These three words are at times thrown flippantly about. People covet them. People fake them. People abuse them. However, when people truly find out what they mean; the full weight of the burden they can be comes crashing down on them…. and then, ladies and gentlemen, does the real test begin. What you do after that still quiet moment is the test of your character.
Though that is a fact of life, no where have I seen that more fully displayed than on the pages of my comics! Heroes thrust into battle, saving humanity, for no other reason other than they knew it was their responsibility. It was their responsibility because they had the power and those two things caused them to influence the world for the better…. The writers and artists behind these books showed me this. See where I’m going?
I have recently watched two movies that have yet again reminded me of this fact. The first was a documentary called “Batman & Bill” and the second was “Spiderman: Homecoming”. I won’t go into too much detail about them so I won’t spoil them. Spiderman is of course in theaters currently and “Batman & Bill” is currently on Hulu.
“Batman & Bill” focuses on finding the truth behind the creation of Batman. For years, Bob Kane and only Bob Kane was given full credit. As it turns out, he may have had quite a bit of help from a quiet unassuming man named Bill Finger. In the doc, we see the struggle to connect the dots from one passionate man and his fight to give credit where credit is due. Now here is the bit that stuck out to me. The family of Bill Finger is found and only they can rightly continue this fight…. ok? Only a blood family member can sue. Unfortunately Bill Finger seems to have passed his timidity down to his progeny. The harm that was done him cast a long shadow over the next couple of generations. And much like, Bill and many of us can relate to, they felt dwarfed by the monumental task set before them. I was watching this with a friend who is more passionate about comics than I am. He even hosts a vlog dedicated to recommending them to people. As a fan he was so angry about the injustice done to Bill; I was reserved at first. As evidence mounted, I became just as upset and saddened as he was. He created some of the core things I love about the Dark Knight. An artist of any kind, you place a tiny bit of yourself in that thing. It becomes your baby. An artist creates because they have it in them to share. Most artists are not doing it to become famous but rather as an outlet for something inside of them. To have your art deny you must be soul crushing!
We, as artists, conceive an idea. We create it to the best of our ability, often falling short of our own vision. We are limited by our abilities. As frustrating as that is, we soldier on and introduce our baby to the world and HOPE it does well and can influence someone for the better. Bill Finger’s contributions to Batman did all that and more…. He has influenced sooooo many people and given entertainment, hope, and joy to a multitude of people! His baby did better than his wildest dreams. Only he never got to claim it. Now here is the interesting part. As I mentioned, Bill did not fight for it and his family was not inclined to either… Can you guess who did???? THE FANS!! They hounded and protested and urged the family to get him justice! In honor of the caped detective himself, they helped and prodded as much as they could to return the favor for all of the influence Bill Finger had given this beloved character. Batman is nothing if not obsessed with justice after all.
The beautiful, redeeming, shining thing I took out of all of it was that though he could not pass courage down through his bloodstream, he passed it down with his art. He gave so much. He gave us things he didn’t even have himself. His art passed that love of justice and will to fight down to countless countless fans. And in the end, he reaped it all back one hundred fold. His art, his baby, came back in the form of influence and helped his family in a way he never could have. That, ladies and gentlemen, is power….
Now… Here is the sticky part for me.I am raising two comic loving littles at home. I’m worried that my kids, if left to their own devices, could miss out on some of the influence and power that I grasped at that age. I’m worried about those in power not taking that responsibility as seriously as they should. I will, of course, steer them and show them all of the good old stuff as well. When it comes to the DCEU and Marvel universe the well isn’t likely to run dry… But still. With the new stuff from Marvel, especially, I feel like some of the heart has gone out of it. As if they take it for granted either that we already know it or that we have grown jaded of the core concepts of our favorite heroes. It makes me sad.
I watched “Spider-man: Homecoming” with my little boy. Don’t get me wrong- He loved it! I truly like Tom Holland as Spidey as well. Little niggling things bothered me such as a younger Aunt May, no Uncle Ben nor ANY mention of him, SO much Ironman and no spidey senses… Ok Ok I GUESSS…. but the crusher for me was a vital part of Spiderman’s core was missing for me. the line “With great power comes great responsibility.” That line delivered by his beloved Uncle Ben shapes Peter Parker INTO Spider-man. It tempers a smart Alec, headstrong, teenager with superpowers. As teens, we all thing we are invincible already… much less a teen with super powers! He NEEDS that. My son NEEDS that. A whole generation of boys and young men need to hear that. It’s not corny or played out. In today’s culture of passing the buck and blaming others; personal responsibility is something we need to see on the big screen. And IMHO there was a perfect moment for it. Just as with Wonder Woman’s message of love, Spider-man had a chance to be more than a summer flick and inject some real heart and character into the experience.
And I’m not bashing only Spidey! I’m seeing it more and it bothers the hell out of me! Captain AMERICA is a damn Nazi at the moment… that is inexcusable! His creator Jack Kirby was a Jewish man who created him to spite those very forces of evil and hate. How, in good conscience, can they do this? I get shaking things up but there are lines that should not be crossed. That’s like saying Batman’s parents should be alive or Superman is only visiting from Krypton. Those things shape the character. They mean something to us as fans. So many of our wonderful story tellers, such as Jack Kirby or Bill Finger, have passed on. What they left behind means so much. I don’t say this to tie creative hands. Rather to showcase the beauty of what we have in these characters. The power they wield has influenced every little one hiding under the covers with a flashlight or on a tablet staying up late watching the digital version lol…. and as Uncle Ben would say 😉
All my love,
Nicole
LifeOfLovey 