Superheroes and comic-book vigilantes versus real-life vigilantes: an anthropological answer to the Kick-Ass paradox

Superhero Fiction and Vigilante Reality: Self-Referentiality and Quixotism in Millar and Romita Jr.’s Kick-Ass

“…Just like the Punisher, Rorschach, or Deadpool, Kick-Ass challenges both parts of the term 'superhero': he has no powers, so he is not "super," and he tiptoes the boundary between violence and morality, so he is not fully "heroic." According to Gavin Weston (2013), " [d]iscussions over the appropriate use of force, the use of fatal force, the morality of vigilantism, the relationship between the state and vigilantes, hero worship and other issues are common arcs in popular comic series," and readers assume a role akin to that of a voyeur as they watch "the traumatic event that justifies the [protagonist's] reaction. Witnessing the atrocity and hearing the thoughts of those engaged forces us to take a particular side, adopt a particular perspective.…”

“…However, Dave's methods stem from his frustration with the state of things and a general distrust of society, which lead him to take matters into his own hands and break the law. Following Weston (2013) again, most superheroes rely on and reinforce the existing judicial system, since they operate as police officers even though they do not exactly follow the law (225). However, they do not usually punish criminals: in general, the use of force serves the purpose of turning criminals over to the police, and superheroes do not install their own system or impose their own authority over judicial institutions.…”

“…The personal correspondence that comics readers might make between characters and themselves does not usually consist on an overlapping of identities, but rather, on a means of reflection or meditation about the actual dynamics of the real world. According to Weston (2013), "[s]uperhero-genre stories are not cultural directives to be imitated, but instead tools for thinking about society. This being the case, we are as likely to avoid reprehensible qualities from the villains of comic books as we are to draw upon the admirable qualities of heroes" (229).…”

“…It seems that the work has its cake, and eats it, too: for all its denouncing of maladaptive imitations of fictional tropes and motifs, the final message is that dreams do come true-albeit not in the way one might have originally imagined. However, in a social analysis of vigilantism, Weston (2013) questions, like in Kick-Ass, why there are almost no cases of vigilantism, and he argues that "[t]o become reality, what is needed is a trigger: a social reality that motivates us to act and search for fitting cultural models as we endeavour to right perceived social wrongs" (232-33). Therefore, in a society of relative comfort and safety, these activities result unappealing to the majority, particularly to a working-class whose dissatisfaction with the status quo, politics, or similar systemic issues, does not necessarily evoke an anti-state sentiment (229).…”

“…According to Weston (2013), the ever-present discussion on the nature and the foundations of heroism in superhero comics allow readers to question "the rightness and pitfalls of social bandits and vigilantes" to the point in which "we are shown the complexity of the moral decisions encountered by protagonists. Such awareness does not necessarily lend itself to copycats.…”