If there's one thing that comic books about people who have superpowers, immortality, capes, in short, raise in those who read them, it's the old question: do there exist bodies in concrete life that have such powers? Superpowers may not be the case, but we do have "superheroes", we already have that and can be seen in the excellent HBO documentary "Superheroes".
The documentary "Superheroes", a 2011 production on the HBO channel, follows the daily lives of some subjects, between California and New York, who take to the streets in the early hours of the morning to defend people. But they don't just act as voluntary watchmen for their respective neighborhoods, but rather as characters they call "superheroes"... Yes, that's exactly it. With clothes and capes, they proclaimed themselves defenders of "ordinary" citizens.
The film follows these "characters" who jumped from comic books to concrete life. When interviewed, the "superheroes" say that they are tired of seeing so much injustice and drugs kill people and that they are salvation. The reaction to these people lies between laughter and shock, as they start to have a life similar to that of their idols, which are obviously Spider-Man, X-men, Bataman, Flashmen, Superman, etc.
Another reason that the characters claim to have joined the superhero life is that the world today no longer has idols or heroes, and that apathy has taken over society, that no one cares about anyone anymore and that, therefore, the mission One of them is to "rescue the lost solidarity in society".
The most intriguing thing is that the idea worked. Today the United States already has two "Justice League" style groups, which for those who don't know is the League that brings together Superman, Batman, Flashman, Wonder Woman, etc.
Some of them, like Mr. Extreme, achieved fame and became everyday characters for residents of a California neighborhood. Mr. Extreme became famous for helping the police arrest a rapist in his neighborhood, today he is invited to give lectures across the State.
Comic books are literature that transitions between adolescence and adulthood. It is also pointed out as a culture industry technique to make people remain eternally infantilized. All the "superheroes" portrayed in the documentary are "adults", but their rooms or homes remind us of a pre-adolescent child.
Mr. Extreme says that his motivation lies in the task of recovering solidarity between people, but we can point out that these characters/subjects also seek their own identity and some place within society that recognizes those who are televised or admire those who have "superpowers".
After all, does society need heroes or idols?
