Our Gods Wear Spandex Page 11
Few people realize, however, that explicitly magical characters are actually the earliest examples of modern superheroes. In fact, it can be argued that all superheroes are essentially magical, since most of their powers have no basis in real science. Early superheroes like Captain Marvel, Phantasmo, and Green Lantern were unambiguously magical in origin, drawing on themes taken directly from the pulps.
Wizards functioned as shamans and medicine men, teachers and priests, and often as chieftains in ancient tribal societies. Three of the most famous sorcerers in Western culture are the Three Wise Men, from the Gospel of Matthew. These magi were Zoroastrian astrologers said to have prophesied the coming of Christ, whom they found in the manger at Bethlehem. The most famous sorcerer of all time, however, is Merlin, the mage from the King Arthur myths.
Merlin is usually portrayed as the wise wizard of Uther Pendragon's court who raises and tutors young Arthur to be King of the Britons. Many of the Arthurian romances are told from Merlin's point of view, and Merlin seems to be the archetype for both Gandalf the White in J.R.R. Tolkien's Lord of the Rings trilogy and Obi-Wan Kenobi in the Star Wars dramas. A less-acknowledged inheritor of Merlin's mantle is Q, the master of technological wonders in the James Bond films, whose role is very much like that of Merlin in the Arthurian tales—a scolding paternal figure who is also the source of the ingenious tricks and gadgets that regularly save the day. Likewise, Obi-Wan Kenobi can be seen as a Christlike, sci-fi Merlin who sacrifices himself to save Luke and Leia and their companions. Obi-Wan and Q (like Gandalf) are both members of a brotherhood—in Obi-Wan's case, the suppressed Jedi, in Q's, the Secret Service.
Of course, the most popular magus today is Harry Potter, created by J. K. Rowling. In a time when most children can't be bothered to read anything, Rowling has created a series of runaway bestsellers devoured by millions of young readers the world over. Sociologists have wasted volumes trying to explain Harry Potter's unprecedented success, when they need not have looked far at all. The answer lies in the hearts and imaginations of all insecure young children (and adults) who want to believe that they—like Harry, Ron, and Hermione—have latent magical powers that can help them negotiate the horrors of adolescence (and life). And as we'll see later, Harry has a direct ancestor in the comics.
MANDRAKE THE MAGICIAN
The character generally seen as the comics' first superhero is Mandrake the Magician. Created by Lee Falk in 1924, Mandrake didn't find his way into the funny pages until a decade later. True to form, Mandrake studied with ascended masters in Tibet, and returned to the West to ply his trade as a stage performer. Along the way, he picked up a sidekick named Lothar, an African prince who acted as Mandrake's personal bodyguard, and is generally acknowledged as the first heroic black character in American comic strips.
In his early adventures, Mandrake is an occult magician who uses hypnotic suggestion to convince others he is a true conjurer. Falk incorporated many interesting occult themes into his storylines. Mandrake fights a death cult in 1935 in Kingdom of Murderers, and masters the arcane art of inter-dimensional travel a year later in Mandrake in the X Dimension. In Mandrake on the Moon (1938), the magician discovers that the ancient Atlanteans escaped and built a new civilization of domed cities on the dark side of the Moon. Starting in 1939, Mandrake strips were reprinted in magazine format in Magic Comics. Mandrake never hit the big time outside the funny pages, however, despite attempts at a movie serial (1939), a radio program (1940), a TV series (1954), a TV movie (1979), and a TV cartoon (1986).
Mandrake did, however, inspire a whole host of warlocks in both comics and the strips. The first costumed character that can be definitively called a superhero is the Phantom Magician, who first appeared in Mel Graff's syndicated comic strip The Adventures of Patsy in 1935. As comics historian Dick O' Donnell notes, the Phantom Magician “was clad in the outfit of tights, cape, and domino mask favored by so many later adventure heroes, including the Phantom and Superman and Batman.”98 Although Phantom Magician appeared in only one Patsy story-line, he caught the attention of Mandrake creator Lee Falk, whose next hero also donned a mask and costume.
Another supermagus character inspired by Mandrake is DC Comic's Zatara, created by Fred Guardineer. Like Superman, Zatara premiered in the first issue of Action Comics. DC seemed to have high hopes for Zatara and allowed him to push Superman off the cover of Action for several issues. Like Mandrake, Zatara is essentially a hypnotist who casts spells by gniklat drawkcab.99 He vanished in a puff of smoke in 1950, replaced by his sexy, scantily-clad daughter, Zatanna. Perhaps seeking favor with some dark god, writer Alan Moore ritually sacrificed Zatara in the pages of Swamp Thing #50 in 1986.
Possibly the first female superhero to pop up in the funny pages is Fantomah, Mystery Woman of the Jungle. Created by Barclay Flagg, Fantomah first appeared in Fiction House's Jungle Comics #2 in 1940. Like so many other characters, Fantomah acquired her magical powers through a previous incarnation in ancient Egypt. She was a shape-shifter whose favorite trick was to transform herself into a blonde-haired, skull-headed freak when danger threatened. Apparently, Fantomah's readers felt threatened by this disconcerting and ugly metamorphosis, because she later morphed into a more sexy, kittenish character. Nonetheless, she is true to the type in that magic and the occult are crucial to her status as superhero.
DOCTOR OCCULT
Perhaps the clearest progenitor of the modern superhero is Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster's mystic hero, Doctor Occult, who first premiered in New Fun #6 in 1935. Doctor Occult started out as a traditional ghost detective, but underwent a startling transformation in 1936. As historian Les Daniels notes, the Doctor “developed immense strength and began flying around in a red and blue outfit. He thus served as a prototype for the unpublished Superman.”100 For some reason, Siegel and Shuster later changed his name to the less-objectionable “Doctor Mystic.”
Here, then, is our missing link in the evolution from Theosophy and the Golden Dawn to Spider-Man and the Flash. In The Comic Book Book, Dick O'Donnell unequivocally declares that “students of the history of comics must regard the Occult-Mystic figure as a definite prototype of Superman, performing many of the feats Superman later performed, but doing so by supernatural rather than superscientific means.”101 It is highly significant that the character who becomes the definitive archetype of the modern superhero is brought into the world by the same men who created the obscure “Doctor Occult,” and that Superman bears such a strong, if unacknowledged, resemblance to his mystical progenitor. In point of fact, the name of Superman's home planet, “Krypton,” stems from the Greek word kryptos meaning ‘hidden’ or ‘secret.’ The Latin translation of kryptos is “occult.”
98 Dick O'Donnell, “It's Magic,” in The Comic Book Book (New Rochelle, NY: Arlington House, 1973), p. 146.
99 (talking backward)
100 Les Daniels, DC Comics: A Celebration of the World's Favorite Comic Book Heroes (New York: Billboard Books, 2003), p. 44.
101 O'Donnell, “It's Magic,” p. 157.
CHAPTER 14
THE MESSIAHS
Some historians note that the long-awaited Jewish Messiah was an Earthly king—very much a man of the world and not necessarily of the spirit. The term itself, which means simply “anointed,” was bestowed on a number of other characters in the Old Testament. Jews believed that the Messiah would be a descendant of King David who would lead them out of captivity and restore Jewish rule in Palestine. By that description, the first prime minister of Israel, David Ben Gurion, is as much a Messiah as anyone. Yet, say the word “Messiah” and the first thing that pops into most people's minds is “Jesus Christ.”
The Messiah of the funny pages is a noble, self-sacrificing hero who acts to save others out of a sense of altruism. Superman, of course, is the first and foremost of this type; Spider-Man is another. The Messiah superhero became so wildly popular because he addressed deep-seated anxieties in American life. Fascism, corporate corruption, and organized crime
had grown to such a degree by the late 1930s that they seemed both overwhelming and intractable. Superman rose from the ranks of the common man to counter these threats. Of course, DC editors quickly blanderized him and inspired thousands of impotent saviors that diluted the force of the archetype.
The archetype remains a popular figure, nonetheless. Though contemporary writers have worked hard to make Superman and other messianic characters interesting and relevant, it's often difficult for readers to relate to a character who uses his powers for purely altruisistc purposes, not for personal gain. Indeed, salvation through Christ's sacrifice on the cross makes sense only to those completely committed to the Christian faith. For many, it's hard not to see these characters as fundamentally deluded, or at least severely misguided. In the mythic realm of comic books, however, the laws of human nature are often suspended, and Messiahs can arise who need not be anointed by God to save his people or humanity in general.
SUPERMAN
Superman, who made his debut in Action Comics #1 in 1938, is one of the world's most popular and enduring Messiah characters. Created by two young cartoonists from Cleveland named Jerome Siegel and Joseph Shuster, Superman has been the subject of countless thousands of comic books and comics strips, a movie serial, a popular radio show, several TV cartoons and live action series, toys, games, and enough memorabilia to stretch from Earth to the Moon.
Superman was not an overnight success, however. Siegel had created him several years before his comic debut, but had no luck promoting him to the newspaper syndicates or the fledgling comic-book publishers, who rejected the character as too fanciful. Finally, DC publisher Harry Donenfeld bought the character outright for $200 and Superman became an immediate hit, inspiring thousands of imitators. In many ways, it can be said that all subsequent comic-book superheroes are, in fact, variations on Superman.
Superman is Kal-El, the last son of Krypton, sent into space as an infant by his scientist father when his home planet explodes. His space-capsule lands in the Midwestern town of Smallville, where it is found by an elderly couple named Kent who name the baby Clark and raise him as their own. Clark, who from the start displayed amazing strength, leaves Smallville for Metropolis and goes to work as a reporter for The Daily Planet. In times of crisis, he dons his blue-and-red costume and uses his powers—flight, superstrength, and x-ray vision—to fight for truth and justice.
At his core, Superman is a Messiah in the Biblical tradition, who can also be seen as a metaphor for American Jewish assimilation. The destruction of Krypton is an apt metaphor for the Diaspora, as well as for the assault on European Jewish communities that prompted their mass emigration to North America in the late 19th century. In Michael Chabon's novel about the comics industry, The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay, a Jewish character comments on Clark Kent's secret identity: “Superman, you don't think he's Jewish? Coming over from the old country, changing his name like that. Clark Kent, only a Jew would pick a name like that.”102 Superman's identity as one of the People of the Book is cemented when he takes a job as a reporter and pledges himself to fight the good fight.
Jerry Siegel had a more esoteric vision of his Superman than merely a new King David, however. Les Daniels notes that Siegel “must also have been aware of the analogies with Jesus,” pointing out that Superman was “a man sent from the heavens by his father to use his special powers for the good of humanity.”103 Other writers also noted these Christlike characteristics and played on them as they developed similar characters. Writer Kurt Busiek called his version of Superman “the Samaritan” in his series, Astro City. National Lampoon ran a strip called Son O' God that parodied Jesus as a Superman-like hero complete with red cape and art by DC Comics star Neal Adams.
In the early issues of Action Comics, however, Superman is not the smiling, idealized Apollo he later becomes. He's a pissed-off crusader who fights for the common man against the corruption of the power elite. Many of his early adventures touch on occult and mythological themes. He meets Cleopatra (Action #14), fights to protect the Great Pyramids (Action # 56), stands alongside Atlas and Hercules (Superman #28), and encounters an extra-dimensional imp with magical powers called Mr. Mxyztplk (Superman #30). The source of his power is the Sun, which ties him to solar gods like Horus and Mithras, as well as Biblical characters like Samson and Elijah. These divine aspects of Superman's character only increased over the years. Historian Bradford Wright notes that “Superman's comic books developed into a fantastic mythos that owed less and less to any standard of reality. Superman's powers, daunting enough to begin with, grew to staggering, godlike dimensions.”104
These “godlike” powers became a major news story in 1992 with the cynical “Death of Superman” publicity stunt. In this storyline, Superman is killed by an alien called Doomsday and spends several issues in a kind of limbo while a bunch of tedious substitutes try to fill his shoes. Reinforcing his Biblical dimension, Superman dies and rises again, complete with a Christlike mane that most traditionalists hated. Driving home the parallel, the cover of the graphic novel Death of Superman (1993) features a garish and tasteless tribute to Michelangelo's Pietà, with Lois Lane cast in the role of the Virgin Mary.
One curious footnote to the Superman saga has played out outside the comic pages. A series of tragic events—the mysterious death of TV Superman George Reeves in 1959, the horrible accident that left Superman Christopher Reeve a quadriplegic, the subsequent death of his wife from cancer, and the serious illnesses of Superman III stars Margot Kidder and Richard Pryor inspired talk of a “Curse of Superman.”105 Despite the purported curse, however, Superman is still a popular character and continues to earn millions for his owners. Chaos magician Grant Morrison hit the top of the charts with his 2005 All-Star Superman series. 2006's Superman Returns, while not quite the earth-shaker Warner Bros. hoped for, earned a whopping $390 million worldwide, the Caped Crusader is the star of the successful Justice League cartoon series, and Superboy is the star of the 2006 CW network series Legion of Super Heroes. Superman even bridged the gender gap with two hit TV series that captured a female audience—Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman and Smallville. These shows proved that, if handled correctly, the new gods can appeal to a wider audience as “the ultimate expression of human aspirations to power and pure freedom.”106
CAPTAIN MARVEL
Fawcett Publishing's Captain Marvel, who debuted in Whiz Comics #1 in 1940, played the role of pagan Sun god to Superman's more traditional Davidic Messiah. Created by writer Bill Parker (who studied classical literature in college) and artist C. C. Beck (the son of a Lutheran pastor), Captain Marvel was Superman's most serious competition in the marketplace. In fact, Captain Marvel Adventures far outsold Superman in the hero's heyday, and Captain Marvel was the first superhero to be adapted to film in 1941 (The Adventures of Captain Marvel). DC Comics rightly saw Captain Marvel as a serious market threat.
In many ways, Captain Marvel is a more fascinating character than Superman. He is not an actual individual, but a magical entity into which young Billy Batson transubstantiates when he utters the occult incantation, “Shazam!”—the name of the wizard who granted Batson his powers, and an acronym for the ancient deities who lend the Captain their powers.107
Batson's transfiguration strongly resembles a Masonic, or secret-society, initiation. In the first Captain Marvel story, Billy, a homeless orphan, is led by a mysterious stranger into an abandoned subway tunnel, recalling initiations performed in ancient times. Out of nowhere, a driverless subway car decorated with arcane symbols appears and Billy and the stranger climb aboard. They then enter an ancient hallway lined with statues depicting the seven deadly enemies of man: pride, envy, greed, hatred, selfishness, laziness, and injustice. Billy enters a throne room and his mysterious companion vanishes.
Billy then encounters an ancient wizard, Shazam, who conjures an inscription on the wall behind him out of the names of six deities. Billy speaks this magic word, is struck by a bolt of lighting,
and magically transfigures into Captain Marvel, resplendent in red, white, and yellow cape and costume—solar colors all. The wizard is then crushed by a slab of stone and his Kenobi-like wraith immediately emerges and lights an eternal flame in a ceremonial urn, symbolizing the death and transformation of Osiris and the birth of Horus, the new Sun King. Shazam instructs Captain Marvel to go out and fight against evil and injustice. One of Marvel's nemeses is Black Adam, whose name is an approximate cipher for “Egyptian Man.”108
By the 1940s, Captain Marvel soon found himself surrounded by his own pantheon, including Captain Marvel Jr. (Whiz Comics #25),109 Mary Marvel (Captain Marvel Adventures #18), several Lieutenant Marvels, an Uncle Marvel, and even a Marvel Bunny. The Captain, Captain Jr., and Mary often appeared together in adventures, mirroring the Egyptian holy family of Osiris, Isis, and Horus. The fact that Mary Marvel is Billy Batson's lost twin sister helps cement the Osiris-Isis connection.
In 1953, after thirteen lucrative years, Fawcett finally canceled the Captain Marvel series, prompted by decreasing sales and a series of infringement lawsuits by DC Comics. But the story doesn't end there. Fawcett let the trademark on Captain Marvel lapse and Marvel Comics snapped it up in 1968, only to fumble the ball. Their sci-fi oriented Captain Marvel went through a series of incarnations, resulting in mostly forgettable adventures. The strip enjoyed its greatest success under artist/writer Jim Starlin, a lapsed Catholic obsessed with mysticism, magic, and death. Starlin pitted Marvel against Thanos, an alien tyrant who worships death as his lover. Death later came for Starlin's hero in a 1981 graphic novel entitled The Death of Captain Marvel, whose cover also featured a parody of the Pietà, with the Captain as Christ and Death as the Virgin.