Sometimes it's hard to be a super-hero. It takes a lot of effort to save the world from an endless stream of egomaniacal geniuses and swarms of planet marauding alien armadas! But what about the daily problems of human existence—hunger, disease, poverty, and equality? Shouldn't super-heroes put some effort into confronting these problems as well?
It's not like there's no one on Earth "Prime" trying to take on these issues. A few weeks ago I had the privilege of attending TEDxChange 2010 at Dupont Circle in Washington, DC. At this event, some of the top thinkers about the human condition were discussing the progress of the Millennium Development Goals—eight pressing issues facing humanity that need to be solved. The goals include ending poverty and hunger, ensuring universal education, promoting gender equality, improving child health, and combating HIV/Aids. These are the real problems that need real heroes. So, why don't the super-heroes of legend ever try to tackle these more pedestrian, but equally important issues?
That's the question posed in the recently released The World's Greatest Heroes graphic novel from DC Comics. This collection of stories take the all stars of the DC Universe—Superman, Batman, Captain Marvel, Wonder Woman and the Justice League of America—and ask them to deal with some of the real issues of being human.
The supers tackle these problems like heroes, but their results are mixed:
- Superman quickly realizes that it takes more to feed people than just bringing them food: politics and fear are as much to blame for world hunger as anything else.
- Batman realizes that, although he can save an individual child from a life of crime, even the vast wealth of Bruce Wayne cannot pull every child out of poverty.
- Captain Marvel's power can turn a weak child into a god with a single word, but that only works for Billy Batson. He can not heal a hospital of sick or dying children, so he has to be satisfied with fulfilling their wishes for a week.
- Wonder Woman still lives in a male dominated world, where powerful women are often distrusted even by other women. The best scene in the book is where WW is protecting a group of women in a conservative Middle-Eastern country, only to have the same group of women throw stones at her because of her less than modest outfit.
- For the final story, the JLA faces a mysterious plague that suddenly appears in Africa. This fictional disease is a stand-in to HIV/AIDS, illustrating how fear and ignorance can lead to cruel actions against those most in need of help.
The stories by Paul Dini in WGSH are some of the best I've read in a while, creating heroic tales that never turn corny or resort to irony to make a point. Dini's great story telling is only enhanced by the masterful photo realistic art work of Alex Ross. Ross blends a mastery of painted images with a fine eye for sequential visual storytelling to create some of the most stunning art work in the industry today. Ross' art is not only approachable, but inviting to a general (i.e. non-fanboy) audience. Imagine if Norman Rockwell had become a comic book artist. Ross has the same magical ability to capture real human expressions and gestures without ever feeling stiff or posed. There's no better team to show the human side (even adopted humans like Superman and the Martian Manhunter) of the super-humans.
The Worlds Greatest Super-Heroes$29.99
400 page Paperback
DC Comics
ISBN__ __ 978-1401202552
Contributors: Alex Ross, Paul Dini, Todd Klein, and forward by Chipp Kidd__Reprints__: Superman: Peace on Earth; Batman: War on Crime; Wonder Woman: Spirit of Truth; Shazam!: Power of Hope; JLA: Secret Origins; JLA: Liberty and Justice
