Chapter 5: Conclusions
When I developed the idea for this paper many months ago, the original idea was simply to delve into the concept of the anti-hero as a definition of character in popular culture mediums, and simply leave it at that. Originally I was going to discuss the anti-hero from a wide variety of pop- culture anti-heroes, but then it was narrowed down to comic books. Further than that, it was narrowed down to three choices, which I had already made earlier, as three of my all-around anti- heroes were from comics: Batman, Doctor Doom, and Spawn.

After a bit of work (and after the first chapter was written) it was suggested to me that I pick one aspect of the �dark worlds� these characters live in, and point out how that affects them as characters and their audiences. Initially, this seemed like a daunting task. Not so much to find the most important issues raised by each of my anti-heroes, but rather to tie them all together. As you have read they were environmental concerns of Reaganomics-based America, American foreign policy (specifically in the Vietnam War) and homelessness, respective to the characters. These problems seemed quite difficult to connect on the original map I drew out for the paper.

However, the more research I did, the more I found that these three issues do indeed connect and intertwine with one another. Batman connects to major environmental issues, stemming from the 1980s; Spawn connects to the government�s treatment of the homeless and Vietnam veterans in the 1980s; Doctor Doom connects to governmental relationships with Vietnam during that war. The connection is US State policies, and the critique given in each series is not a favourable one.

I�ve always enjoyed the anti-hero character. They usually just had a more interesting story to me than the average hero. The villain held lots of interest, as they were usually given the most interesting stories and backgrounds (for example, look at Doctor Doom in comparison to the members of the Fantastic Four). Looking at those backgrounds with the three heroes discussed, I came to realize it is not the role which dictates the story, but rather the other way around. Further than that, I have realized that it does not dictate any role at all. Instead, the factors of the story are interpreted by the society that reads them, and then judges the character based on that. The conclusions are not always the same. Sure, most people will agree with the statement that �Batman is a hero.� But how many people would say the same about Doctor Doom? Or that Batman or Spawn are villains? I would wager most would not, but some would (I myself am on the fence at the moment for any of those questions).

What do the popular views of these comics say about the society? Certain issues make a character a villain, or a hero. Batman breaks many laws each time he goes out and stops a criminal - yet he is viewed as a hero; yet he believes that violence can solve problems because �actions speak louder than words� which puts him closer to the concept of a terrorist. Doctor Doom tries to rule the world, and thus he is viewed as a villain. However, he also fights Communists and other threatening forces in his attempts to do so, and therefore he can also be seen as a hero. Spawn is given his powers as being an agent of Hell - he must be a terrible villain. However, he uses these powers to fight the evils in the world, which makes him a hero. Though, that just increases Hell�s strength, so is he a villain? It�s easy to see that the line dividing the hero and villain, where the anti- hero finds himself, is often blurred, and sometimes quite difficult to see.

��Sure we�re criminals,� you said. �We�ve always been criminals. We have to be criminals� (Miller, Dark Knight 3.31). When, that is said in the Dark Knight Returns, it comes so simply and so bluntly that the superheroes like Batman and Superman are not actually heroes in the traditional sense, it almost makes the question seem irrelevant as to whether they are heroes, villains, or anti- heroes. I started this paper as a way to define exactly what an anti-hero was. Much to my surprise, I find that my answer is actually quite simple.

There is no such thing as the anti-hero.

There is simply an interpretation of the character. To some, a character is a hero, to others, the same character is a villain. To some that conclusion may seem rather odd, if not downright incorrect. For that reason, I give this example: Sure, Batman was an American hero because he fought against Communists during the Cold-War; but to a child in Russia at the time, the story would be quite different. It is all a question of interpretation.

The fact that these characters (Batman, Doom, and Spawn) do not fall into the category of anti-hero is not a fault of those who write comics, but rather seems to be a credit to the literary value of those comics. In them readers can see that issues are not always black and white. Sometimes heroes make the wrong choices. Sometimes villains do the right thing. In that it is more realistic, yet also surreal. That may, however, simply have more to do with the modern world we live in: �Unfortunately, the real world looks more like a comic book world than ever before� (Wright).

The depth of these characters shows traits of the English language�s most prized works - Shakespeare�s Hamlet. If Shakespeare wrote Hamlet today, would the Danish Prince put on a black cape, and try to hunt down the evil Claudius? Depending on the audience�s perception, he could just as easily try to take over the world. But of course, there�s no real crime against that, now is there?