The Portrayal of Crime and Justicein the Comic Book Superhero Mythos

Adolescents’ sense of crime, justice and order

Superman & Batman

1. most consistently popular and pervasive comic book superheroes ever created

2. despite similarities, each character offers a unique perspective by which to examine the superhero mythos within American culture

Products of Great Depression culture

Superman & Batman

hope and idealism retributive, street level justice

Social structureMetropolis:

hope & optimismGotham City:

danger & corruption

Crime & criminalsSuperman:

threaten democracy & “American way”Batman:

“control the world” & disorder/anarchy

Responses to crimeSuperman:

fights for justice as defined by lawmakersBatman:vigilante

Breaking of Law

• gangsters, faceless thugs, corrupt politicians, ingenious madmen, alien (outside) threats and freakish aberrations

• general patterns: threat to social order, motivated by money,

power or revenge become criminals

through mythical processes paralleling those of the superheroes

Reaction to the Breaking of Law

• law and order must be maintained

• certain behavior must be controlled

• “voluntary avocational policing”: being done by private citizens not because they are obliged by a threat of punishment but because they, for their own reasons, want to do it

Don’t break the law!: conservative or “right” oriented perspective

1. excessive leniency toward lawbreakers

2. favoring the welfare and rights of lawbreakers over the welfare and rights of their victims, of law enforcement officials, and the law abiding citizen

3. erosion of discipline and of respect for constituted authority

4. the cost of crime5. excessive permissiveness