Whats Up With Superheroes (And Super-Villains)?
Or: The Birth Of A New Genre… Have the bad guys taken over? Over at Vanity Fair, Julian Sancton has an analysis of why superhero movies are so hot lately entitled ‘Why America Worships Superheroes’. One of the most interesting things about his write-up is the inclusion of The Joker from ‘The Dark Knight’ in the photo used to illustrate the piece. Joker, of course, is not a superhero but a super-villain. Of the four characters in the photo, the only one that isn’t a superhero is The Joker. More to the point, conspicuously missing from the photo is…Batman. The fact is Joker is considered the main character of ‘The Dark Knight’ and is perceived as being more interesting and compelling, and he might just end up as the model for future super-villains. Joker is the force majeure in ‘The Dark Knight’. That is, it’s the bad guy which supplies the forward momentum in TDK. Traditionally, it’s been the hero that has had the more compelling personality, had more energy, and was the character t
