The Dreaded "R" Word

In my previous post, I wrote of Wonder Woman and how the issue of her being "relatable" was an ongoing problem for her.

But you know what…if you’ve been a fan of the superhero genre in general, you’ve probably encountered the “relatable” issue. Superman is often plagued with the complaint he is too “un-relatable.” Spider-Man has long been praised for being the most “relatable” superhero. And if things aren’t going so well, or if sales aren’t so good, the battle-cry of it being not “relatable” anymore—or at all—is often heard at least once.
To the point where, honestly, I think people put way too much stock in what's "relatable" or not...but that's a whole other discussion for another time.

And there are fewer things that make me want to bury my head in the sand more than when a writer, editor, producer, creator, or Bob proclaims they are going to revamp a character or story to make them more relatable. If snarky, jaded fans interpret “We’re trying to make it more accessible” as “We’re dumbing it down,” then I believe we should start interpreting “We’re making it more relatable” as “We’re about to bone your favorite character. Hard.”

I say this because it seems so very often, when people try to discuss how relatable or un-relatable a character is, they don’t seem to know what that even means. And from my experience, the effort to force it usually leads to some of the most misguided, asinine, destructive, and all-around BAD ideas.

I think, easily, the apex epitome of how bad this can get is the notorious Spider-Man story, One More Day. I know ragging on One More Day has become something of a dead horse by this point, but if you want to see how bad the "relatable" issue can get, you need look no further.

I'm sure most already know this debacle, but let's recap for context if nothing else:
Bunch of higher-ups at Marvel Comics felt that a big problem with Spider-Man was he was no longer relatable to the readers. And the reason he was no longer relatable, according to them, was because he was married to Mary Jane—because, by their logic, comic readers cannot identify with a married man. What to do..? Can't just divorce the two; that would make things worse. No, the solution was to construct a storyline in which Aunt May is mortally wounded by an assassin sent to kill Spider-Man. So Mephisto—in essence, Marvel's Satan—offers to save her. In return, he wants to make it so Peter and MJ were never married. Because...evil. Spidey, incapable of handling the guilt of letting Aunt May die agrees and *POOF* Spider-Man was never married.

So what do we have here? People don't relate to Spider-Man because he's married—a dubious statement in and of itself. So to solve this, they have him make a deal with the devil to give up his supermodel wife because he has severe, crippling mommy issues. Because if there's anyone comic readers identify with and relate to, it's Norman fucking Bates.

Or how about this: if you're a fan who frequents message boards or engages in open discussion long enough, you've probably encountered or even participated in this exchange at least once:

FAN #1: "Superman isn't successful anymore because people can't relate to him."

FAN #2: "Oh, people can't relate to Superman, but they can relate to a billionaire that dresses like a bat and was trained by ninjas..? Yeah, that makes sense."

And what usually follows will likely be debate over how Batman’s better because he has no powers—even though he’s so often portrayed as the most unbeatable character in the Justice League—and how the problem with Superman is he’s too powerful—even though I don’t think I’ve ever heard anyone complain about the Hulk being the “strongest one there is.”

Here’s the thing with what makes a character relatable or un-relatable: it’s broad, abstract, universal concepts that does the trick. It ties into motivation and how the character’s backstory shaped that motivation. What the protagonist wants, why they want it, and how their past shaped them into the people they are. If you take any writing or character creation course, the first thing you’re always told to ask when making a character is, “What do they want?”

People relate to Batman because we all know and understand what he wants and why he wants it. He watched his parents die when he was a kid and vowed to fight crime. Within that motivation, there’s fear of loss. A desire for justice and/or revenge. Abstract concepts—it isn’t just “insert tragedy into the hero’s origin” and presto, you’ve got a relatable character. What motivates Batman is something basic, yet intangible, that everyone can understand and relate to. Everything else—the dark demeanor, the brooding attitude, the martial arts, detective work—that’s all flavoring and window dressing. Yes, it’s all critical to his appeal, but the core thing is that simple driving motivation: he saw his parents die and he wanted to do something about it.

That’s a simplification, of course. There are other factors to consider like conflict in the face of motivation. If people complain about Superman’s power levels, what they’re really taking issue with is his apparent lack of conflict. Where’s the drama in a guy who can solve things so easily, with so little risk? Over-powered as the Hulk can be, he has an inherent and relatable conflict to his character.

But I think if there's any advantage someone like Batman has over characters like Superman or Wonder Woman, it's that his motivation is very easy to sum up in a simple, straight forward sentence. And therefore, he is easier to sell as a relatable character. Why is Bruce Wayne Batman? Parents murdered, he fights crime. Simple, straight forward, you hear it, you get it.

Now to compare with Superman: someone asks what Superman’s “deal” is. You respond, “He fights for truth, justice, and the American way.” Yeah…but why? It's not that he doesn't have a motivation. Further, it's not that his motivation is un-relatable. If there's a problem with Superman, it's that his motivation is harder to sum up in a simple, straight forward pitch. Why does Superman fight for truth, justice, and the American way?

Because he was raised in Kansas.

Doesn't exactly hit you the way Batman's does, does it? And again, it's not that Superman doesn't have a motivation that we can relate to, or that his backstory hasn't shaped that motivation. The problem is Superman's backstory and motivation works better when seen, not told. I think this is probably why Superman's backstory and upbringing in Smallville is so often retold in comics, flashbacks, the movies, and TV shows. It works better when we see how his being raised by Ma and Pa Kent in Kansas made him Superman. Simply saying, "He was raised by nice folks in Kansas" just doesn't ring true as well as "His parents were killed and he wants justice" or "His uncle was murdered in a crime he could've prevented."