Paul wrote:
> I have this working hypothesis that Batman is so well liked because he
> has sooooo many well known villains. Whereas your average American
> could only name Lex Luthor for Superman and few (if any) villains for
> any other hero.
>
> Would more people (the non-hardcore comic fans) be into Green Lantern,
> Aquaman, Flash, Wonder Woman, etc... if they could identify several bad
> guys for the hero to vanquish?
It is important for a villain to be well-matched with his
nemesis. Which of course is why most of Superman's villains
(Toyman? excuse me?) are such duds. Lex Luthor resonates,
because his big thing is his brain (and, latterly, his money), a
fine thematic contrast to Superman's brawn. Batman's best
villains have mental problems and obsessions -- Riddler, Joker,
etc. -- just like Batman does. Obsession meets obsession, and
you have endless drama. The crooks who did not at first are
vastly improved by the addition of an idee fixee. A good
example of this would be Mr. Freeze, an ordinary crook. The TV
cartoon series supplied him with his wife Nora, which has given
him enormous depth and a real sense of tragedy.
So far as I know Wonder Woman has no opponent who resonates with
what she is. Aquaman is almost too minor a figure anyway, but
at least he had Ocean Master, his half-brother and a source of
perpetual angst. But once Aquaman's happy home life and family
vanish, Ocean Master is no longer fun.
Brenda
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Brenda W. Clough
http://www.sff.net/people/Brenda/
Recent short fiction: PARADOX, Autumn 2003
http://home.nyc.rr.com/paradoxmag//index.html
Upcoming short fiction in FIRST HEROES (TOR, May '04)
http://members.aol.com/wenamun/firstheroes.html
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