American Superheroes

Just finished reading a review of Spider-Man 3 which has been released in Japan. The review finished by complaining of the gratuitous shot of Spidey in front of an American flag representing a return of the hero from his earlier dabbling in the forces of darkness to being on the side of all things that are good and right (read: American). Oh, horrors!

The article was then tagged with hundreds of comments about the reviewer's contempt for the showing of Old Glory. The majority of commentators noted that Spider-Man is an American superhero and if the rest of the world doesn't like it, don't see the movie. I couldn't agree more. One European complainer noted that James Bond doesn't pose with the Union Jack, although a spy posing with a flag would be seemingly counter-productive. Nevertheless, he is working for a British agency ostensibly to serve "Queen and Country" (and to bang his way through the world's female population and drive nifty Aston-Martins and Jaguars).

I remember when Superman stood for truth, justice and the American way. Even as recently as the 70s and early 80s, Christopher Reeves' Superman proudly waved the Stars and Stripes. Now, for some reason, American superheroes have been forced to give up their nationalities. What is next? Captain America recast as "Captain Multi-National Force"?

A flag is supposed to instill a sense of national pride. If certain citizens of the E.U. and United Kingdom don't understand that, then that's their problem. Go watch "Hot Fuzz" or "Mr. Bean".