# What is the fascination with superheroes in the movies?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-fascination-with-superheroes-in-the-movies/547045>\
**Category:** Cafe Society\
**Created:** [July 17, 2010, 5:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-fascination-with-superheroes-in-the-movies/547045 "2010-07-17T17:24:35Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 3\
**Page:** 5

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**Author:** ![Superhal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b4bc9f/32.png) [@Superhal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Superhal)\
**Post date:** [July 21, 2010, 1:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-fascination-with-superheroes-in-the-movies/547045/81 "2010-07-21T01:32:11Z")

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I thought “define ‘superhero’” was resolved?

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**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\
**Post date:** [July 21, 2010, 10:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-fascination-with-superheroes-in-the-movies/547045/82 "2010-07-21T10:44:35Z")

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> [@Exapno\_Mapcase](#):
>
> That’s like saying that Obama loses in a poll to “generic Republican.” Ask if you prefer Obama to Sarah Palin and the reaction is different.

I don’t understand what this is supposed to mean.

> [@](#):
>
> So if you go up to your guy in the street and ask, is The Shadow a superhero, here’s what happens.
> 
> “Is The Shadow a superhero?”  
> “Who?”  
> “You know, The Shadow. Guy from 30s pulp magazines.”  
> “Never heard of him.”  
> “Carried a big gun. Had a weird laugh. Oh, c’mon, Alex Baldwin played him in that awful movie.”  
> “Yeah, that sucked, didn’t it. What was the question?”  
> “Is he a superhero?”  
> “What the hell does that mean?”  
> “Is he a superhero? Superman’s a superhero. Spider-man’s a superhero. Is The Shadow a superhero?”  
> “Don’t be stupid. The guy carries a gun.”  
> “Batman carried a gun.”  
> “For about five minutes once. Superheroes don’t use guns.”  
> “Thanks, buddy. I needed your help.”  
> “Help? What for?”  
> “You wouldn’t believe me if I told you.”  
> “Yeah, well… Hey, where’d you go? Why is my mind suddenly so cloudy?”

And I don’t understand what this is supposed to prove. If someone’s never heard of the Shadow, and you described him as “A guy with a gun,” then yeah, most people are probably not going to peg him as a superhero. If you say, “He’s a guy who wears a disguise and fights crime with his psychic powers,” they’re probably going to say “Yes.” The point is, the term “superhero” conveys a general set of character attributes, not a precise history of publication.

Also, I don’t find it believable that your hypothetical “average guy on the street” would know that Batman ever carried a gun. If he did know this, he would almost certainly be the sort of person for whom, “Is X a superhero?” is the sort of conversation he’d engage in on a daily basis, and would probably already have a carefully conceived thesis defending or refuting the idea that the Shadow is a superhero.

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**Author:** ![BMalion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e274bd/32.png) [@BMalion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BMalion)\
**Post date:** [July 21, 2010, 12:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-fascination-with-superheroes-in-the-movies/547045/83 "2010-07-21T12:24:41Z")

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[quote=“olivesmarch4th, post:18, topic:547045”]

For me it’s about the notions of responsibility and sacrifice. Superheroes are people with agendas. For Batman it’s about restoring order and justice to a Gotham City that murdered his father. For the X-Men it’s about finding a balanced approach to combating irrational hate and persecution, about promoting tolerance in a world that fears difference. And in order to achieve their goals, they have to make sacrifices, sometimes royally shitty ones that no human being should ever be forced to make. And sometimes they do what they want because they’re flawed self-centered human beings, and the consequences are catastrophic.

…QUOTE]

And for Robin it’s just finding a guy who likes to wear black leather and drive around in a convertable with handcuffs in his belt.

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