Dark Heroes

We like to think everything in the world is clear-cut and plain. We like to think that light and dark are always as simple as black and white. But stop being naive and take a good look at the world around you--- is it really black and white, or is it black at one extreme, white at the other extreme, and a whooooole lotta grey in the middle?

See, maybe in the beginning, and certainly forever in the eyes of God, things were and are so simple to discern. But over time, man has volleyed between light and darkness countless times; to say that all heroes wear white and all villains wear black is just naive. The iconic superhero of American culture is a man who does most of his heroism in broad daylight. Did you ever stop to think that most of the evil that takes place takes place in the darkest of night? I don't know about you, but I prefer a hero that is not afraid of the dark. A candle is not lit in the day to keep away the darkness; it is lit in darkness to bring the light to the pitch. In this world, we constantly fight at night.

That's why I love dark heroes. Sure, Superman (or Goku if you're into Japanese heroes) are strong as all heck. And in end, they triumph wit the strength of their heart and all that good stuff. But when they DON'T triumph on the strength of their own might... they fall back on the dark heroes: Batman for Superman, Piccolo for Goku.

So what are the characteristics of dark heroes? Well, let's look at Batman. Orphaned by violence; on a quest to avenge his fallen parents. In other words, he was birthed in darkness. Piccolo: once known as the evil King Piccolo, he gradually becomes a hero from his evil state. In other words---you guessed it---he was birthed in darkness.

Let's talk about powers. Batman: none. He instead uses his ingenuity to equip him for the tasks he must perform. He works like a detective and searches out perpetrators, defeating them with pure skill and wit. Piccolo: plenty of power. Well... in a vaccuum, yeah, he's pretty powerful. It's just when you compare him to, say, Goku that Piccolo begins to pale to a powder green. Not to mention, the enemies in the series become irreverantly powerful and eventually dwarf Piccolo. How does he compensate? You guessed it: ingenuity. He doesn't have much power relatively speaking, but he uses his brain to get the most out of the little he has, and thereby, he remains a threat throughout his career.

Social skills? Batman and Piccolo have... um... none. Now, Batman as Bruce Wayne can turn heads, but he can because he was taught proper etiquette and such. That, plus the fact that he's pretty much a psychologist by nature, makes it easy for him to read and play people. And of course, women love a tall dark stranger. Piccolo? Could care less how people around him feel with the exception of little Gohan, who he taught. Women are no distraction to him; he's an asexually reproductive alien. He spends most of his time in isolated meditation. What we see here between Batman and Piccolo is two means to the same end: they each totally control their own spheres. (Isn't it funny how the all-powerful Goku had little to do with the teaching of his own son? We'll come back to that another time...)

Now, lemme ask you this. When it comes to contending with evil, would you rather have a person oblivious to the nature of evil at your side, or someone who is familiar with the darkness to guide you? As I pose this question, I think it is a good time to deviate a little bit and examine the counterparts of Batman and Piccolo: Superman and Goku.

Their greatest assets? Power. Plain and simple. It's not intelligence by far. If you pay attention, Goku and Superman make PLENTY of mistakes; it's just that they're so powerful that they can make up for it. Don't mistake victory for efficiency; using a bomb to kill a mouse is a pyrrhic victory any way you slice it. With so much power, Goku and Superman meet any challenge with a sizable level of confidence (I'm dying to say arrogance, but they gotta be smiling and talking smack at the enemy first).

But let's talk personalities; what do you get with Superman and Goku? Superman... I hate to say it, but he's naive. Superman is a superjock; his power is his bread and butter. When it runs out on him, it's then that he uses his brain, which is Batman. Goku...he's not quite naive. Goku is, instead, actually selfish (remember how I said he barely taught his own son? Yup, Piccolo did that...). When the world is at stake, if you notice, Goku's main concern is his own warrior strength. I can respect that most times, but when the world is at stake, a sensible hero is going to do his best to silence the threat ASAP; Goku's #1 goal however, until the very final, most critical moments, is to discover his own strength in the midst of battle. And when Goku's strength is tested and fails him, what is his plan B? A delay for recooperation, usually spearheaded by Piccolo, the 'bald Green Arrow'. Naiveity and self-centeredness... but we call these cats heroes becuz they pull it off every time.

Knowledge of evil? Heck, both of these cats came from way outta town and barely even know who THEY are THEMSELVES! See, there's nothing wrong with being 100% good-hearted, except when it comes to fighting evil. Well... actually lemme put it like this: there's nothing wrong with being 100% good-hearted, period. But just because you're good-hearted doesn't mean you shouldn't understand the nature of evil. Even the Bible tells Christians to be "wise as a serpent, but harmless as a dove", and if you know anything, you know the serpent is used to represent evil. Superman and Goku are like a cocky football team that doesn't care to learn the tendencies of their opponents. Why? Because they're so strong they feel they can't be defeated... but that's just what they think. People, there's a reason that the Bible warns us of "pride preceding destruction".

It's that very trait that makes it easy for Superman and Goku to find themselves in those "predicaments" that they get in; they're liable to die from a heart attack at a friggin surprise birthday party 'they're so naive. But you wanna try some impossible ish? ...Try getting the drop on Batman or Piccolo. You can't do it! Why? Because even though they have enemies, they RESPECT their enemies; they make it their business to be in their enemy's heads. As a hero, you don't hafta like your enemies, but to act like you can be oblivious to them just because they're evil, like they can't harm you just because you're a good guy and you have some kinda goodie-goodie forcefield around you, that's gonna get you six-feet deep. If that was the case, how come heroes hafta save those "good people" all the time? Where's their forcefield?

Now, let's talk about heart. Everybody who knows anything about these cats knows that there's a sharp distinction between the hearts of Batman and Piccolo and the hearts of Superman and Goku. I'll make this short: the first two are cold-hearted, the second two are fuzzy-wuzzy. Or ARE they? Did you ever think about this:

The chances of Superman and Goku dying are fair; the chances of Batman and Piccolo dying are off the charts! And yet, the ones who go in search of danger and people to help are Batman and Piccolo, Batman as the Dark Knight prowling the streets by night and Piccolo as the declared protector of Earth (once his home of Namek is destroyed). Ironically, Superman and Goku aren't known for looking for evil; evil comes looking for them. You would think with all their power, they'd be the first line of crime-fighting and Batman and Piccolo would be the backups. So yea, Piccolo and Batman aren't known for their winning smiles. But, even though Superman and Goku are good-natured, gregarious, and fun to be around, Batman and Piccolo are the ones who are gonna come out of the shadows and, like Hellboy, "bump back" whatever goes bump in the night.

I didn't mean to get so specific in my comparisons; in general, dark heroes are simply the most worthy and least respected of heroes. And it's only because they seem dark, ya know? Nevermind that our world is a huge grey-area that the simple mind of an iconic, overly-idealistic, textbook hero couldn't begin to fathom. But for a people who constantly declare the importance of mind power, resourcefulness, resilience, ingenuity, humility, efficiency, empathy, and the quiet strength of the individual... why aren't Dark Heroes lauded? It's funny; it's like we love the thrill that the stupidity of an iconic hero generates, and we just forgive that stupidity when their excessive power provides their means of escape.

...Forbid that one day the iconic, "jock" heroes face the dark, "genius" heroes on unfriendly terms. It brings to mind a certain incident from a few years ago... mmnah, I don't think I wanna go there. We'll stop here.

We Fight at Night B-J