist Frank Miller begins
Superman’s journey into the story. It
happens with a newsstand’s papers and magazines being blown by a sudden wind
that a news anchor refers to as “faster than a speeding…” before being cut off
by her co-anchor. Nearby, a subway train
barreling down on a man who has fallen onto the tracks is stopped dead. An eyewitness describes the scene to the
first reporter, who calls the unseen force “more powerful than a locomotive,”
much to the chagrin of her co-anchor, who moans that the station will get in
trouble with the FCC. Of course, “Faster
than a speeding bullet” and “More powerful than a locomotive” are widely-known
and classic phrases referring to Superman.
By implying that the news anchors can face legal trouble by even
mentioning Superman’s existence, Miller has already begun to suggest that the
Reagan administration is intentionally hiding the Justice League’s existence.
Superman arrives in
Gotham in the middle of Batman busting one of Joker’s affiliates and tells him
that they need to talk. They meet at
Wayne Manor the following morning as civilians and, bearing a ruse of kindness,
Clark Kent warns Bruce Wayne about Bruce’s activities as Batman. Clark first tries to reason with Bruce that
Bruce isn’t a young man anymore, and he can’t keep up being Batman
forever. To posit Clark’s belief in
himself as a squeaky-clean government official, he is drawn standing with one
foot on a large rock, knee in the air, chest out, life springing forth around
him (see fig. A). Clark states that “sooner or later, someone’s
going to order me to bring you in.
Someone with authority. When that happens…” Bruce responds, “When that
happens, Clark, may the best man win.”
Before Clark can retort, he is called away by President Reagan to the
small island of Corto Maltese to help settle a conflict between the U.S. and
the Soviets. The message is clear:
Bruce, as Batman, is rattling the cages of Clark’s bosses – the American
government – and neither Clark nor Bruce are inclined to put their past
friendship and cooperation above their professional or ethical duties,
respectively. They will, if they must,
fight each other for the people and for their beliefs in justice and crime
fighting.
As Superman flies near Corto Maltese, his inner
monologue shows that he is vexed by Batman’s return. “The rest of us learned to cope,” he
thinks. “The rest of us recognized the
danger – of the endless envy of those not blessed. Diana [Wonder Woman] went back to her
people. Hal [Green Lantern] went to the
stars. And I have walked the razor’s
edge for so long…” He finishes with “But
you, Bruce – you, with your wild obsession…” before the scene changes
again. It outlines just how different
the two men’s philosophies are – if Bruce’s senses of justice and vigilantism,
which have always served as a north-pointing compass in the DC Comics universe,
are just a “wild obsession” to Clark, he cannot even begin to see Bruce’s point
of view. In the graphic novel Kingdom Come, Clark mentions that one of
the most irritating things about Bruce is that he’s right all the time – just
one example of dozens in the expanded DC Comics canon. Also, Batman has long been the DC hero who
deals with corruption and subversive government accountability more than most
others. Here, Clark is so far removed
from Bruce’s perspective that he dismisses it entirely. Clark follows orders from the federal
government and the military without question, even as Reagan is repeatedly
shown by Frank Miller to be a tyrannical dictator under a thin guise of
old-fashioned Yankee wholesomeness. By
definition, and stated by his complacence with his own regulation in this
scene, Clark is a fascist who has betrayed his friends to serve a tyrant.
However, Clark’s monologue suggests an attitude of
“Why can’t you just keep quiet and let the government rule over us?” He has begrudgingly accepted what he deems a
necessary evil – to comply with a government too big to be stopped, for the
better of the superhumans. This is
expanded upon in subsequent pages, as Superman fights the ground battle in
Corto Maltese. As he’s shown lifting a
tank off the ground, he thinks to himself, “They’ll kill us if they can,
Bruce,” speaking of the public and our elected officials. “Every year they grow smaller. Every year they hate us more. We must not remind them that giants walk the
Earth.” Clark is much like those
oppressed people in history who have turned against their own kind to save
themselves or their own family. It only
further proves the likeness of Miller’s Reagan-Superman regime to that of Nazi
Germany or pro-slavery, civil war-era United States that the American people
could scare Superman into bending to their will and playing ball against
superhero activity.
Later, as Clark’s position is more fleshed out, he
seems more understandable, and almost sympathetic. While Batman narrowly avoids death on a
rooftop and Superman is shown sinking battleships with his bare hands, Clark
ruminates on the Justice League’s forced retirement at the hands of the
government.
“Nothing matters to you [Bruce] – except your holy war. They were considering their options and you were probably still laughing when we came to terms. I gave them my obedience and my invisibility. They gave me a license and let us live. No, I didn’t like it. But I get to save lives – and the media stays quiet. But now the storm is growing again…they’ll hunt us down again – because of you.”
Time and time again, Frank Miller is writing Clark
Kent as compromising his liberties in favor of greater security. Unlike the cartoonish and polarized Gotham
citizens interviewed in television clips throughout Dark Knight Returns, Clark and Bruce are dynamic characters with
overdeveloped senses of justice, facing political issues that rung as true
during the comic’s publication in 1986 as they do today. The struggle of freedom – especially the
freedom to do what is necessary for the greater good – versus a
strictly-ordered security is the central conflict between Batman and Superman
in The Dark Knight Returns. It is also at the core of the battle between
Iron Man and Captain America in Civil War
and between Superman and Captain America as they’re represented in their
respective stories.
The most telling moment of Batman’s ideology –
and, by opposition, Clark’s – comes after this.
Aligning Bruce’s sense of justified rebellion with Captain America’s in Civil War, Clark says, “When the noise
started from the parents’ groups and the sub-committee called us in for
questioning, you were the one who laughed […] ‘Sure we’re criminals,’ you
said. ‘We’ve always been criminals. We have to be criminals.’” Essentially, Clark is revealing that at one
point, the Justice League received sharp enough criticism and pressure from the
public that they were branded criminals themselves, and Bruce not only admitted
to the charge but welcomed it, implying the old adage that “You have to fight
fire with fire.” Bruce’s attitude was
rebuked by the people, and the rest of the League retired, followed eventually
by Bruce.
The catalyst to the memorable showdown between
Batman and Superman is when a Russian electromagnetic pulse is exploded and the
United States falls into chaos. Bruce
has been keeping track of America’s and Russia’s weapons capabilities (“One of us has to,” Bruce imagines
himself saying to Clark) and the Russians have disabled all of America’s
electrical power. Batman and a new Robin
ride on horseback from Wayne Manor into the city and rally gang members, police
and civilians into quelling the riots and madness and restoring order to Gotham
City. The following day on the news,
Gotham is shown as the lone city that hasn’t devolved into total anarchy. The news anchor who had been eager with
Superman’s slogans says, “The president has imposed limited martial law,
thereby deploying military aid to law enforcement agencies against outbreaks of
violence and looting…” She then says to
her co-anchor, “New York, Chicago, Metropolis – every city in America is caught
in the grip of a national panic – with one exception, right, Tom?” The news co-anchor picks up where his female
partner left off. “That’s right,
Lola. Thanks to the Batman and his
vigilante gang, Gotham’s streets are safe – unless you try to commit a
crime.” Gotham City is the irrefutable
proof that despite Reagan’s government being shut down, heroes like Batman and
ordinary citizens working together can maintain peace without the fascist Big
Brother looking over their shoulders.
Like any dictator, and just as
Clark has promised, Reagan sends Superman to stop Batman from making the system
look unnecessary. Following again the
pages of history, this is an example of the powers-that-be silencing the
opposition, lest they risk losing control or popularity. Oliver Queen, aka Green Arrow, visits Wayne
Manor. Oliver is missing an arm, and it
is implied that Clark was the cause.
Oliver also suggests that Bruce’s big mistake was letting Batman’s
presence be known to the public. Oliver
says that he’s escaped from a maximum-security prison and the government has
declared him dead for the public’s best interest. In order to maintain the illusion, Oliver has
cost the government a fortune by popping up here and there as Green Arrow. “They’d love to frost me…long as they can do
it without admitting I exist,” he tells Bruce.
Of course refusing to go to prison, Bruce and
Clark fight, as Batman and Superman, in the streets of Gotham. Though Bruce does an incredible amount of
damage to Clark, in the end Bruce’s heart gives out and he seemingly dies in
Clark’s arms, which saddens Clark immensely.
Despite their differences, they were lifelong friends. It’s revealed to the public that Bruce Wayne
was the Batman and all traces of his fortune have vanished. At Bruce’s burial, the crowd tapers down to
Clark and the new Robin. As Clark leaves,
he stops suddenly and turns as a heartbeat monitor is shown. Bruce is alive and faking his death, and his
new Robin is waiting for Clark to leave so she can dig him up. Clark’s superhuman hearing has heard the
heartbeat, which has just restarted after a chemically-induced false death on
Bruce’s part. After a tense moment,
Clark looks at the new Robin, winks and walks away. Next, Bruce is shown underground with several
former gang members and Robin, building an army of Bat-disciples to carry the
mantel for him.
But it’s in the crucial moment at the burial, the
singular panel of Clark winking at Robin, that Bruce and his ideology, as well
as that of Oliver Queen, is once again proven right. Clark has spent his entire appearance in The Dark Knight Returns doing a tyrant’s
dirty work against his own wishes, sacrificing his friends and his pride and
his freedom for what he believes is their own security and preventing a legal
showdown between the Justice League and the American government and military forces. He knows that all of his gains and advantages
bowing to Reagan are at risk every moment that Bruce is alive. Clark even said to Reagan in an early scene,
“He’ll never let me bring him in alive,” to which Reagan gave permission to
Clark to kill Bruce. But by failing to
report Bruce’s trick, by keeping his secret, Clark might as well be taking
Bruce’s and Oliver’s side – that they can continue subverting the government
with their vigilantism, so long as they stay off the radar. In an inner monologue, Bruce says, “I was
counting on what Oliver said. And with a
wink, Clark proved Oliver right. He’ll
leave me alone, now. In return, I’ll
stay quiet. So will Robin, and the
others.”
This dystopian fate for Clark Kent is mirrored 20
years later in Marvel’s Civil War. A clash between a group of fringe
superheroes and supervillains in the Marvel Comics universe that resulted in
around 900 civilian deaths in Stamford, CT is the starting point for Civil War. In the wake of this tragedy, public and
government support grows for the Superhero Registration Act (or SHRA), which
requires all super-powered humans to disclose their abilities, secret
identities and places of residence to the federal government. It may be surprising to many fans of the
recent Marvel films that Tony Stark, aka Iron Man, actually becomes the main
proponent for the SHRA. However, given
that Iron Man came about as the result of Tony nearly dying at the hands of his
own weaponry, his registration of potentially lethal superpowers makes more
sense.
On the other hand, writer Mark Millar was
tasked with the difficult ordeal of penning Steve Rogers, aka Captain America,
as an enemy to the state. Captain
America, a super-soldier designed to fight Hitler and the Nazis, is as
patriotic as superheroes get. However,
it’s precisely in the vein of patriotism – specifically in World War II – that
Millar likely identified his opportunity.
In a discussion assessing the likelihood of support for and resistance
to the SHRA, Steve Rogers learns that government agents working for the S.H.I.E.L.D. division – an
agency specifically for managing and delegating superhero activity – plan to
arrest any superheroes who refuse to register, alongside the criminals they’ve
been fighting for decades. S.H.I.E.L.D.
wants Rogers’ Captain America as a public face to lead the Avengers and
discourage anti-registration heroes from acting outside the law. Rogers declines. “Forget about it. You’re asking me to arrest people who risk
their lives for this country every day of the week.” Intending to appeal to Rogers’ patriotic
nature, acting S.H.I.E.L.D. commander Hill replies, “No, I’m asking you to obey
the will of the American people, Captain.” Finally, Rogers retorts that Hill shouldn’t play politics when it comes
to crime fighting. “Superheroes need to
stay above that stuff or Washington starts telling us who the supervillains
are.” The conversation breaks down at a
record speed and Steve Rogers quickly finds himself and Captain America on the
wrong side of the law, having to hide from society and work underground as much
as Batman has to every day.
However, even before Rogers pulls off his daring
escape from the scene – riding on the back of a Harrier jet – we learn enough
about him to frame his actions for the rest of the event. Rogers became Captain America, a
super-soldier treated with a physically enhancing serum, as a secret weapon for
the Allies in World War II. Of course,
Hitler’s Nazi regime didn’t commit genocide overnight; they imposed a series of
increasingly restrictive sanctions against specific people – Jews especially –
that resulted in their mass murder.
Keeping a database of possible subversives was also a tactic utilized by
Senator Joseph McCarthy and the House Un-American Activities Committee during
the hunt for communists in America in the 1950s. Although it’s never stated outright in Civil War, it’s likely that one reason
Rogers would oppose the Superhero Registration Act would be because of the
implications of tracking groups of citizens, especially in light of Nazi
Germany and the mistakes America repeated with HUAC. In World War II, America fought against those
who would round up innocent citizens and now Rogers finds his government
employees on the Axis side of the fence.
Finally, his stubborn refusal to help imprison those who fight for their
country in any way they can is a declaration of patriotism found only in some
countries, America included.
Also, Rogers mentions Washington “telling us who
the supervillains are.” In The Dark Knight Returns, Frank Miller
wrote what can happen in just such a scenario with his lapdog Superman. Mark Millar’s Civil War isn’t at that point, but Rogers is worried that a similar
fate would befall the Marvel heroes.
Rogers’ defection from S.H.I.E.L.D. means, as one politician states,
that “every superhero who disagrees with [the SHRA] suddenly has a
figurehead.” As the embodiment of
American ideals, and in distancing himself from even a minute step towards
fascist control over citizens, Captain America becomes the face of the
revolution that pro-registration officials fear. Soon his crusade gains speed and he finds
himself joined by Daredevil, Luke Cage, the Young Avengers and more.
Tensions rise when
Johnny Storm – The Human Torch, a publically-identified superhero – is beaten
half to death outside a night club by angry citizens in a held-over reaction
from the Stamford incident. Later,
Spider-Man takes part in a press conference and unmasks himself, revealing
himself to be Peter Parker. He makes a
good case for registration, saying that “The Registration Act gives us a
choice: We can continue the trend that Captain America advocates and have
people with powers completely unchecked – or superheroes can go legitimate and
earn back a little public trust.” A sign
held by a protestor even reads “Guns are registered – why not powers?” It’s hard to argue against public
accountability and training at a national level, which is the bright side of
what Tony Stark and the pro-registration movement advocate in public, but it
has its darker side as well – which Steve Rogers saw long before the
registration passed into law.
The first battle in the so-called Civil War occurs
amid the breakdown of a discussion between the pro- and anti-registration
superhero groups (see Fig. 2) which
results in the death of Goliath. As
Rogers’ group patch themselves up, some heroes, including Nighthawk, decide the
risks are too high and they leave the team.
Rogers asks if Nighthawk would just allow incidents like Goliath’s death
to happen, and in his fear, Nighthawk responds that Goliath “was dead the
second he thought he was bigger than the law.”
The fear-mongering on the part of the increasingly fascistic government
and pro-SHRA heroes has taken its toll; another Young Avenger leaves with Nighthawk,
saying she doesn’t want to end up in the mysterious gulag-like super-jail as
the other rebels.
Luke Cage insults them for their cowardice. “What you gonna do [Nighthawk]? Pull on those nice little jackboots and smack
whoever they tell you to smack?
Superheroes are supposed to be volunteers.” Abstaining from compromise, Rogers tells the
rest of the team to “let them go if their freedom means so little to
them.” This exchange proves not only
that Mark Millar has written the rebel heroes as believing that registration is
a better fit for a dictatorship than the United States, but that Captain
America, the paragon of patriotism, is unwilling to compromise any of his
liberties for the promise of security – and it’s for readers to choose which
side with which to agree. It’s also the
second mention of the government telling the superheroes which villains to
fight and which to leave alone.
As both sides get desperate, the rebels take on
new identities, as though they’ve come through the Witness Protection
Program. The pro-SHRA group recruits
Marvel supervillains like Taskmaster, Jack-O-Lantern and Venom to help arrest
Rogers’ underground team. Frank Castle,
aka The Punisher, joins the resistance despite their reservations about him. He’s a remorseless killer of criminals, and
though his part in Civil War is
relatively small, it helps cement Captain America as a symbol of rightful
nationalism. Two villains, Goldbug and
Plunderer, come forward of their own volition to help stop the Registration
Act. “You guys ain’t the only ones
afraid we’re heading for a police state, Captain,” says Goldbug. Plunderer adds, “We just came by to let you
know we’re here if you need us. Only
fair if Iron Man’s got supervillains on his
side, right? Whaddaya say?” They’re transcending their personal differences
to assist in the greater good of the nation, a story often told in war. Before Rogers can reply, Frank Castle shoots both villains
dead. Outraged, Rogers attacks him, but
Castle won’t fight back, only defending his actions – “They were bad guys,
Cap. Thieves and killers.” Eventually Rogers gives up and orders him out
of the building. A young hero asks
Spider-Man, who has turned to the rebellion, why Castle wouldn’t hit Captain
America. “Are you kidding me?” replies
Spider-Man. “Cap’s probably the reason
[Castle] went to Vietnam. Same guy,
different war.” Rogers turns and says
“Wrong. Frank Castle is insane,” but
Spider-Man’s point is made: Rogers’ goodness and unwavering loyalty to the
American way of life have inspired generations to rise to selfless altruism for
the good of the country, even extreme cases like The Punisher. For better or worse, Captain America is to
the Marvel universe as strong a symbol of the country as Uncle Sam.
Marvel Comics is nearly as rife with non-humans as
it is with superhumans, and two of them discuss the conflict on the eve of its
climax. One, Uatu, asks the other,
Stephen Strange, “Are you not tempted to end it? With your great powers, you could stop this
quarrel with a gesture or a whisper.” In
his reply, Strange makes the case that Millar and Marvel are making to their
audience. “Precisely why I must remain
above the fray. There is no right or
wrong in this debate. It is simply a
matter of perspective, and it is not my place to influence the evolution of the
superhuman role.” Strange goes on to say
that he supports “whichever victory is best for all mankind […] and spills the
least amount of blood tonight.”
Rogers frees the imprisoned rebels and the fight
between both sides of heroes spills over into public space. As the climactic battle rages on, it takes a
number of civilians restraining Captain America for him to see how much damage
their fight is causing the city, at which point he realizes that all of them
have lost sight of their goals. Cliché
as it may be, violence is not the answer for them, and Rogers unmasks himself
and turns himself in to the police on the spot.
Spider-Man says, “We were winning back there,” to which Rogers replies,
“Everything except the argument.” As he
holds his hands out to be cuffed, he says “And they’re not arresting Captain
America. They’re arresting Steve
Rogers. That’s a very different
thing.” This is the essence of Captain
America as a symbol of patriotism and duty to country. By clarifying the difference between his
flawed human side and the legend of Captain America, Rogers is admitting guilt
for the wrongdoing of one man and trusting in the authorities to grant him due
process for what they decide are his crimes.
He’s not surrendering the image of pride, courage, morality and stoic
responsibility stood for by Captain America, the super-soldier whose first
comic’s cover was his red, white and blue god-like visage punching out Adolf
Hitler 70 years ago.
In the end, a compromise is reached. The Superhero Registration Act remains, but
Tony Stark is appointed Director of S.H.I.E.L.D. and the only person with
access to the secrets of Marvel’s characters.
The public and the superhumans learn newfound respect for one another,
and the extent of the SHRA proves to be little more than that of registering
firearms or holding a driver’s license.
Rogers’ selflessness holds him accountable for his actions, but the
public’s faith in Captain America remains upstanding, through the dawn’s early
night.
Most fascist rulers and their servants never have
a change of heart. Their commitment to
their ideals is unwavering, and it’s often their stubbornness and conviction
that lead to large-scale conflict. In comics,
things are much more temporary.
Alliances, friendships, romances, conflicts, even death are conquerable
with a convenient deus ex machina.
Superman saw enough loss and enough death that he decided his crusade
would at best amount to a Pyrrhic victory, as did Iron Man, which led to his role
maintaining the heroes’ secrets. Captain
America realized the same thing about the cost of war, even though he held the
opposite view of Iron Man and Superman.
Superman’s and Iron Man’s ultimate roles as heroes and good men won out
over their selfish and arrogant certainties that they knew what served the
people’s interests better than the people themselves. Meanwhile, Captain America and Batman,
seeming to symbolize equity itself, stood against popular tyranny and did what
they do best – they got their hands dirty where nobody else would, doing the
unpleasant work to show that nobody is above true justice, even at the greatest
risk to themselves. Such selfless
benevolence for country and the future is the essence of patriotism, the other
side of the coin of their former friends’ fascism.
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