Necessary Evil
We’ve all celebrated our Superheroes. They give us hope etc etc. But I wanted to look a little closely at the lasting impact of a couple of my favourite Villains. Both are from DCs roster, and I believe both are some of the most well etched out characters in all of comics lore.
Before I break them down, the reason for choosing these two specific villains is that they’re both human, and inherently flawed. It’s the same reason that makes batman the most revered DC hero, and the most psychologically explored.
The idea is to examine their importance pitted against the Superhero they each so loathe, and even justify that they form essential indispensable components of their Superhero’s progression. I may even go a step further and suggest they may be misunderstood heroes in themselves.
Lex Luthor
It’s long been said that curiosity drives innovation. Pushing the boundaries of science is what brings greatest joy to man. It’s the reason man loves playing God. The idea of reaching there is what drives him. But to be constantly reminded of an unachievable ideal, would be a deterrent rather than motivation.
Superman is that unachievable ideal. He defies every law of physics that defines us. Superman represents the end of all great things for humanity. He becomes a one stop solution for an entire race, to rid the world of all evil.
The presence of such an entity signifies the existence of a greater power. Superman is something no human can compete with, or aspire to. The God symbolism of Superman has long been explored and discussed. He tilts the scales drastically and irreversibly. No man can compete with that, and will therefore not even attempt to.
By contrast, Lex Luthor represents the epitome of human pioneering. By taking on essentially a God, he pushes himself further than anyone would, in the process utilizing his genius with a very strong driving force; to rid Earth of Superman.
Luthor wanted the world to look up to him. To show everyone what humans are capable of. He spent his life building his empire, channeling his genius and unrelenting drive for greatness, only to be showed up by Superman
His philosophy is simple. Superman acts as a governor (the device, not person) for humanity. Lex’s concerns arise out of the fact that Superman’s presence on Earth suppresses humanity’s drive for excellence. Superman may be protecting humanity from disaster, but in the process, is he destroying our greatness?
He views superman as a benign overlord, but an overlord nonetheless. By defeating Superman, Lex hopes to prove that man can beat the greatest odds, and overcome even the most powerful of beings.
This ideal alone makes Luthor an essential cog in the DC Villain’s lineup, and Superman’s arch enemy. Writers could have chosen aliens, monsters or any other supreme beings to show Superman up time after time (and they do) but it’s no coincidence that the most revered nemesis for Superman stands tall as a ‘mere’ human.
The Joker.
Let’s look at the dynamic between Batman and Joker. Everyone who’s read a Batman –Joker story arc knows how Joker mirrors the Caped Crusader. ‘The Dark Knight’ explored this dynamic brilliantly,and even the ‘Arkham’ game series does it extremely well.
Joker ponders in ‘The Dark Knight’,‘what would I do without you?’, and ‘You complete me’. There is a lot of depth to these statements. For Joker, being Batman’s nemesis is a full time job. It’s what he thrives on. It’s what defines him. It gives him purpose.
What’s interesting though is the impact the clown prince has on Batman.
The Hindu Mythology Ramayana in one instance talks of ‘The LaxmanRekha’, a line drawn in the ground by Lord Rama’s brother, Laxman to keep evil at bay. No one can cross the line unless Sita allows it.Laxman creates the line to keep Rama’s wife, Sita, safe from Demons when he ventures out into the forest.
The Demon king Ravana disguises himself as a simple beggar and deceitfully gets Sita to cross the line to give him food. Once she crosses the line, he abducts her.
It’s the same kind of line that Joker wants Batman, and all of Gotham to cross. It’s not a line he will pull him across; Batman needs to cross it himself. It’s a choice he has to make.
And Batman crossing that line and killing Joker would signify his greatest victory.
Joker has always reveled in Batman’s ‘rules’. It makes Batman ‘predictable’. Even in ‘The Killing Joke’ Joker uses Gordan as his test subject, inflicting all sorts of suffering on the man, just to break him.
No story arc has handled the dynamic better than Miller’s Dark Knight Returns where Batman’s return galvanizes Joker to almost resurrect from a catatonic state. While I won’t delve into specific plot details, anyone who’s read the book will know exactly what I’m talking about.
The Joker stands as a reminder to Batman about what he stands for, and how far he is willing to go for Gotham. By design, the Joker enables Batman to remember why he started down this path of his, and what he has to do to keep going. Without Joker, I believe Batman could actually have forsaken his rules a lot earlier in his crime-fighting career.
At the same time, Batman is responsible for Joker’s existence. Let’s call it escalation, or even market correction if you will. But the two share an extremely dysfunctional and yet co-dependent relationship. This sort of complexity is rarely observed between superheroes and super villains, and has taken decades and great writing to fully flesh out.