美国人:为什么我们痴迷于超级英雄?

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.

几十年来，我们在超级英雄身上找到安慰，甚至是希望。地球灭亡的那一天，人们也许会想到超人――那位身穿蓝色紧身衣的大个子。最近几年，为了跟随这个时代的社会需求，超级英雄的变体层出不穷。现在，他们已变身成为电影票房的统治者。《复仇者联盟：奥创纪元》上映仅24天就取得了超过10亿美元的票房成绩，为什么我们对超级英雄如此着迷？他们长盛不衰的魅力到底源自何处？

一切都在改变，一切都在消亡。创意、生物、文化、语言、思想，所有这些都在前仆后继、马不停蹄地朝着必然的变化和死亡进发。

美好抑或是邪恶，事物终将会消逝。只要地球还在绕着太阳转，我们就会持续成长、成熟直至死亡。最后，地球也会有寿终正寝的一天。

我知道，这种想法很悲观。

但是，也正是在这种生老病死的自然规律下，人类开始创作神话，我们想要自身的某些方面能永垂不朽，而要做到这点，除了通过创造出超级英雄外还有什么其他更好的办法？深埋于20世纪流行文化之下的，是美国人对斗篷十字军的迷恋。即使你不承认自己是“漫迷”，超级英雄对我们文化的影响也是不可置否的。只需要说出他们的名字（例如超人、蝙蝠侠、蜘蛛侠、美国队长、钢铁侠）你的脑海就会立即浮现出他们的形象，并且知道他们各自代表什么。

虽然我们知道人类自身总是处于变化中，但是超级英雄却是这个规则的例外。他们是静止的、不变的、也是无私的，我们热爱这些特质。

小时候我总是兴致勃勃地去漫画书店，尤其是为了去看我的美国队长。我忘记了最初喜欢他的原因，但是在一个孩子（或者大人）近乎癫狂的脑袋里，美国队长总是在那儿，时时刻刻牵动着我的心弦。

每个月，我总是焦急地等待《美国队长》的最新一期连载发到我信箱，然后我会不遗余力地玩味每一期连载里的每一个细节。几年的时间眨眼就过去了，此时的我已经看完了埃德・布鲁巴克的纪念版漫画《美国队长之死》和《美国队长：重生》系列作品。当终于看完了最后几页漫画，我注意到一件事情：《美国队长》的叙述主线从未改变。

当然，有些地方多多少少会有那么一些细微差别，但大多数时候，他都是那个为我们熟知的美国队长。我知道他是怎样的人，知道他在最后时刻总会胜利，知道他有不死之身。只有漫画才能做到这点。在漫画里，超级英雄永远不会变。他们不会让人捉摸不透、不会改变，并且于时间上他们是静止的。他们不会变老，也不会有长眠于地下的那一天，他们的失败总是暂时的，因为在漫画书里，但凡是正义和邪恶之间的较量，正义总是会胜利，即使这需要花一些时间。超级英雄就是我们发自内心托付信任的人。

超级英雄的故事其实是现代美国的神话集。

各个国家在创造出各自的超级英雄前在塑造英雄人物上都各有千秋，诸如奥德修斯和贝奥武甫这样古老的角色都曾踏上各自光荣的征途，而今，在克服了征途上的艰难险阻后，他们再度归来。

美国的文化氛围很年轻，发展空间还很大，我们选择让超级英雄（主要是漫威和DC两家漫画巨头）来续写传奇史诗。他们不会变、不会老，他们的象征意义也是如此，即使他们偶尔也会出些差错，但他们始终都在那条通往无私和正义的大道上前行。

纵然社会给我们展现的是另一副面孔，超级英雄们的永恒却能带来安慰。

人和事物持续变化，漫画史诗却能跨越时代和空间长存。40年前的人们和今天这个时代的孩子看到的《蜘蛛侠》只会是同一个人。他们都会知道蜘蛛侠是怎么来的，知道他代表什么，知道无论如何他都会打败敌人，即使这得等上好几期杂志的时间。

由于我们经常身处于变化之中，我们需要知道始终如一的事物是存在的。

《名利场》中的一篇文章指出，美国之所以拥护超级英雄文化，是出于美国人对完美主义的追求，并把这种完美主义变成一种文化。当我们目睹超级英雄克服万难最后成功的时候，一种人生圆满的感觉会油然而生，而这一点，我们也只能寄希望于超级英雄们。

罗宾・罗斯伯格在他为杂志《史密森尼》撰写的文章中更加深入地谈到了这一点，他认为我们对超级英雄的起源故事尤为着迷是因为这些起源故事启发我们如何仿效复制那些英雄人物。实质上，那是几乎获得全民认同的蓝本。

我们可以猜中超级英雄的结局，因而我们寻觅到了稳定和安慰，这也使得他们能长留于我们心间。不论你是否承认，超级英雄的诞生创造了一种必要的美国神话，当人类无法掌控周围的一切，我们就会到这些神话里去寻求帮助。

故事的最后，他们总是会战胜一切。