A ways back, my friend and
mentor, Avery K. Tingle, wrote a superb blog post on the power carried by the Symbol
on Superman’s chest: the “S” held within a shield. Superb, because it brought
to my mind a question I’ve had to think about for some time. After a month in
San Antonio (and no internetz to speak of), I’ve found that it’s not always our
favorite comic hero’s chest that carries the symbol which we recognize, and
gather under. Now I wonder, why? Why do we band together under these, and let’s
be honest here, fictional, symbols of power?
The Power of
Symbols
Few people can ideologically discard
symbols out of hand. From Christian and Catholic religions’ Cross of Christ to
the Wiccan Pentacle to Egyptian hieroglyphics, all of these hold a huge amount
of meaning…to those who care about the subject matter to begin with. These
symbols are studied, learned, and memorized; and each has a long story and/or
history behind it.
What about comic book heroes? Do
we learn, study, and memorize them? Ask any fan of the medium. Yes. Comic
publishers rarely change a hero’s symbol for fear of infuriating, and
ultimately ostracizing, their fan base. Imagine if Kevin Smith’s vision of a
new Catholic image had come to light in his movie “Dogma.” How many people
would revolt if the Cross of Christ was gotten rid of and “Buddy Christ”
represented the pain, sacrifice, and history of the Catholic belief? For
fanboys and girls, changing a hero’s insignia is the exact same thing, and very
nearly as sacred. What’s your favorite superhero symbol?
Comic book publishers and their
properties have one less complicated reason for leaving a hero’s symbol alone,
or changing it only slightly: money. When you see Superman’s “S,” you know that
character comes from one of the Big Two of comics, DC or Marvel. If you’re a
fan, you know Superman is in the DC House, that Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster
created the Man of Steel, and several other factoids that non-fans might not
care about.
A decade or so ago, it was a bad
idea to wear your Superman (or Batman, or Spider-Man, or, or) shirt in public.
Doing so told the world you were a geek; and that you believed in stupid things
like superpowers. Despite the inevitable ass-whooping you were likely to
receive, you wore that shirt anyway, with pride. With the surge of popularity
of comic book properties (if not the books themselves), geeks span a whole new
level of cool, and that same “S” you wore as a kid is now a symbol of awesomesauce.
What this means for publishers is
merchandising. From toys to shirts to, yes, underwear…you can find your
favorite hero in just about any department of your favorite store. Not only
that, but these toys and underwear are no longer just for kids. What brought
this change of pace about? Marketing, mainly, but also the fact that so many of
these heroes have an easily identifiable brand all their own, nevermind the
publisher’s logo.
According to an article at iFanboy,
Marvel sits at number 6 on License! Global’s list of merchandising giants.
Warner Bros (which contains DC Comics) is at number 5 on that same list. At
number one is the god of merchandising, Disney (which currently owns Marvel,
and it is unclear why Marvel was split from Disney for the purposes of
determining merchandise revenue) towers over the competition. These are the
folks which comic book companies are competing with. Whoa.
Branding: The
Cultural Side
So why are comics so profitable?
Why do we adore these symbols, when years ago we scorned them and anybody who
related to them? I think it’s really quite simple. Regardless of how we
recognize these heroes, whether it be in book format, movies, or other
media…the world continues to need heroes. Heroes who we do not necessarily
idolize, but to whom we can idealize. Heroes perform deeds and actions that
vanquish evil, or overcome great obstacles. They live by ideals which we all
hope to live by. These symbols may be fictional; but they represent the best
that mankind aspires to. We need that in a world that flies by us so fast we
barely see the sunlight for the skyscrapers.
Superheroes let us remember, in
those brief periods we have to enjoy their company, that there is a better
standard, a higher bearing, and a code of ethics. They, as Avery noted
perfectly, remind us:
“It's
surrendering your seat for those unable to stand, or holding the door open for
a slew of people even when they don't acknowledge the effort, and then doing it
again when the opportunity presents itself. It's doing the right thing, even if
you're ridiculed and ostracized for it.”
How and when did you first learn of superheroes? Do you agree that the symbols are a form of branding? Let me know below:
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