美國人：為什么我們癡迷于超級(jí)英雄？

Why Are We Obsessed with Superheroes？

For decades， we have found comfort， even hope， in superheroes. On the last day of planet Earth’s existence， people might think about Superman， blue tights and all. Superheroes over the years have 1）morphed to fit our social needs of the time. Now they are the kings （and queens） of the box office. Avengers： Age of Ultron made over 1 billion dollars in 24 days， So why are we so obsessed？ What explains their enduring appeal？

Everything is changing and everything is dying. Every idea， every living thing， every culture， every language， every thought is in a continuous， nonstop march towards an inevitable change and an inevitable death.

Nothing gold can stay， but nothing bad can stay either. We just continue to grow， reshape and die as long as the Earth keeps spinning and， it too， eventually dies.

Depressing， I know.

But， it is through this process that we begin to create myths to keep something about us immortal and what better way to do that than through superheroes？ Deep within the history of 20th century pop-culture， America has always had a fascination with our caped crusaders. Even if you do not call yourself a “comic book fan，” the influence of superheroes on our culture is undeniable. Just their names alone （Superman， Batman， Spiderman， Captain America and Iron Man to name a few） bring with them an instant image of who they are and what they stand for.

Despite the ever-changing status we find ourselves in， superheroes are the exception to the rule. They are static， developmentally-arrested， and selfless， and we love it.

When I was young， I got into comic books in a big way， specifically my man Captain America. I don’t remember the initial reason why， but in the obsessive mind of kid （or adult）； there is always one that 2）strikes a chord.

Each month I would anxiously wait for the newest issue of Captain America to hit my mailbox and I would try as hard as I could to savor ever moment of the comic. Fast-forward years later and I have just wrapped up Ed Brubaker’s monumental Death of Captain America and Captain America： Reborn story arch. While reading through the last few pages of the comic I noticed something： The Captain America narrative has never changed.

Sure， there were some slightly different nuances here and there， but for the most part， he was the same man. I knew who he was， I knew he was going to win at the end of the day and I knew he wasn’t going to be dead forever. That’s how comics work. In comics the hero never changes. He is predictable， unchanging and static in time. There is no aging， no permanent dying， they are never losing for long and all comics end with the showdown of good verses evil and good will eventually， even if it takes some time， win. The superhero is someone we deeply trust.

The superhero narratives are the modern American mythology.

All cultures that have been 3）around the block before have them， ancient characters like 4）Odysseus or 5）Beowulf that embark on their grand journeys， there and， inevitably， back again overcoming adversity on the way.

America， being the young and developing culture that it is， has turned to superheroes （largely of the Marvel and DC） as our continuing epics. The heroes don’t change， they don’t age， they always stand for the same things and even with slight 6）deviations， they remain on a path ultimately towards selflessness and good.

There is comfort in the static even if society tells us otherwise.

With a continually changing landscape of events and morals， the comic book epics are a way to speak beyond generations and space. Someone who read Spiderman 40 years ago and a kid reading Spiderman today would both know the same hero. They would both know the same origin， they would know what he stands for and they both know that， no matter what， he will win； even if it takes a few 7）issues.

With constant change comes a need to see some things stay completely the same.

An article that ran in Vanity Fair， points to America’s embrace of the superhero culture as a need to complete our own incompleteness as a culture. To see a superhero succeed despite any hardships they have overcome brings closure， and that， we can only count on them to do.

Robin Roseberg goes further in his article for Smithsonian Magazine to write that we are obsessed with the origin story of superheroes above all else. The origin stories show ways to emulate the hero. It is essentially a blueprint with near universal approval.

In the predictability of our superheroes we find a stability and comfort that will keep them forever relevant. Whether one admits it or not， superheroes create a necessary American mythology that we all look to when everything seems to be spinning out of control.

At the end of the day， they always win.

幾十年來，我們?cè)诔?jí)英雄身上找到安慰，甚至是希望。地球滅亡的那一天，人們也許會(huì)想到超人——那位身穿藍(lán)色緊身衣的大個(gè)子。最近幾年，為了跟隨這個(gè)時(shí)代的社會(huì)需求，超級(jí)英雄的變體層出不窮。現(xiàn)在，他們已變身成為電影票房的統(tǒng)治者。《復(fù)仇者聯(lián)盟：奧創(chuàng)紀(jì)元》上映僅24天就取得了超過10億美元的票房成績，為什么我們對(duì)超級(jí)英雄如此著迷？他們長盛不衰的魅力到底源自何處？

一切都在改變，一切都在消亡。創(chuàng)意、生物、文化、語言、思想，所有這些都在前仆后繼、馬不停蹄地朝著必然的變化和死亡進(jìn)發(fā)。

美好抑或是邪惡，事物終將會(huì)消逝。只要地球還在繞著太陽轉(zhuǎn)，我們就會(huì)持續(xù)成長、成熟直至死亡。最后，地球也會(huì)有壽終正寢的一天。

我知道，這種想法很悲觀。

但是，也正是在這種生老病死的自然規(guī)律下，人類開始創(chuàng)作神話，我們想要自身的某些方面能永垂不朽，而要做到這點(diǎn)，除了通過創(chuàng)造出超級(jí)英雄外還有什么其他更好的辦法？深埋于20世紀(jì)流行文化之下的，是美國人對(duì)斗篷十字軍的迷戀。即使你不承認(rèn)自己是“漫迷”，超級(jí)英雄對(duì)我們文化的影響也是不可置否的。只需要說出他們的名字（例如超人、蝙蝠俠、蜘蛛俠、美國隊(duì)長、鋼鐵俠）你的腦海就會(huì)立即浮現(xiàn)出他們的形象，并且知道他們各自代表什么。

雖然我們知道人類自身總是處于變化中，但是超級(jí)英雄卻是這個(gè)規(guī)則的例外。他們是靜止的、不變的、也是無私的，我們熱愛這些特質(zhì)。……