The "best" Superhero

A few weeks ago there was a discussion in the class over the topic of who was the "best" superhero. As the discussion progressed, it became rapidly evident that the class had no established definition of either what it means to be a superhero, or what it means to be the "best". So I shall begin this post by establishing both of these parameters through the online Merriam Webster dictionary definitions for these two terms.

Superhero: "a fictional hero having extraordinary or superhuman powers; also : an exceptionally skillful or successful person"

Superhuman: "1: being above the human : divine , 2: exceeding normal human power, size, or capability : also : having such power, size, or capability"

Best: "1: excelling all others , 2: most productive of good : offering or producing the greatest advantage, utility, or satisfaction "

I have also included the definition of superhuman as it is another ambiguous term that was used in the definition of superhero.

As one can see from the definitions for superhuman and best, even the dictionary does not have a single definition for a given word. This is because in different contexts a word can mean different things. This is particularly dangerous when having a discussion and is the reason for the usage of Stasis Theory (specifically stasis of definition) which will be discussed briefly in class in Tuesday.

Given the above definitions, a superhero is someone that is more than human, or capable of actions that the average person can not accomplish. Thus, anyone that accomplishes more in a given area than their peers can be deemed as having "superhuman" abilities in that area. The twist that threw off the discussion into a repetitive loop in class was primarily the definition (or rather definitions) of best. Part of the class was using the first definition given above. The rest was using the second definition. The first definition states that the best excels all others, and with regards to superhero's this would result in superhero's that are perfect being the best superheros. (I.E. Superman, who has no real flaws through most of his continuities.) The second definition uses the words greatest satisfaction in them, which would imply that the best superhero would be the most satisfying or interesting hero, which is what the rest of the class was arguing. For the first definition I'd have to agree that Superman is the most pure and perfect hero. The second definition leaves far more room for opinion in the decision, which is why there will never be a single unanimously favorite superhero.

Ultimately, superhero stories are hard to compare. Every generation brings new twists and changes to the hero's, and our generation of remakes is generally moving the hero's into a more dynamic style (edgier, more human emotions, etc) as this is what our generation largely desires. This was evident from most of the class assuming the second definition of best rather than the first one, and that the modern iterations of superhero stories are moving towards a darker more ethically based internal conflict rather than having purely "white knight" superheros.

~ Brandon