Mike here remarks on the telling descriptions in the latest issue of the American superhero comic, Daredevil, which could describe the Coalition in this country. I’ve blogged about how we need a return to the political underground and alternative comics. Mainstream American comics also have a tradition of socially relevant comment that goes back to the late 1960s and ’70s. It became particularly acute after Watergate, when Captain America became so disillusioned with his country that for a time he renounced his name and costume and fought crime and evil as Nomad. There was no overt party-political propaganda, but comics did touch on a range of issues of particular concern to the Left. These included racism – one of Mighty Marvel’s villains was The Hatemonger, an incarnation of Adolf Hitler intent on spreading hate to rule America and the world; the Civil Rights movement, with Black superheroes like the Black Panther and Luke Cage, a.k.a Powerman; out of control multinationals – Exxon, A.I.M. (Advanced Idea Mechanised); and feminism in the Valkyrie. The film Superman 4: The Quest for Peace also dealt with the danger of nuclear weapons and biased news. The latter issue was also dealt with in another issue of Daredevil, in which the villain panics the people of one American city by putting out fake newscasts spreading the news that a major crime wave is taking place, whereas no such thing is occurring. This particular story ends with Daredevil advising a grateful people, and thus his young readers, that they should always get their news from a variety of sources to avoid being deceived by similar falsehoods. It’s good advice, but where can you go except the Net to get an alternative view, when all the media appear to be Right-wing?
Tell me this doesn’t describe the Conservative and Liberal Democrat Coalition government:
“A group of ideologically-motivated power-seekers has infiltrated society, hiding inside the political system and behind ambiguous words to increase their fellow citizens’ bigotry and hatred against each other and thereby increase their own power and influence while everybody else is looking the other way.”
If you agree that it does, well, you’re mistaken. It’s actually about a group of villains in the superhero comic Daredevil, released by US publisher Marvel.
In the latest issue, a friend of the eponymous hero broadcasts to the city of New York, warning the population to beware of the infiltrators who say they are friends but are in fact the worst kind of enemy. Her words (by scriptwriter Mark Waid) are chillingly relevant to today’s United Kingdom. Here’s what she has to say:
“If we… are going to take our home back from…
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