We need heroes in our society, or in any society, for a very simple reason - because they give us someone to model ourselves after. The average human being, however pushed around or caged in they may be, is unwilling to brave the dangers inherent to resolving the problems that plague them. Crime may overwhelm a city, but we do not care until it affects us personally; and even then we only usually worry about whatever facet of it has impact on our own life. We are inherently selfish creatures, and are possessed of a vile need to protect our own before, or even at the cost of, others.
However, in the image of a superhero we see somebody who is willing to sacrifice themselves in order to improve our lot. Whether this is a fictional superhero like Batman or Spiderman, or a real life hero such as a soldier who throws himself on a grenade to save those around him does not matter. What matters instead is that we are given role models that exemplify what we know we SHOULD morally do, but what we often CANNOT make ourselves do. We see somebody take the initiative and right the wrongs, despite the dangers to themselves.
A society without superheros is a society without hope, where the human condition inflicts despair and misery alone. Without somebody, real or fiction, to model our behavior after, we will only continue to behave as selfishly as we can. Every religion is based on this ideal, from Christianity to Buddhism to Islam; we follow the example of someone who sacrificed themselves for a greater cause, and in doing so we improve the lives of those around us. These religious heroes serve just as important a purpose of any other role model; they give us somebody to pattern ourselves after.
We have all had a role model at some point in our lives, and many of us still do. They are what we cling to when we face hardship or a difficult decision. They are the people we think of in dark times, and consider "What would Jesus, or Abe Lincoln, or Jakie Robinson, or even Superman do?". And the answer is the idealized moral choice, one that we see exemplified in another. It is that action, which we see another take, which gives us hope that there can be a choice other than the selfish one, that there is a reason to take the hard path. Why do we need superheroes? Because without them we are lost.
You don't really need one, but then again it would help alot soooo...I guess the answer is it would help alot maybe.
because superheroes have all of the admirable qualities that society deems good, and they have those awsome super human powers
Superman is a founding Member of the Justice Society, the Justice League, and the Legion of Superheroes
Then we'd need some supervillains, wouldn't we.
superheroes
To keep us from danger and to fight evil to make sure were safe.
It's a Wrap - 2012 B-List Superheroes That Need Movies 2-52 was released on: USA: 19 August 2013
The Physics of Superheroes was created in 2005.
Superheroes - DVD - was created in 2005.
At first superheroes were never morally ambiguous being altruistically motivated to do good and to be a both a benefit to society and their respective culture whereas in contrast the modern day 'superhero' is , at best , morally ambivalent [little different from an antagonistic antihero] seeking to impose their own agenda upon their world and environment . As examples see how the superhero myth was deconstructed by Alan Moore's "The Watchmen" and Pat Mills' "Marshal Law" where the 'heroes' are more problematic to the betterment of society .
The Physics of Superheroes has 365 pages.
Dc superheroes