Kingdom Come shows why superheroes need a code of ethics – newsdubai
In 1999, Mark Waid and Alex Ross published what would go down as one of the greatest comic book stories in history in Kingdom Come. One of the main messages of the story is the importance of superhero ethics in the world of comics and what it means to be a hero.
Although comics have a habit of publishing exceptional storylines with important messages, few come close to matching Kingdom Come’s importance. They like Guardians, The Dark Knight returns, Kraven’s last hunt, and Batman: The Cult has passed into legend, but the landmark series by Waid and Ross has both a timeless and unique message.
The story focuses on a world set a generation into the future where the original Justice League has disbanded and gone their separate ways. While a disabled Batman now defends the streets of Gotham with Batman drones, Superman has withdrawn and retreated into solitude away from civilization. The beginning of the story poses the question of why Superman surrendered the world to the younger generation of metahumans.
As the world is ravaged by an ongoing war between these young metahumans, with some claiming to be heroes fighting against those they consider villains, ordinary people are left to watch helplessly as the world is caught in the crossfire. The new and young creature known as Magog leads a ragtag group of so-called heroes as they form the closest thing the world has left to a superhero team. But even Magog’s team is ruthless, destructive, and ignorant of the impact of his war on ordinary people.
But when tragedy strikes, Superman heeds the call of Wonder Woman to come out of retirement to improve the world. With Magog sent away into hiding, Superman begins to approach heroes, both old and new, with an offer to reform the Justice League and restore order. The destruction and almost anarchic values of the younger heroes forces Superman to make an out of character decision – to monitor his own, he imprisons the unruly heroes. The story covers how when the ethical heroes abandon their role as leaders, something far worse fills this void.
Kingdom Come’s depicting the recklessness of the brash and out-of-control younger heroes and how power without responsibility can become destructive is also a reminder of the famous Spider-Man code. The rapid decentralization and anarchy that occurred in the absence of Superman and Batman’s familiar “no killing” code showed readers why there are lines superheroes should never cross. With many casual fans questioning why Batman doesn’t just kill the Joker or why Superman doesn’t kill Lex Luthor, this series serves as an excellent answer to those questions. Once superheroes transform into judges, juries and executioners, they immediately run the risk of becoming destructive tyrants.
By illustrating a world left to the younger and aimless generation of heroes and villains, the story showed the importance of not only the moral code of the older heroes, but also their mentorship. The return of the Elder Heroes, along with their code, returns order and hope to the world and its people. In many ways, the story was a subtle rebuke of that era’s fixation with ‘edgy’ heroes and fans who began to question why Batman would leave someone as evil as the Joker alive. It also showed readers how when a hero abandons their responsibility and code, it can push even the best of them to their limits.
While many stories over the years, both before and after, have attempted to explain this code, none have come close Kingdom Come. The story serves as a long and deeper exploration of the meaning behind the infamous line “with great power comes great responsibility.” Any fan who wants to understand the meaning of the superhero code and why heroes have the restraint they do should begin with this iconic story. The story here is simple – when the powerful don’t have a code, the powerless are the ones who pay the price.