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A megalomaniac laughs menacingly as he watches a violent repression of his workers through an enormous flat-screen television. A grim smile frames his veneers. Images of beatings and bloodied faces flash across the crystal diodes while signs advocating for fair treatment litter the pavement. We are left to wonder what can be done in the face of such injustice.
Suddenly, a militant body is hurled through the air. It lands and rolls with a satisfying thud and the camera pans to a heroic figure clad in high-tech spandex, wearing a look of determination that screams “justice.” A superhero has come to save the day; equipped with super-strength, bullet-proof skin, and an infallible moral compass. The workers rejoice as the violent scabs either retreat from fear or are doled out the retribution they deserve. Peace is returned to the city, and our menacing, capitalist villain grimaces, turning off the television as he walks out of frame, defeated once more.
Super-Irony
Such is commonplace in the films that adorn our screens in the age of the superhero. When the world seems too bleak to bear, unadorned humanity can only rely on the charity of “metahumans”, aliens, sentient A.I., or a host of other characters, to right the wrongs. However, in the real world this is hardly the case. As much as we may wish to transfer our…
