Thinking Out Loud: The Overton Phantom-Zone Viewer

An interesting little discussion I get into occasionally is "where do superheroes sit politically"? Now, this is kind of a dumb question on its face, as individual characters would have different political leanings, not to mention that different writers will put their own spin on things. Also there is the Overton window, which shifts over time, further muddying the already fraught notions of the "Right" and "Left" in politics. For example, your average American may consider the Democratic party as "Liberal", though by the standards of Australian politics, the Democrats would still be considered fairly "Conservative". Also, our Liberal party is pretty damn conservative and our Conservative party are a bunch of religious nutbags that no one takes seriously, just to be extra confusing. For myself, being an anarchist, pretty much no political party at home or abroad represents what I want or stands for the same thing I do, so the notion of democratic "Left" and "Right" parties is kind of nonsensical from where I sit, and I honestly consider the "Leftist" parties of Australia to be closer to the "Centre" for the most part.

The argument is, and it's not a bad one, truth be told, that because Superheroes maintain "order", they must be Conservative, as there is the assumption that the society they're helping to protect is worthwhile. Ok, so, yes? You rarely see superheroes raging against the government, and even when you do, in say Civil War or The Dark Knight Returns, there isn't really anyone agitating for the end of capitalism, as I would in their place. Then again, comics, especially Marvel Comics, have a history of being an "outsider" medium, with the Silver Age being replete with support for the Civil Rights, Environmental and Spiritualist movements, all of which are still considered outside of the mainstream, to some degree. Most superheroes are humanist, at least to a certain degree, being against killing their foes and trying to avoid fights, and I tend to place Conservatism and Capitalism as non-humanist, what with the whole letting people die of exposure and starvation rather than pay for them to have housing and food thing. I think if you exist only in the false and inaccurate Liberal/Conservative dualism of politics that is common in Western Democracies, then reading Superheroes as predominantly "leftist" is fair, though not the whole story.

As the internet provides more access to information outside of what is deemed "acceptable" by the mainstream politics and media in your country, (Australian media is weirdly conservative compared to our culture, for example) young people are finally able to learn what terms like "Anarchist", "Fascist" and "Socialist" actually mean, rather than how they are framed by those already in power. I have to admit, I used to have very incorrect assumptions about all of them, and I actually only realised I was an Anarchist when I was actively seeking out a label to help explain my political views to others. Even now, when I tell people I am an Anarchist, there are plenty of assumptions that I find I have to fight, but thankfully, most of my peers are at least willing to consider what I have to say. In the past few years, as the people writing comics get to be of my generation and younger, the politics of heroes are shifting. Be it the MCU Flag-Smashers, Alison Green or even the Immortal Hulk, some heroes are getting more radical in their politics and approach to the status-quo that they once safeguarded. I don't know if this is indicative of a bigger shift in how Superheroes are written, or if it's just a case of companies "going woke" to make more money, but you can be sure that I'll be keeping an eye on it and hoping.