KILL THE PARENTS
for Superheroes, Orphans & Origins: 125 years in comics at the Foundling Museum, 1 April to 28 August 2022Almost all child heroes have back stories that begin with trauma. Disastrous circumstances that end up with both parents dying and a child left all alone.
In fiction – and in life – we measure heroism in a protagonist by the depth of difficulties they have to rise above, and a happy untroubled life of loving comfort does not make for compelling stories and celebrated victories.To test our heroes and make them prove their mettle, they have to endure the worst possible challenges. And what could be more dreadful for a child than having their entire world destroyed?
There is also another very practical reason for taking support away from a child protagonist. If there are parents, then there is someone to say no. Most of the challenging and dangerous adventures that children embark on in fictional narratives would never happen if there was a sensible adult around. For the action to happen at all, the first thing we have to do is kill the parents. This powerful beginning for our story also gives our unfortunate protagonist a spur to torment them and drive them forward. They need answers. They need justice. Perhaps they need revenge. They definitely need to build a new world to replace the one they lost. Can they do it? Will they overcome all odds to dispel the darkness and emerge into the light? Yes, they will. We need them to win and their story won’t be over until they do.
These situations are exaggerated, operatic, melodramatic, oversimplified, but in a way they have to be; the emotional devastation of a real orphan is so huge it can only be expressed in the heightened dramatic language of comics imagery. Up in Flames is a look at all those inciting incidents, distilled into one long disaster poem.
“Up in Flames”, India ink on Excelda paper. Superheroes, Orphans & Origins: 125 years in comics at the Foundling Museum, 1 April to 28 August 2022