Comic Book Usage
In Pre-Crisis comic books, superheroes and their secret identities are often considered alter egos. The archetypal comic book hero, Superman, assumes the identity of the "mild-mannered" newspaper reporter Clark Kent in order to live among the citizens of Metropolis without arousing suspicion. Whereas Clark Kent's true self is Superman (or rather the Kryptonian Kal-El), Batman is a character created by Bruce Wayne in order to disguise himself for the purposes of fighting crime. The Batman comics and movies such as Batman Begins have also explored the theme of the true self (Wayne) becoming lost in or giving himself over to the alter ego, much like the plot of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde. Post-Crisis comics flip this idea around for both superheroes. Superman becomes the persona that Clark Kent adopts in order to freely use his gifts to help the world without jeopardizing his friends, family and personal life. Conversely, carefree playboy billionaire Bruce Wayne becomes the alter ego necessary to hide the true persona of the crime-fighting Batman. The Incredible Hulk comic book series further complicates this theme, as Bruce Banner loses control to the Hyde-like Hulk whenever he becomes angry, yet also depends upon the Hulk's super powers in order to combat villains. Also the Batman villain Two-Face seems to split his alter-ego from Harvey Dent who's personality changes from being judge-like to changing back to his Two-Face persona and being ruthless using his two-faced coin to determine life and death.
Comic book-inspired alter egos can be seen in other forms of popular fiction, including television and movie adaptations of comic books, parodies of this genre, and unrelated fictions such as Star Wars or Angel.
Read more about this topic: Alter Ego
Famous quotes containing the words comic, book and/or usage:
“Whereas the comic confronts simply logical contradictions, the tragic confronts a moral predicament. Not minor matters of true and false but crucial questions of right and wrong, good and evil face the tragic character in a tragic situation.”
—Marie Collins Swabey. Comic Laughter, ch. 7, Yale University Press (1961)
“The exercise of letters is sometimes linked to the ambition to contruct an absolute book, a book of books that includes the others like a Platonic archetype, an object whose virtues are not diminished by the passage of time.”
—Jorge Luis Borges (1899–1986)
“Pythagoras, Locke, Socrates—but pages
Might be filled up, as vainly as before,
With the sad usage of all sorts of sages,
Who in his life-time, each was deemed a bore!
The loftiest minds outrun their tardy ages.”
—George Gordon Noel Byron (1788–1824)