Dec 11th 2020 Advent Calendar
What is this painfully sorry sight being presented here to us? His head bowed and shoulders hunched, Daredevil walks away from the crowd, a picture of dejection.
The crowd cheers his replacement enthusiastically, autograph books are held out expectantly and press photographers snap ecstatically.
Some people turn on DD himself, pointing and jeering. Daredevil is 'FINISHED'!
Today's advent calendar cover is from Marvel's DAREDEVIL #62, dated March 1970. lllustrated by Marie Severin, the cover sets up a series of stories in which Daredevil loses all popularity. Severin depicts the hero walking sorrowfully towards the reader, and has not only tilted the angle at which she has drawn the ground, but also the angle of the hero himself. This subtly reinforces the notion of Daredevil's uphill struggle, seemingly leaning forward like a person walking up a slope. In addition the crowd of Nighthawk's supporters are being 'tipped' by the angle of the ground towards him as he stands triumphantly on his dais, suggesting how easily they can be drawn towards a new 'hero'.
This isn't the first -or the last- time a superhero has found himself rejected or cast out by the very people he strives to fight for every day. SUPERBOY #139 saw a very similar scenario only this time the crowd's jeering has turned to them hurling pots, pans, bricks, cabbages and all sorts of other detritus at Smallville's champion. Even Superboy's adoptive parents are part of the hounding out, Martha Kent brandishing a broom aggressively.
And on the cover of ADVENTURE COMICS 393, just two months after the DAREDEVIL story, it was Supergirl's turn to suffer the ignominy of rejection, this time from a whole stadium full of haters, complete with hostile banners. And the missiles thrown this time include mostly drinks cans and bottles and several rolls of toilet paper.
Here's the Fantastic Four being turfed out of their HQ and facing an angry mob of their own. The caption informs us that their crime is no worse than being unable to pay their bills. Their treatment by the public seems more akin to the reaction given to serial murderers or war criminals.
This is Batman receiving the derision of his own sidekick and forced to leave Gotham City. As with so many of these images the dejected Batman's costume is ripped and torn as he makes his way wearily towards the 'camera', towards us, as if turning to us in desperation for understanding and compassion and acceptance when everyone else has turned against him. After all, a hero's most loyal supporters will be those who know them the best- their readers.
Finally this is the assembled Justice League being slung off the entire planet as ungrateful protesters wave banners labelling them 'Traitors' and 'Double-crossers'.
While covers of comicbooks frequently show superheroes confronting evil, battling monsters or being trapped in terrifying predicaments, they are shown so often to be assertively defiant, stoically resolute or bravely composed. What these covers reveal however is what, it seems, really troubles these heroes-- being unwanted, losing their reputation, unpopularity, banishment, hate. Like any celebrity these characters need the attention and love of their adoring fans in order to function properly. And when that love and attention is replaced by disapproval and rejection their whole world falls apart, if only because they live to help others and do good. When their actions are misunderstood or unappreciated their whole value system is challenged. None of these covers show the heroes challenging the hatred, pointing out the misconceptions, attempting to set the record straight. None of them show them doing what they are usually so good at doing-- fighting back. No, in each situation they seem resigned to the judgements being made of them by others, accepting of the possibility that they've failed. That's why these covers are so great, I feel, because we see these heroes really defeated. Not by supervillains, but by their own inner demons.
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