Here’s a little change of pace: Last week we visited the dark, somber stage of the “fall from grace,” a time of public trial, soul searching, and personal challenge for the superhero. This week we’ll examine the explosive (and usually most violent, so be forewarned) stage of the Final Battle, the big fight that serves as the action-packed high point of every superhero film (and often every TV episode).
Batman (Christian Bale) takes on Bane (Tom Hardy) during the final Battle for Gotham in The Dark Knight Rises (2012). Image source: http://www.hdwallpapers.in/walls/bane_batman_dark_knight_rises-wide.jpg
Basically, the Final Battle is a lot of intense action, so there’s not much to say about what happens: superheroes and supervillains get into a massive fight, lots of things go BOOM!, superheroes win. (And there must be someone who cleans up after the massive fight…)
Here’s a selection of links to some great, and all rather different, Final Battles from the past fifteen years:
1. The Avengers (2012): The Battle of New York
2. Thor: The Dark World (2013): The alignment of the Nine Realms
3. The Flash episode #110 (2015): Flash vs. Captain Cold & Heatwave
4. Iron Man 3 (2013): The Iron Legion/Iron Man vs. The Mandarin
5. Star Wars, Episode III: Revenge of the Sith (2005): Anakin vs. Obi Wan
Although they’re all really fun (and/or exhausting) to watch, the Final Battle remains the same regardless of the who, where, and when. Perhaps more interesting is the question of what purpose the Final Battle serves within the larger story of the superhero. Yes, the heroes win and the villains generally lose, but what’s so significant about this ritual act? (Other than reinforcing the ideological supremacy of Good over Evil.)
ACT OF REDEMPTION
If the hero has recently experienced a fall from grace, the Final Battle is an ideal opportunity to restore the hero to a position of authority and public approval. If the hero hasn’t fallen from grace, the Final Battle still demonstrates, in the most public manner possible, the hero’s devotion to the community and upholding of Good.
FULFILLMENT OF PERSONAL JOURNEY
Some superheroes engage in a Final Battle that symbolizes the end of their personal/emotional motivations for becoming a superhero. Often, personal fulfillment takes the form of avenging a loved one or a personal wrong committed against the pre-superhero. When Batman avenges the death of his parents by fighting Ra’s Al Ghul in Batman Begins (2005); when The Flash fights Reverse Flash, who killed Barry Allen’s mother; when Elektra Natchios fights Kirigi, the assassin who murdered her mother – these are all the end of a very personal journey for the superheroes concerned. This type of Final Battle therefore marks the beginning of the next phase of these characters’ lives as superheroes, one governed not by sorrow and vengeance but by the moral/rational will to preserve humanity from Evil.
SOCIAL NEED
Sometimes a Final Battle occurs when no one but a superhero is capable of defeating a given threat. The Avengers includes an ideal example: The Battle of New York is fought between the Avengers and Loki’s alien army of Chitauri warriors. Who else but a team of superhumans stands a chance of defeating such an unprecedented foe? Similarly, in Thor: The Dark World, who but an Asgardian god – and his brilliant scientist friends – can fight a power-hungry Dark Elf during the alignment of the Nine Realms? If the threat is so big that only superheroes have a chance of successfully combatting it, it’s perfect material for a Final Battle.
Even a superhero may not be immune to the intensity of such an epic fight – sometimes the Final Battle ends in a Final Sacrifice…but that’s for next week.
Upcoming posts: On Monday 2/9/13, a response to a recent Everyday Feminism article concerning dystopian fiction and real-life human rights protests. You can read the EF article here before reading “A Contemporary Media Dystopia” on TLSHBNW on Monday. Then, expect an additional post – a review of the new Jupiter Ascending – on Tuesday 2/10/15. Initial reactions aren’t positive for this CGI-heavy sci-fi adventure from the makers of The Matrix – but, and maybe it’s just me, it sounds as though this film is simply intended for hard-core sci-fi fans rather than general audiences. Finally, next Friday 2/13/15, expect “The Superheroic Journey, Part 7 of 8: The Final Sacrifice.”
It’s going to be a busy week here at TLSHBNW!
Read the previous post, “Part 5: The Fall from Grace,” or go on to “Part 7: The Final Sacrifice.”
Time Lords, Superheroes, and Brave New Worlds 