Where IS the mind of heroes and villains?

Where IS the mind of heroes and villains?

A unique question worth asking in the comic universes. Perhaps even more unique would be seeing the minds!

Editorial Opinion
By tasman71 - Mar 16, 2013 05:03 PM EST
Filed Under: Fan Fic

We love our heroes. Heck, we even love villains when they are truly worthy of being called such. Some are ordinary people who rise above to be extraordinary. Some have unusual things happen to them to make them more than normal. Some are born with exceptional abilities. In the end, they fall into the hero, villain, anti-hero, or leave me alone grouping.

In many cases, events in their lives push them into the group they eventually fall into. It could be a tragedy, a moment of inspiration, accepting a challenge, or even the stark realization spoken by a loved one but, regardless, it's always something.

More intriguing to me than all that is this: what goes on in the minds of the heroes and villains?

It's something we rarely, if ever, see explored the way it should be in the comics. We used to see it more than that but, now, it's about the action and the story. They develop the characters through the stories and their actions but, they could do so much more!

Now, I have approached this from the view point of "what if I had super powers or the means to become a hero or villain?"

In so doing, I looked at many of our current hall of comic characters and pondered what may be going through their minds when they settle back into their secret identities, even if for a few moments of imagined time.

For example, how do they deal with the "I stopped him but they died because I was dealing with him" situation.

Captain America, by being in WW2, is probably more accustomed to that than most but, does it bother him on another level that he can't be a hero everywhere, all the time? What about Superman, an alien orphan raised on a farm with mid-west American values? When Clark Kent sits down, picks up the paper, and sees that, while he stopped two bank robbers a bus of kids went off a bridge, what goes through his mind?

Then, we have Batman. After him, there is no one left to carry his bloodline and the Wayne name. Does that bother him? Is he guilt wracked by the innocent lives lost when the arch criminals escape or get released to do their evil all over again while he stops them again and again or, perhaps, is he so consumed with being Batman that he is okay with the status quo because it allows him to continue his masked vigilante life?

How much of their lives are put into their non-civilian lives? Does it weigh on them? What about family? Does anyone really know them? Do they feel truly alone because of that?

Then, there are the villains. What truly motivates them? Are they really okay with taking lives to accomplish their goals or have they become so depraved they simply are what they are?

It would be nice to see the minds of the comic characters explored in more detail. Why?

It would add to their personality, it would deepen the stories, and, while the majority of comic readers are over 18 these days, it would give the kids who do read them a chance to understand the line between hero and villain, good and evil, a whole lot better than the world paints it, as a blurry grey line okay to straddle.

Perhaps I have gone too cerebral for most. Perhaps I want more than just bang for my four bucks. Or perhaps, just maybe, there is a more true need for deeper characters than there is for extravagant, complex stories.

Once the characters' minds are exposed, I believe the complexity of the stories would become more entertaining than any story out there.

Anyway, it's just something I thought I would ponder out loud here to give everyone else something to think about.

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Tainted87
Tainted87 - 3/16/2013, 7:38 PM
After reading this, I have to ask you: have you ever read a comic book before? Because I've gotta tell ya, you'd be hard-pressed to find one where the heroes aren't giving you, the reader, their thoughts. Villains aren't as rare as one might think either - and usually, a story starts with the villains contemplating their dastardly deeds before they even commit them.

I know Shakespeare isn't in any way the end-all of dramas, but consider the plays (many of which are VERY similar to each other) and the "villains" who typically portray the MAIN or titular character, also known as a villainous protagonist. MacBeth, Richard III, Hamlet even (although he isn't the TRUE villain)...

But yeah, many modern works take a few pages from Shakespearean drama, where characters will rant and monologue about their motivations, sometimes to the chagrin of the reader who just wants to GET ON WITH IT.

Go read a book.
Oxbow
Oxbow - 3/16/2013, 8:01 PM
Good article! It's a timely question...Im exploring this in my comic book right now as well. As far as the human aspect goes, this is my favorite part of the writing...working out why people do what they do; its really what takes work to that extra level! People respond to a situation in a particular way at a given time, and it can change their lives forever. I've had to explore that in school as well lately.

Figuring that stuff out is interesting and usually a lot of fun for me. I have a pretty good handle on the the anti-hero and villains so far. It's creating original ways of explaining why they do what they do that was the hard part! I am proud of what I came up with though. Right now Im tinkering with the main hero still.... Balancing all the forces that motivate someone like that is more challenging...
tasman71
tasman71 - 3/16/2013, 10:20 PM
@Tainted87 Yes, I have read comics, for 35 years. Which is why I said it's not as present as it used to be. Love Shakespeare, obtw.

@Oxbow Exactly. Showing how the characters struggle actually makes them more relatable and, thus, more enjoyable to read.
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