Dr. Who, Hero For All Times

As I write this entry about Dr. Who, I should mention first that I just went to my first Who Convention.  This took place in Chicago, or at least the vicinity of Chicago called Lombard.  The whole event was known as ChicagoTardis.  I went into the convention without many preconceptions.  I was doing it mainly for my daughters, newly minted Whovians themselves, thanks to my influence.  I enjoyed congregating with fellow whovians immensely, and was reminded of exactly how influential this odd man and his blue box truly are.

Like many people of a certain age I started my time travels with the good Doctor thanks to PBS and syndicated broadcasts aired in the 1970s and 80s.  At that time the series episodes being shown were heavily drawn from the Tom Baker era since he was then the man piloting the tardis.  Later on came quite competent and entertaining incarnations of the character, but, as some clever t-shirt designer noted, you never forget your first Doctor.

For this writing I will not journey across the series remarking on the qualities of various actors, companions, monsters, etc.  The character of The Doctor, regardless of actors portraying him, this is what I wanted to explore with this blog as I sat in the 2.5 hour line at that convention.  I was dressed as the fourth doctor, quite well, I should say, with beautiful detail accents courtesy of my artist friend, Gretchen.  She was able to make a lapel pin for me to match one Tom Baker's fourth Doctor wore a few times in the series.  It is a unique piece I can safely say none of the other 4ths at the convention had bothered with.  An outfit becomes a costume when one pays attention to the details.

Why did hundreds of adults and many children come together to celebrate this clever character?  We dressed up, acted silly, listened raptly, hurried about, and, of course queued up, over and over to immerse ourselves in a make-believe world hatched fifty years ago.

The Doctor is an alien.  He has two hearts.  He is from the planet Gallifrey, but looks quite human.  He would point out, though, that we look Gallifreyan.  He pilots a ship that can travel throughout space and time, which is partly why he is also known as a Time Lord.  So with his ship, which looks like a 1960s British police box, but it's bigger on the inside, and seemingly not much of a plan, he ventures on, always managing to save the world and the greater universe from a host of malevolent races and beings.  So far he doesn't sound like someone with the makings of star appeal.

The Doctor also travels with those whom he calls his companions.  These are regular humans from various eras and locales, though never terribly far from London.  The companions keep the Doctor more in touch with his humanity, alien though he is.  And even though the Doctor has a lifespan greater than anyone, thanks to the clever writer's trick called regeneration, he never sinks too far into the depression brought on by centuries of life.  He gets close, but this is one of the reasons for the companions.  They stand in for the viewer and allow us to enter the sphere of the Doctor's influence for a while.  They help answer the endless questions the show generates.

The Doctor is a pacifist.  He is a pacifist with a past filled with violence and destruction.  He has seen and caused the deaths of countless beings, and yet he goes on.  He knows the end of the story, possibly the end of all stories, but he continues to influence the details.  Doctor Who never directly kills.  He doesn't carry a weapon of death.  He carries a scientific instrument called a sonic screwdriver.  He battles with his mind, his wits, his wisdom.  And he is terribly clever.  I think this is the essence of why the Doctor has the massive appeal he has.  Like Odysseus, he is admired as a hero because he uses his mind.  He leaves others to the tasks involving violence and destruction, although he does take responsibility for those times when the actions of others leave no other choice but to end their lives to protect his chosen few.  Whenever possible, and there's always a choice, the Doctor avoids the violent path.

The Doctor, the man whose name has never been revealed, is a vanquisher, conqueror, and hero without ever firing a weapon.  He doesn't have to enter the boxing ring to beat the bully.  He doesn't have to raise an army to defeat the enemy forces.  No matter how impossibly the enemy threatens and overwhelms him, he never fails to think.  And it is in thinking that he outwits and outplays the enemy, every time.  The Doctor uses knowledge, the knowledge of a man centuries old and universally aware, to save the weak and powerless.

The viewer has the impression that the Doctor is capable of far more than he ever shows.  This is manifested in the reactions of his enemies to him.   They fear him.  Some even respect him.  The Doctor allows most of us to believe in our own powers and our own possibilities.  Very few of us could actually be Batman, Bruce Lee, Wonder Woman, or the Hulk.  Nor are we likely to live for 900 years, but if we did....  We who love the Doctor love the power of the mind.  We love the idea that anyone might be clever, and so could outwit the enemy.  We can imagine saving someone if we are only clever enough.

And if we are clever enough we may be able to rescue ourselves in the process.

Why We Need Superman

Superman, as painted by Alex Ross

I was fortunate enough to visit the Heroes Museum that was located in downtown Indianapolis. The tense is past because the one man behind the show was not making enough money to keep it open. This is a shame. It was a small part of the proprietor's personal collection of stuff related mainly to Superman, but with an impressive Batman section as well. It was also hard to find. It was in one of the buildings that once held Kipp Brothers Toys and Novelties, where I worked for many summers long ago. The wholesale district of town is changing. In comic books the heroes do their work in the heart of the city. Indianapolis should have worked harder to keep Superman.

Superman represents the best and most noble aspirations of each of us. He protects and serves like the police, but he will not be killed by criminals' guns. He works for no company, government, or group, so his motives are pure and free of corruption. Superman fights for the good in the world because he can, and not for glory or paycheck. He has compassion for the weak and innocent. His enemies are the powerful, greedy, and self-serving of our world. Certainly the comics and graphic novels have thrown supernatural villains of all descriptions at the man of steel, but the villains who always remain are those who are hardest to stop, the human oppressors.

While Superman could destroy these misguided men, he chooses instead to work within our system of legal and moral guidelines, the same held by his earthly adoptive parents. They were imagined as humble farmers in rural Kansas. As his alter self, Clark Kent, he tries to use media exposure to stop corrupt individuals from doing more harm. His biological parents were scientists who, in another world, tried to stop their government from harming their planet beyond repair, but the damage was already too great. The world of his birth was destroyed.

Yet even with the powers he possesses on Earth, he also must live with the burden of his own limitations. He reminds us that the best of us, even one better than all of us, is still only one person. Superman fans know that power and influence is only worthwhile if it used to guide and inspire others to use their own power responsibly and wisely. We all have power.

In a Superman book called Peace on Earth the artist, Alex Ross (the greatest hero artist of the modern era), shows Superman whisking around the planet trying to tackle the human crisis of hunger. In one segment he carries a cargo boxcar filled with food into an unnamed African or Asian setting where the soldiers of that nation open fire on him. Later in another country where the people are allowed access to the food he has brought, they claw at him and mob him so that he simply has to get away. He realizes that bringing food to the starving is the wrong kind of help for such a massive problem. Superman cannot help them. He cannot assume control of corrupt governments, nor can he destroy them, for what might take their place?

Ross also paints Superman in a most human light, physically. He is shown looking weary, dejected, almost defeated. No matter how pure his intentions, no matter how awesome his powers may be, he still protects a world of pain and suffering. But in that moment we readers understand that this is what really makes Superman the hero he is. He does not give in to despair. He does not give up his efforts or call them hopeless. He does not harbor hatred for humanity. He keeps fighting for the greater good. He fights on because he can. It was why he was put here.

Ultimately, we need Superman to remind us of our own obligation to fight for the greater good. Superman can't do everything, but he does his best to do whatever he can do to push the balance a bit more in favor of goodness. And precisely because Superman is not real, writers, artists, and others keep his story alive. If we each strive for greatness, each of us fighting as we can to put down injustice, corruption, and deception, there would be no need to tell his story.

In all that you do, strive for greatness.