Rovnyak, 1

Angela M. Rovnyak

Professor Jennifer Feather

USSO 279

December 13, 2007

Holy Flying Broomsticks Batman! Harry Potter and the Exemplification of the Superhero

Archetype

“It’s a remarkable dichotomy. In many ways, Clark is the most human of

us all. Then… he shoots fire from the skies and it is difficult not to think

of him as a god. How fortunate we all are that it does not occur to him.” –

Batman

Reflecting upon his friend Clark Kent, better known as Superman, Batman speaks

about the dual natures of the superhero: the extraordinary power and abilities, and the

weaknesses and shortcomings inherent in the human condition. In other words, a

“superman” is an ideal man. Friedrich Nietzsche saw the “Superman” or “Overman” as

an ideal, perfect human being who would replace God: “What is the ape to men? A

laughing stock or a painful embarrassment. And just so shall man be to the Superman: a

laughing stock or a painful embarrassment” (Hayes). In contrast to Nietzsche’s vision, the

superhero in Western folklore, rather than subjugating man, has become mankind’s hero

and savior:

The American monomyth [the story of the Superhero] derives from tales

of redemption. It secularizes the Judaeo-Christian (sic) dramas of

community redemption that have arisen on American soil, combining

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elements of the selfless servant who impassively gives his life for others

and the zealous crusader who destroys evil (Lawrence and Jewett, 6).

One can apply this idea of a superhero- a super-powered individual who uses these

abilities to protect mankind, while being a part of mankind himself- to British author J.K.

Rowling’s character Harry Potter. Throughout the course of the series, his powers,

personality and experiences, compared to those of established superheroes, define Harry

Potter as a superhero.

While not required to fit the Superman archetype, conventional superheroes often

do possess powers that exceed those of normal humans. Fitting with this convention,

Harry Potter, being a Wizard, wields powerful magic. Even within the Wizarding world,

he is especially talented- in Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone, he discovers that he is

naturally adept at flying upon a broom (Rowling, 148-149). In the second novel in the

series, Rowling reveals that Harry is a parselmouth; he has the ability to communicate

with snakes and other reptiles (Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, 195). In

addition, a common superhero convention is that the hero does not receive powers until

young adulthood- Superman did not find out his true identity until he was eighteen and

began to exhibit Kryptonian powers such as super strength and flight (“Superman

Biography, History”), and Spider-Man developed his powers including super strength and

wall crawling while a high school student (Koepp). Similarly, Harry is eleven years old

when he is accepted to Britain’s school for magically-powered individuals, Hogwart’s

School of Witchcraft and Wizardry (Rowling, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone,

50).
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In addition to having superhuman abilities, a superhero usually experiences a

stereotyped plot. The superheroic life story

…always begins with a threat arising against Eden’s [the harmonious city

or town in which the hero lives] calm… paradise is depicted as repeatedly

under siege, its citizens pressed down by alien forces too powerful for

democratic institutions to quell. When evil is ascendant, Eden becomes a

wilderness in which only a superhero can redeem the captives (Lawrence

and Jewett, 26).

The utopia is presented as an idyllic haven for the hero, but is constantly being attacked

by the villain, who wishes to destroy peace, or enslave the citizens. Therefore, the hero

must protect this haven at all costs. An example of the beloved utopia of the Superhero is

the dual utopias of Smallville, Kansas and Metropolis, Illinois in Superman’s universe.

Superman describes the perfection inherent in his utopia:

Metropolis. This is the part of the job I like best. High above the city I can

see the horizon. Odd as it sounds, it reminds me of [Smallville,] Kansas.

The way the wheat would cut across the north field as if it were going to

roll on forever. The stillness, except for the wind. And… my Dad would

gently remind me… it was time to go to work. (Loeb and Guinness, Part 1:

World’s Finest)

Harry Potter also has a utopia similar to Metropolis: Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and

Wizardry. In Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, Rowling presents the Hogwarts

not as a Paradise, but as freedom from the Muggle (non-magical) world, saying that being

away from Hogwarts is like “like having a constant stomachache” (3). When Harry is not
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at Hogwarts, he lives with his aunt and uncle, Petunia and Vernon Dursley, who force

him to sleep in the cupboard under the stairs, (Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone, 19)

and speak about Harry as if he did not exist “or, rather, as though he was something very

nasty that couldn’t understand them, like a slug” (22). This description of Harry’s home

life emphasizes how much better Harry perceives his life at Hogwarts.

Much of the evil befalling the hero’s utopia is caused by his arch nemesis, an evil

person to whom the hero has a special connection. In the1989 Tim Burton film Batman,

the hero and his arch nemesis, the Joker, are revealed to have “created” each other.

Mafioso Jack Napier pulled a hit on Thomas and Martha Wayne when he was a young

man, scarring young Bruce for life and causing him to become the Batman. Years later,

Batman pushed Napier into a vat of hazardous waste, bleaching his skin, dying his hair

green, and driving him completely insane, causing him to become the Joker (Hamm and

Skaaren). Harry Potter’s arch nemesis is megalomaniacal villain Voldemort, referred to

throughout the books as “He who must not be named” or “You-Know-Who” because of

his extreme evil. Once known as Tom Marvolo Riddle, Voldemort was a student at

Hogwarts, who committed his first murder at the age of sixteen and went on to terrorize

the wizarding and Muggle worlds. Two of his victims were Lily and James Potter,

Harry’s parents. When attempting to murder Harry, a piece of Voldemort’s soul was

trapped in Harry’s body (Rowling, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, 709),

consequently, Voldemort’s existence is based upon Harry’s survival. In Harry Potter and

the Goblet of Fire, Voldemort uses Harry’s blood to bring himself into true physical

form, therefore; he and Harry are even more intrinsically connected (642). Harry and

Voldemort’s wands are also brothers; they each contain a tail feather from the same
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phoenix (Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone, 85). Harry’s drive to defeat Voldemort

stems greatly from this connection.

The conventional superhero also often experiences personal tragedy, which

inspires heroic actions. An example in established superhero lore is the murder of Bruce

Wayne’s parents:

The nightmare always begins the same. My parents… Thomas and

Martha Wayne take my hands as we leave the theater. I can only imagine

the fear that gripped them when the gunman stepped out of the shadows…

never knowing that these were their last moments alive. I will never forget

the sound of the gun firing. Tiny pieces of metal ripping through the only

two people I ever loved. The blood, the acrid smell of gunpowder. My

future going black before my eyes. My parents lay in the street, bleeding

to death. It seemed like hours before anyone came to help…

Unexpectedly, in the nightmare, I can see myself—alone—as I watch my

Mother and Father leave me forever. At that moment, my childhood

ended. (Loeb and Guinness, Introduction of Part 1: World’s Finest)

Harry Potter lost his parents in a similar manner: Lord Voldemort murdered Lily and

James Potter in front of his intended target: the infant Harry (Rowling, Harry Potter and

the Deathly Hallows, 328). Although he was much younger than Batman had been when

his parents died, he can recall their deaths just as vividly when in the presence of their

murderer:

“Lily, take Harry and go! It’s him! Go! Run! I’ll hold him off!”…

“Avada Kedavera!”
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The green light filled the cramped hallway… [and] James Potter

fell like a marionette whose strings were cut…

“Not Harry, please. No, take me! Kill me instead!”…

“The green light flashed around the room and she dropped like her

husband (343-344).

Tragedy is not limited to the death of parents: Harry witnesses his godfather’s murder by

Voldemort’s minion Bellatrix LeStrange in Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix

(805-806), his friendly rival Cedric Diggory’s murder by Wormtail in Harry Potter and

the Goblet of Fire (638), and his mentor Albus Dumbledore’s apparent murder by

Severus Snape in Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (596). He also witnesses the

murder of the vindicated Snape, again by Voldemort’s hand, in Harry Potter and the

Deathly Hallows (656). Instead of crushing the superhero’s spirit, tragic life experiences

inspire greatness; for example, the death of Peter Parker’s Uncle Ben inspires Peter to

take on the persona of Spiderman (Koepp). Likewise, when Harry is reunited with his

dead friends and relatives in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, he gains the courage

to finally face Voldemort and accept his fate (Rowling, 704).

Romantic relationships are also a hallmark of the superhero’s life. However he

must not pursue them, else risking the life of his companion. In Spider-Man, Peter lies to

Mary Jane, telling her that he does not love her, in order to protect her from being hurt or

killed by another villain, since she had already been threatened by the Green Goblin

(Koepp). Superman cannot reveal his relationship with Lois Lane or tell her his secret

identity because of similar fears (Capizzi and Timm). In Harry Potter and the Half-Blood
 Rovnyak, 7

Prince, Harry breaks up with his girlfriend Ginny Weasley because of the role he would

have to play in eventually permanently defeating Voldemort:

Ginny, listen… I can’t be involved with you anymore. We’ve got to stop

seeing each other. We can’t be together… Voldemort uses people his

enemies are close to… Think how much danger you’ll be in if we keep

this up. He’ll know, he’ll find out. He’ll try and get to me through you

(Rowling, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, 646).

This is, in fact, a common tactic of the hero’s arch nemesis. In an episode of Batman: The

Animated Series, the Joker kidnaps Batman’s girlfriend Catwoman. The Joker’s lover and

partner in crime Harley Quinn then keeps Catwoman hostage in a cat-food factory (Dini,

“Almost Got ‘Im”).

By fighting the villain, the hero demonstrates his superior morality which,

ironically, may require that he break the law. In the hero mythos, “the vigilante has

become a saint, not merely through superior virtue, but also through superhuman power”

(Lawrence and Jewett, 40). Harry Potter has little trouble breaking rules. In Harry Potter

and the Sorcerer’s Stone, Harry uses his Invisibility Cloak to sneak into the Restricted

section of the school library (Rowling, 205-206), and fights another student after hours

(155); in Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, he uses the Marauder’s map to sneak

off school grounds (194), among other infractions. Some circumvention of established

order must be committed because the establishment itself is evil or works against good.

In Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, Harry forms a group called Dumbledore’s

Army, out of respect for Hogwarts Headmaster Albus Dumbledore, and in opposition to

Ministry of Magic import High Inquisitor Dolores Umbridge (389-393). By Harry Potter
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and the Deathly Hallows, Harry is a fugitive from Voldemort’s minions, who are the

current power in the Wizarding world: “The Ministry [of Magic] has fallen! [Minister]

Scrimgeour is dead. [Voldemort’s minions, The Death Eaters] are coming” (159). In

comparison, both Batman and Superman have been fugitives from the latter’s arch rival,

Lex Luthor, who is the current President of the United States. (Loeb and Guiness, Part

1:World’s Finest) The virtue of the superhero is such to the extent that he not only fights

against evil, but would give up his own life for those around him. In Superman:

Doomsday, Superman realizes that he and Doomsday, a powerful alien warrior, cannot

both live. Therefore, in order that the people of Metropolis would be free from harm,

Superman dies in the battle that also kills Doomsday. (Capizzi and Timm) Around the

time of Harry’s birth, Sybil Trelawney prophesied that neither Harry nor Voldemort

could “live while the other survives” (Rowling, Harry Potter and the Order of the

Phoenix, 856), and in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Harry agrees to die by

Voldemort’s hand in order to save the world from Voldemort’s evil (704).

Superheroes have seemingly always been popular in Western civilization.

According to a spokesperson from UCI cinemas, “Superheroes have often been favorite

characters in movies” (“Superman is ‘Greatest Superhero’”). Harry Potter has taken not

only the wizarding world by storm, but ours as well. As of July 16, 2005 Harry Potter

books 1-5 had sold over 265 million copies in 200 countries, and had been translated into

62 languages. 10 million copies of Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince were sold

within the first 24 hours of release (“Potter Fans Snap Up Latest Book”). Harry Potter

and the Goblet of Fire was the best-selling item on Amazon.com for fourteen weeks prior
 Rovnyak, 9

to its release in 2000 (Blake, 1). In fact, these kinds of books have always been popular

objects of American idolization:

Thousands of images of heroes and heroines larger than life, with powers

every bit as magical as those exercised in classical mythology, were

floating about in the American entertainment system, yet they appear to

have been unrecognizable to sophisticated minds (Lawrence and Jewett).

Co-owner of Fish Combo Productions Bernard Schmalzried observed such characters as

“Fat Superman” and “Ugly Power Girl” waiting for a chance to see a favorite artist, or

view the preview for Dark Knight at WizardWorld 2007 in Chicago. He says that these

fans often dress as their favorite character, one that they idolize and wish to emulate.

Harry Potter is also an object of idolization by adults. Each midnight release of the

newest Harry Potter book has seen not only children, but also adults dressed as their

favorite characters, the characters that they idolize and admire most. This popularity and

idolization is due to several different factors, including the excitement of epic battles and

the hero’s humanity, which foster both reader and viewer identification with the

superhero protagonist.

Epic battles often play a major role in established superhero lore as well as the

lore of Harry Potter. Superman: Doomsday shows Superman fighting a clone of himself

in the sky above Metropolis (Capizzi and Timm); Spider-Man features a special effects-

laden battle in Times Square between the hero and the Green Goblin (Koepp). During the

Triwizard tournament in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, the champions must

retrieve a golden egg from a dragon’s nest. To achieve this end, Harry swoops down on
 Rovnyak, 10

his Firebolt broom to the cheers of the audience, dizzying and confusing the dragon,

snagging the prized golden egg:

He began to fly, first this way, then the other, not near enough to make her

breathe fire to stave him off, but still posing a sufficient threat to ensure

she kept her eyes on him… He flew higher. The Horntail’s head rose with

him, her neck now stretched to its fullest extent… And then she reared,

spreading her great, black, leathery wings at last… Before the dragon

knew what he had done, or where he had disappeared to, he was speeding

toward the ground as fast as he could go… he had seized the egg

(Rowling, 355-356).

In Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, Harry performed a similar heroic feat, albeit

without an audience. During an attempt to save Ron’s sister Ginny, Harry is attacked by

the same basilisk that had been terrorizing the school throughout the book and kills it

with the legendary Sword of Gryffindor (320). According to film scholar Noel Carroll,

highly charged film scenes, like a battle against a monstrous figure in a horror film, elicit

strong emotions from audience members. These emotions run parallel to the protagonist,

since they are experiencing the same emotions from the same object (Smith, 68). These

parallel emotions allow the viewer or reader to experience an emotional connection with

the main character.

Another reason for the popularity of superheroes is their inherent humanity. For

example, Spiderman works as a freelance newspaper photographer, struggles to pass

college courses, and never has enough money to pay the rent in his run-down apartment

(Raimi, et al). Superman is actually a newspaper reporter named Clark Kent, who
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struggles through everyday life and is too shy to talk to his attractive coworker Lois

(Capizzi and Timm). Harry Potter is a normal teenager who has awkward first dates

(Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, 557-563), crams for standardized tests (310-

311), and worries about his Astronomy homework (295). Also, in the epilogue of Harry

Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Rowling reveals that Harry eventually works for the

Ministry of Magic and lives a normal adult life with his wife, Ginny, and their children

(754). Average Americans are able to identify with superheroes because of these normal

human vulnerabilities.

Also accounting for the popularity of superheroes is their ability to reflect the

times and culture in which they exist. Jerry Seigel and Joe Schuster, a writer and artist

respectively, created the heroic Superman in response to Nazi Germany’s treatment of

Jews to exemplify what were considered American values. Drawing upon their Jewish

background, Seigel and Schuster wrote Superman to do good for its own sake, fight the

enemies of America abroad, and fight un-American evil at home; for example, Superman

saves women from abusive husbands (Kramer). Reflecting the American hatred of

Fascism and Communism and America’s perceived role as a global enforcer of justice,

Superman single-handedly defeats Adolf Hitler, tells him he’d “like to land a strictly non-

Aryan sock on your skull!” while holding him by the throat, and drags him and Josef

Stalin to jail. (Seigel and Schuster) Also during the Second World War, Timely Comics

(later Marvel Comics) introduced Captain America, who in his first appearance is shown

punching Adolf Hitler across the jaw (Simon and Kirby, Cover). After the United States

was attacked on September 11, 2001, Marvel Comics published several books with

heroes such as Captain America and Spider-Man assisting in the rescue efforts, but
 Rovnyak, 12

crumbling emotionally while New York City firefighters and police officers stand strong

(Nyman). Harry Potter, despite being the brainchild of a British author, still exemplifies

American values:

What is it about contemporary American popular culture that

makes Harry Potter fit in so well? First, Harry Potter affirms what

America has always most believed in. It affirms our story, our values and

our truths. Americans have always loved the innocent hero who faces a

dangerous challenge with integrity and overcomes it. This is the American

story. It is the story that starts with the pilgrims and runs right up to the

present war against terrorism. And, as always, it has a happy ending

(Blanchard).

Harry also fights against un-American enemies. Rowling has admitted that Lord

Voldemort is modeled after Hitler; he aims to cleanse the world of Muggles (non-magical

people) and Mudbloods (magical people of Muggle parentage), echoing the Third Reich’s

treatment of Jews during the Holocaust (Deshpande). Harry’s defeat of Voldemort is

essentially the same as Superman or Captain America’s defeat of Hitler.

Besides reflecting American culture and ideals, superheroes are meant to

influence individuals. According to Justin F. Martin, evidence strongly suggests that

children learn moral values from watching superheroes, and associate their own morals

with those of superheroes. The effect of superheroes upon people’s thoughts has not

gone unnoticed: In 1940, Nazi propaganda magazine Das schwertze Korps published a

scathing commentary of Superman’s influence on American children:

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Jerry Siegel…is the inventor of a colorful figure with an

impressive appearance, a powerful body, and a red swim suit who enjoys

the ability to fly through the ether… The inventive Israelite named this

pleasant guy with an overdeveloped body and underdeveloped mind

"Superman." He advertised widely Superman's sense of justice, well-

suited for imitation by the American youth… He [Superman] cries

"Strength! Courage! Justice!" to the noble yearnings of American children.

Instead of using the chance to encourage really useful virtues, he sows

hate, suspicion, evil, laziness, and criminality in their young hearts. (“Jerry

Seigel Attacks!”)

Also, superheroes have been used in propaganda to support causes. For example,

Spiderman has been used to teach children and teenagers about birth control and to

support Planned Parenthood of America (Robinson and Andreu). In addition, an

upcoming Batman graphic novel, a piece which is admittedly propaganda, will depict

Batman battling al Quaeda and Osama bin Laden (Robinson). The Harry Potter novels

have also influenced children’s morality, with many children saying that Harry Potter’s

love and protectiveness of his friends, courage, and willingness to save lives are qualities

which they would like to emulate. (Vozzola) However, some American Christian groups

condemn Harry Potter because of fears that it will lead children to Witchcraft and away

from Jesus. They insist that Harry Potter is not harmless fantasy:

Children identify with their favorite characters and learn to see

wizards and witches from a popular peer perspective rather than from

God's perspective. Those who sense that the occult world is evil face a
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choice: Resist peer pressure or rationalize their imagined participation in

Harry's supernatural adventures. The second choice may quiet the nagging

doubts, but rationalizing evil and justifying sin will sear the conscience

and shift the child's perception of values from God's perspective to a more

"comfortable" cultural adaptation. Even Christian children can easily learn

to conform truth to multicultural ideals and turn God's values upside down

- just as did God's people in Old Testament days (Kjos).

Additionally, reading Harry Potter has made British children increasingly enroll in

boarding school, and American children enroll in summer camps in a phenomenon the

Boarding School community terms the “Harry Potter Effect” (Boarding Schools Info).

In reference to superheroes, Batman and 300 graphic novelist Frank Miller once

said, “The Greeks had their gods and heroes… We have ours. What are they here for?”

(Robinson) Superman, Batman, Captain America, Spiderman, and other comic book

superheroes serve as both role models and mirrors for the time and culture in which they

are written. A far cry from the Superman of Nietzschean philosophy, the superhero of

American literature is a moral, self-sacrificing protector of humankind, while still sharing

man’s weaknesses and faults. Through their personality, morals, and experiences,

superheroes display an ideal version of manhood. Because of his shared characteristics

with other superheroes, Harry Potter also exemplifies this idealized version of manhood.

Harry, Superman, Batman, and other superheroes have been popular through most of the

twentieth century, and, if the first decade of the twenty-first is any indication, they will

continue to be popular for years to come.

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Blake, Andrew. The Irresistible Rise of Harry Potter. 2002. Verso. London.

Blanchard, Tsvi. “Harry Potter and the American Philosopher’s Stone”. December 2001.

Published on The National Jewish Center for Learning and Leadership. Retrieved

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Hamm, Sam and William Skaaren. (screenwriters) Batman. (film) 1989. Warner

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Hayes, Bryan. “Friedrich Nietzsche and his philosophy of the Superman.” October 2000.

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sage.org/philosophy/nietzsche_philosophy.html#Friedrich_Nietzsche>.

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