Superheroes need romance too

Superheroes usually work and hunt alone. After all, what’s the fun in being a super-duper sort of a being and needing some sidekick to take down all those dirty villains? But then, the comic book wallahs have a mind of their own, and one eye, of course, on the cash registers. So, they went ahead anyway and introduced that little sidekick for many of the costumed, caped crusaders who protect earthlings — usually Americans, and even more usually, New Yorkers. Not content with that, they made many of these figures team up; some sort of Justice League-type gang battling some appropriately oversized and overambitious global evil. But making them fall in love with each other! And that too via a matchmaking site! Somehow, that seems like crossing a line. But there you have it: Superman, we are informed, is going to be romantically involved with Wonder Woman, and there’s nary a thing we can do about it.

Perhaps it’s just a sales pitch. Or perhaps, a bit of psychology is involved — passing on the message about dating the right sort of person and a happy American family values sort of bunkum, perchance. But then, ponder the deep links with psychology pop culture, including comic books, has had and things seem a tad different. Wonder Woman, for instance, was created in the 1940s by Harvard psychologist William Moulton Marston — wanting a ‘strong’ role model for women, apparently. The whole pantheon of superheroes, actually, has also been called America’s version of mythology. A young nation supplying its own Greek gods. And much as the comic book purist mightn’t like mutual amorous dalliances, one can hardly grudge anyone a bit of romance on the side. Super-beings and even the Gods too, as Indians know full well, are wont to have a bit of fun every now and then.