Are superheroes fascist? In the comics, generally no, because they are portrayed as apolitical servants of the people, obeying whatever laws exist, but mostly living as private individuals. But is that the whole story? And what if superheroes existed in real life? Would a comic-style existence be possible? That’s when it gets interesting.

What is fascist?

Let’s start by defining what fascist means. Mussolini wrote an encyclopedia article defining fascism, and I will attempt to sum it up in just two points:

• The state comes before the individual
• People are naturally unequal - hence there is no point in voting, since the powerful are the ones who matter.

Nobody would call themselves fascist today, but the first point is less controversial than it might seem. Most of us agree in locking up criminals. And what is a criminal except someone who breaks the state’s laws? Clearly the state comes before the rights of some individuals. And what about soldiers? They would give their lives for the state. And what of treason? Treason means undermining the state, and it often carries the death penalty. So most of us agree that sometimes the state comes before the individual. But where we would disagree is on the second part: should ordinary people control the state (i.e. by voting)? Or do we just leave the question up to the more powerful people?

The second point is where the fascists failed. They claimed to be a master race, with better ideas that created stronger, healthier nations. But plainly they were not stronger (they lost the war), and there is plenty of evidence that their nations, even outside of wartime (e.g. in Franco’s Spain), were no better and probably a lot worse than other nations. So the fascists failed because they were not superior at all. Their whole philosophy was bankrupt.

But what if they were right? What if some people were so much better than others that they always won? What if superheroes really existed? Then what would happen to world politics?

Superheroes would rule even if they tried not to

As noted on another page, real world superheroes would be professional, public and political: the three ‘P’s So we have a world of professional heroes who effectively run the world. But would they be kind and generous? This is where it gets interesting.

Superheroes attract supervillains, and so they are in a constant state of war. In real wars, civilians die. And in real wars, you cannot save everyone. So real superheroes would have to make decisions about who lives and who dies. Making no decision is itself a decision: whatever you do or don’t do, some people will live and some will die. If people are dying and you have a wonder cure (or a big gun), you cannot pretend you are not involved.

But wait, it gets worse! Some superheroes have superintelligence. They would make better decisions, but those decisions would not be obvious to us less intelligent folks. We would not agree with their decisions! So we have a situation where superheroes decide to let some civilians die, and we (the ordinary folk) think they have made the wrong decision. it would look just like fascism to us: undemocratic warlords sacrificing individuals for the good of the state.

Ironically, Superman was originally from a master race

”Professor Randall Dowling” notes the irony that two Jewish boys, opposed to fascism in the 1930s, created a hero who was powerful because he came from a superior race:

Superman [in his earliest comics] hails from a superior species. Siegel described the Kryptonians as millions of years ahead of earthlings and attributed Superman's physical powers, originally, not to the yellow sun but to his species' physical superiority. Jor-L and Lara were both pictured as leaping tall buildings at a single bound and moving faster than the speediest terrestrial locomotive. As he was called in the original version, Kal-L (not Kal-el) hailed from a race of supermen.

The case against superheroes as fascists

The simplest case against superheroes as fascists is that, in the comics, they are presented as nice guys, humble, without claiming the answers. The simplest response is that real world superheroes would not be exactly like they are in the comics. A more sophisticated rebuttal is that superheroes are fundamentally on the side of the ordinary guy, regardless of the state. As “kon-el” puts it::

The thing that grounds Superheroes, so they do not tread the role of "Fascist", is that they are always civil servants. They serve the public... all the public. Whether they're in Wakanda or in the Bronx, they're serving the public. They're without political consciousness. They stop property damage and support public safety. That's the role of all Superheroes. Fascists are pro-active... Superheroes only fight when a crime presents itself. ... Fascisms see divisions and exploits them... Superheroes do not see divisions between people.

Another poster puts it this way:

I would think that a person dressing up in some outlandish costume and putting themselves between the public and danger is about as anti-fascist as you can get. The only self-sacrifice allowed in fascism is when the State is the beneficiary. The ubermensch does not protect people, he tells them what to do.

Another says:

Also these people don't bill themselves as superior in crime fighting. They do not rewrite the rules, they merely enforce laws already in place, or respond to out and out attacks and attempts upon there lives. They don't define good and bad they are reflections of their society.

But who puts those rules in place if not the state? Is it coincidence that Superman used to proclaim “truth, justice and the American way”? By supporting a nation’s laws we support that nation, and oppose those who may threaten it. Can a hero really be neutral regarding the nation he lives in?

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