Evolution And Such

"You will die, and be reborn. Reborn as a hero like those that roamed the Earth of old, before the pale religions of civilization infected the soul of humanity!" - David Banner, The Hulk

"You are a god amongst insects. Never let anyone tell you otherwise." - Magneto to Pyro, X-Men 2

I've been thinking a lot on the topic of evolution recently, both spiritual and physical (Darwinian or otherwise), and the implications of such an idea. Nothing really concrete, but more a bunch of random ideas. Reflecting this jumble of thoughts, this entry will likely be a bit less structured and more vague. But maybe that's nothing new.

I've always liked comics, particularly the X-Men, Ghost Rider, and Dr. Strange. I stopped reading back in the day but still love the concept. The new crop of Marvel movies (X-Men, Spiderman, Daredevil, Ghost Rider, The Hulk, etc) have all been rather good in my opinion - especially the X-Men and Ghost Rider. However, it is X-Men and the Hulk that have been the most realistic I think - not because of the subject matter but because of how the governments and normal people react to the superhumans depicted. Uniformly, they react with fear and hatred, attempting to destroy what they fear...because it's better than them. This I think is the normal state of humanity, to fear and try to destroy that which is different because difference is automatically perceived as threatening. But that's not the only reflection of our world these fictions hold.

It's been said that modern comics, sci fi and fantasy stories, etc fill the place the myths did in previous cultures, and to an extent I agree with this. What I think many fail to recognize is why this may be the case. I think, on a very fundamental level, we as human beings need stories of the superhuman. Not only do such stories provide role models and cautionary tales after a sense, they also provide the hope that we can be something more than what we are. Of course, no one takes such stories seriously these days - no one realistically thinks they're going to wake up one day an toss around semis with mentally generated magnetic fields. Indeed, it's entirely possible that no one in antiquity took stories such as the Iliad & the Odyssey absolutely literally either. It is our modern conceit to think that they must have because they were superstitious ancient people, but this does not make it so. No, it is my opinion that something in such stories speaks to a deep part of our minds, to a part that wants both more control and more involvement in the world we inhabit.

Originally myths of this nature were essentially religious stories - this must not be overlooked. As Christianity came along and relegated these stories to the dustbin of history humanity lost something of itself. All of these varied and differing myths were replaced in essence with the solitary myth of the gospels. A case could be made that the legends surrounding the various Catholic saints filled this void to an extend, but the character of them is fundamentally different than the old stories. In the saint legends, the formula is generally Saint SoAndSo was a pious guy, did a couple of cool things, then keeled over and went to heaven with God. Contrast this with the Greek myths, wherein the hero was often semi-divine to begin with (Heracles, Perseus, etc), did a bunch of cool stuff, died, and in the best of cases was lifted into the heavens and became a god in their own right. Not just hung out in heaven with God/the gods, but became a god.

For a long time, the superhuman was generally demonized by Western civilization. At first in reality with the various witch trials and later in fiction, which is the essence of the horror genre - the conflict between human and superhuman. After all, at it's core that is what stories like Dracula, Frankenstein, and the like are about. But with the advent of the 20th century we have something relatively new, the widespread rebirth of the heroic superhuman. This is not to say that heroic superhumans didn't exist in literature beforehand - Merlin for example. But in the 20th century the concept became, again, truly common in literature. True, most of these stories - comics, pulp magazines, etc - where "supposed" to be aimed at youth but that isn't really the case when you look at it. Especially in today's market, comic based sci fi and fantasy stories are big business.

The question remains though of why. These stories speak to the subconscious I think, to a need and desire within each of us to become something more than what we are, to transcend the tedious roll of everyday life and do something that actually means something for once. To transcend not just our physical limitations but our psychological and spiritual limits as well. In short, to grow, to evolve. In a sense these stories came back because we as a civilization wanted them to come back. Stagnation, after all, can only last so long before change occurs. We know, I think, on a subconscious level but as a civilization that now more than ever we must evolve beyond what we are or perish. Adapt or die. And so the old stories are new again.

What happens next is up to you.