Batman promotes war on terror

Frank Miller, the artist/writer of Batman fame, is writing a new batman graphic novel...this time, the enemy is not the Joker or Riddler....but rather al Qaeda!

LINK: Holy Terrorism Batman!

However, Miller expounds on his reason for choosing al Qaeda.

The reason for this work, Miller said, was "an explosion from my gut reaction of what's happening now." He can't stand entertainers who lack the moxie of their '40s counterparts who stood up to Hitler. Holy Terror is "a reminder to people who seem to have forgotten who we're up against."

It's been a long time since heroes were used in comics as pure propaganda. As Miller reminded, "Superman punched out Hitler. So did Captain America. That's one of the things they're there for."

Yes, this is true Frank. But when you are painting everything as good or bad, and using figures that are unable to do evil, then you are playing into the Bush Administrations's hands and you are actually promoting this war on Terror.

One of the fundamental ways the Bush Administration has succeeded in rhetoric is to paint everything as good-or-bad, invoking everything from apocalyptic imagery to fearmongering. Thus, the other side is completely evil, and 'our' side is completely good. This has been discussed more eloquently by georgia10 at dKos as to how dangerous this is, because then the 'good guys' can get away with evil deeds. How else can wiretapping be justified? How else, for the sake of everything holy, can torture by justified?

So, now, we have Batman. Superman. Captain America. All beings with superpowers, but one shared trait: They.Can.Do.No.Wrong. They cannot be evil, or do evil things. Batman cannot even kill his opponents. Ridiculous amount of moral integrity in all three.

So now you pit them against al Qaeda, and you've got the quintessential good-versus-evil plot. Anything Batman does is good, anything al Qaeda does is bad. What does this say for America, as an allegory? Miller goes on to explain this further:

"These are our folk heroes," Miller said. "It just seems silly to chase around the Riddler when you've got Al Qaeda out there."
...
"The Greeks had their Gods and heroes," Miller said. "We have ours." And if you truly consider these characters our mythological figureheads, you have to wonder about their place and purpose in our culture.

Indeed, what are they there for? To give us hope, feed that inner sense of conflict? However, to further this normative claim of good-versus-evil using a comic book character that epitomizes "good", then you further that polemic. If Batman resorts to waterboarding a suspect to stop the bomb, I'm going to be sick indeed. :o(

This is not a call for a boycott of Frank Miller, or even a protest of his work. What this is is a look at what happens when a polemical situation gets even more seperated...this time using superheroes. And it's damn scary.

May we all be conscious of the ways how we further polarize our communities, and, as Superheroes for peace, use our abilities to unite and lead, rather than divide and conquer.