The first fathers and sons of comics

It may not have been planned, but a lot of this week’s comics are about fathers and sons. It might not sound strange, but when you think of classic comics, there aren’t many prominent father figures. Some of the most prominent superheroes do not have parents. Superman’s father is dead, so is Batman, Uncle Ben is the closest thing Peter Parker has ever had to a father and we all know what happened to him. I’m not even going to get close to Silk Spectre’s parental issues. Is there an underlying reason that most superheroes are also orphans?

These weeks, Detective Comics, Walking Dead, and Gotham City Sirens are all about fathers and sons. In Detective, Commissioner James Gordon is increasingly concerned about the return of his son James Jr., who has been concerned to say the least and for reasons only hinted at, has been estranged from his family for years. .

In Robert Kirkman’s The Walking Dead, Rick Grimes has always sworn to protect his son Carl by any means necessary in his dangerous, zombie-filled world. In this month’s issue, Rick keeps his promise and even sacrifices his fellow survivors to protect his child. In this exciting installment, Rick, who has lost everything else, may not be able to save Carl this time.

The Walking Dead may have reached a critical turning point in its plot that may change the relationship between Rick and Carl.

Finally, in Sirens, Arkham Asylum guard Aaron Cash discovers that his young son’s death was not accidental but a covert plan by the Joker. Realizing this, Cash goes against his duty as a guard and approves of the Clown Prince of Crime’s proposed assassination.

Realizing that this father-son theme was at the top of my pull list this week made me think of the kind of shadowy role many golden-age superhero parents have played throughout. of comics history.

In almost every hero’s origin, their parents are killed, die, or are somehow left behind so that their offspring can fulfill their crime-fighting destiny. And what other tragedy is so universally identifiable as a strong motivator? No matter who we are, we all have parents, and losing them has fueled Bruce Wayne’s war on crime and inspires Peter Parker to take responsibility for his spider powers by using them for good, while Tony Stark and Britt Reid, (The green Hornet,) They live in the shadow of their parents’ legacy and try to improve the world by using their vast inheritances to fund their causes.

Many of those heroes have been subconsciously making up for the lack of perennial figures in their lives throughout their lives. Bruce Wayne, initially the ultimate loner, has fostered an entire family of Robins and Batgirls who share a similar trauma. Raising three child wonders is no easy task, and Bruce doesn’t do a great job interacting with his only biological child, Damian, who is the youngest, most arrogant, most antisocial Robin to date. It’s funny to see Bruce guide his former cronies Dick Grayson and Tim Drake so closely (to the point of adopting Tim) and neglect his own flesh and blood. Time will tell how this relationship evolves; Damian is a fairly new character in comedic terms. Meanwhile, Dick, (the original robin,) has taken his mentor’s son under his wing to form a new team of Batman and Robin that changes the dynamic of the duo by introducing a cheerful Batman and a short-tempered Robin.

Thanks to the relationships we witness from page to page, it’s easy to see that comics are capable of telling much deeper stories than what appears on the surface. Comics are yet another medium used to explore humanity and its many aspects. It may be colourful, cheesy and cryptic, but this ink doesn’t run, it bleeds.