1960's: Rebirth and the quest for meaning
1970's: Morality, Diversity, and Overhauling
1980's: "Who Watches the Watchmen?"
"Or perhaps you refer to the crisis of identity of the surface race. To their assumption that they are the rulers of the Universe, the assumption that obtains in their tiny little minds until they realize what a small part of a tiny speck in a vast cosmos among an enormous expanse of Creation they really occupy. And then when they realize that they don't even really hold sway over their own minute fraction of a speck, the have-- what did you call it?--- an identity crisis. That crisis?" - Aquaman. From the novel Kingdom Come. Elliot S. Maggin. Warner Books. March 1998.
Toward the later half of the 1980's and into the early 1990's, comics began again to reflect a generation who's only exposure with the reality of warfare came from motion pictures such as Rambo and current events as Desert Storm. Even the accomplishments of Alan Moore's Watchmen or Frank Miller's brutal portrayal of Batman in The Dark Night Returns could not put a stop to this tide, which began with costumed anti-heroes hauling arsenals of weapons to fight crime in the name of law and order. It was justice of an extreme nature, a frontier justice for civilized times, a true setback for the comic industry. Attention shifted from quality work to capitalizing off of the needless violence that was predominately seen in other popular mediums.
Anti-heroes such as the Punisher were followed by other costumed vigilantes with names such as Spawn and Cable or super-groups such as Youngblood and Wildcats. That which was brutal, violent, and colorful sold comics. Storylines degenerated because of artist who believed they could expand their creative outlets into the field of writing, a task accomplished by very few writer/artists. These young and aspiring artists, and the stories in which they told, reflected a generation that would know nothing about the battles fought for or the lessons learned in previous eras. They were rash, careless, unconcerned, and remiss about their medium and completely lost touch with the human aspect of story telling. This fault is not necessarily theirs alone, for they were only responding to the popular culture, until, once again, the comic marked imploded upon itself.
By the mid-1990's the artist-driven fans began to grow and mature, and the core comic fans began to once again achieve their prominence. A more seasoned generation of comic writers began to take up the mantle of storytelling, attempting to undo the mistakes made at the beginning of the decade. This effort resulted in a rebirth of storytellers who sought a "back to basics" approach to comics. It began in 1994, with the release of Marvels, a account concerning the Marvel Comics' tales set in the 1960's from the perspective of a normal human being. It set out to rectify the industry and apologies to loyal comic readers who had to take one on the chin, riding out the "gimmick age" of comics.
However, the most groundbreaking tale that would change the course of the comic medium would come in 1995 with the release of a work entitledKingdom Come. This was written by author Mark Waid and artist Alex Ross. It exemplified the super-hero genre of comics to its highest potential. The plot line is somewhat similar to that seen in both Squadron Supreme and The Dark Knight Returns. Heroes, anti-heroes, villains, and human beings all come into conflict with one another, each trying to achieve a common goal, through different means.
Kingdom Come not only sets forth a genuine, involved story, but it also reflects and dealt with issues that could be seen in the comic industry itself, how comics reacted to the popular culture of the times. This story serves to rectify the mistakes made in comics during the early years of the 1990's and pits each generation of comic book heroes against another. The story takes place in a 21st century world where these anti-hero's run rampant, fighting and brawling with each other in total disregard to the protection of the average human or the sanctity of life. Superman is living the life of a recluse, totally detached from a world that, he believe, no longer needs his leadership. Finally, it takes an disaster to finally bring Superman back to set right the damage done by these foolish anti-heroes. This disaster was the destruction of Kansas, brought on by the anti-heroes.
Several groups then come into conflict with one another. Batman begins an underground movement to stop Superman's Justice League, for he believes that the League is taking matters a bit too far for the League is so focused on its goal to rid the world of these anti-heroes, they have forgotten the human aspect of society, which Batman represents. It is a story with no boundaries to who is right or wrong. All the combatants finally clash inside the ruins of Kansas for one final battle.
As the battle progresses, the United Nations, finally decides to take action by sending a nuclear weapon in hopes of putting an end to this super-hero police force. Each side of the battle from the heroes, anti-heroes, humans, and the world government all believe what they are doing is right. Finally the decision as to the fate of humanity rest on the soldiers of one being who was both mortal and immortal, hero and human alike. He was known as the World's Mightiest Mortal: Captain Marvel. The hero then gives his life in order for all involved to see the error of their ways.
Elliot S. Maggin's novelization of Kingdom Come offers a quote by Superman, after the sacrifice of Captain Marvel, that can best describe the aspect of a super-hero: "Less than an hour ago, I asked someone to choose between humans and superhuman. But in his wisdom, Captain Marvel knew it was a false division... He chose neither of the options I saw, but made the only choice that ever truly matters. In the hope that your world and our world could be one world again, he chose life. That is his legacy." (pg. 313, 1998).
Thus, such is the legacy that all super-heroes should aspire to live by.