But in today’s world, one that is much darker and filled with less optimism, are the superheroes we love good enough? Are they actually succeeding at their mission? Because as far as I can tell, the world continues its downward spiral towards the bottom of the drain.
You can even make the argument that this self-righteous ethics code that our favorite superheroes hold so high is nothing more than a selfish act to narcisistically preserve their own image. For example, how many times has Batman seen the Joker escape from Arkham Asylum -- killing hundreds of thousands of people in the process -- and not decided to pull the trigger and end the cycle once and for all? He kills one and saves thousands. Yet, he won’t do it because of some ridiculous belief that it will make him no better than the Joker.
== TEASER ==
It all comes down to our heroes wanting to hold their own image above that of normal people -- even if it’s done subconsciously. This philosophy of pure beacons to light our way through the darkness is also incredibly naive and realistically does not fit into the portrait of the world that we see when we look out our own windows.
So if our heroes are already selfish in their obsessive need to be above the commoners, why not make it about business too? Maybe what we need is a group of “heroes” that removes that false self of righteousness from the equation and actually works on making the world a better place by permanently removing those who drag it through the mud, all the while earning some extra cash in the process.
Enter: The Secret Six.
While it’s arguable that the Secret Six’s occasional selfless deeds do more good in the long run than the accomplishments of heroes such as Batman, it’s still a matter of them contributing to the problem. For every villain they put in a six-foot ditch, the mere fact that these six murders remain alive and outside prison is a contradiction to the perfect utopia supposed “heroes” strive to achieve. You could say every step forward is a step backward, so to speak.
But therein lies the beauty of the Six: they are not bound by the stereotypical actions of the standard superhero. It’s not always about doing what’s right , it’s about doing what’s beneficial to one’s self, and if that happens to positively effect the grand scheme of the world, great. They might not be the quintessential heroes we need to lift us out of the muck we constantly surround ourselves with, but they do get the job done when necessary. To put it bluntly, the Secret Six rest in that tricky gray area where morally-centered hero meets dastardly villain, and that’s why we love them so much.
Erik Norris writes about nerd things on a daily basis and you can follow his interweb exploits on Twitter at @Regular_Erik.
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