From primary-coloured, straight guys to tarnished beings in a revisionist world, superheroes are our cultural barometer
It’s a classic comic book story. The villains are two brothers, grotesquely competitive, whose greed and ruthlessness have propelled them to world domination. They continue to try to kill each other, because half of everything isn’t enough for either of them. Only one thing can persuade them to cooperate: the bold challenge of one dauntless man, a David against their twin Goliaths. Enraged by his impudence, they join forces. Their victory seems inevitable. And yet, somehow, in the final act – because he’s strong, because he’s got some sort of gift, or simply because he’s the good guy – the courageous individual wins. Kapow!
By and large, Marvel and DC like stories like that. They won’t like this one. Its protagonist is Graham Jules: call him Comicboy. This week, it was revealed that the two companies had failed in a trademark case the 48-year-old British entrepreneur and law student. Specifically, and remarkably, they were trying to assert their control over a term that has become part of the essential set of myths of modernity: “superhero”.
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