Is Superman Fascist?

Despite the fact that many if not most super-hero comics are greatly influenced by the Jewish immigrant experience, there is always a looming sense that there’s something kind of fascist about them. Don’t believe me? Art Spiegelman once criticized Jack Kirby of all people for appropriating pagan images and overly glorifying the physical over the intellectual in his work, techniques that, according to Spiegelman, smack of fascism.

You can’t deny that the fundamentals of his criticism are sound. Super-hero comics do glorify the physical form, and the art is in many ways a stylized version of Greek, Roman, Norse and other mythologies where superhuman strength and will were akin to godhood.

Superman is the most obvious example and the most vulnerable to accusations of fascism. The mere appropriation of Neitzche’s term ‘Superman’, even if coincidental is enough to raise an eyebrow or two. In addition, the hallmark of Superman’s greatest adversaries is high intellect. They use reason and science to manipulate and destroy, whereas Superman, whose primary attributes are physical in nature always manages to stomp their nerdy asses.

‘Truth, Justice, and the American Way’ might sound harmless on the surface, but there’s some serious nationalism at work there. Frank Miller’s use of Superman as a tool for a corrupt government in ‘Dark Knight Returns’ is an example of many of these criticisms manifest in comics. Say what you will about ‘Dark Knight Returns’ but it’s an important piece, so you can’t just discount its portrayal of Superman out of hand.

And yet, despite all this, I’ve come to the conclusion that Superman and other heroes are not in the slightest bit fascist. There’s no smoking gun for totalitarian nationalism in these comics. What Spiegelman forgets, and what I sometimes forget, is that the fascists weren’t the first people to use classical images of physical greatness for their own means and they won’t be the last. The old pagan mythologies give us beautiful legends and images, and just because they were used by a bunch of racist, nationalist bastards in the 30’s doesn’t make them off limits for all time. If anything, super-hero comics reclaimed these images for the good guys.

In addition, Superman’s duels with Lex Luthor and Braniac aren’t about the dangers of intellect or any sort of demonization of thought or reason. Rather, they simply suggest the limits of reason. Superman reminds us that there is more to life than what can be rationally understood. There is love, friendship, and countless other inexplicable concepts that the likes of Luthor will never enjoy or understand because of their devotion to a strictly Machiavellian world-view.

I’m not saying there isn’t some serious alpha male action in comics. Hal Jordan and his cult of pure will does smack a little of neo-conservative foreign policy, but the message that we are at our greatest when we can overcome our fears is an inherently decent and liberal sentiment, seen everywhere from ‘Defending Your Life’ (great film!) to Barack Obama. It isn’t the images and sentiments themselves. It’s how they’re used.