Katy Barnes

In a world of ultra-nationalism and intense political divisiveness, is there still room for the standard American superhero? According to Eric Kripke, showrunner of Amazon’s “The Boys,” there may not be.  In a recent interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Kripke discussed his understanding of superheroes, and the way that he believes they are responsible for the rise in alt-right politics. In fact, Kripke outright tells The Hollywood Reporter that when it comes to classic superhero stories that, “there’s these undeniable fascist underpinnings to it. They’re there to protect white, patriotic America.” But is this true?  Though their creation stories are filled with the pro-American rhetoric of the 1930s and 1940s, they still were created to protect people, not ideals.  After all, superheroes were created by marginalized people, to defend the marginalized.  Iconic creators such as Stan Lee, Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster created characters to tear down rising Anti-Semitic notions. When they wrote characters to “uphold American Ideals,” they didn’t mean the ideals the nation has, but rather the ideals the nation was built upon and the ideals the nation should follow. As other issues began to become more prevalent in America, such as racism and misogyny, superheroes began to take on these issues as well.  An iconic image of Superman created in 1949 states, “If YOU hear anybody talk against a schoolmate or anyone else because of his religion, race or national origin—don’t...