DC Comics Deals with Mental Health of their Super-Heroes Within 'Sanctuary'
- Leo Young
- Jan 17, 2018
- 2 min read
For the past century, comic book heroes have spent their lives protecting their worlds from threats from beyond the veil. One of these heroes, who in recent times has had his entire psyche checked, is the hero Batman. In case you're unaware, Batman is one of the most well-known characters in comics, and with this renown, people are starting to notice that he as a character is mentally unstable; even he has admitted it. So it makes us wonder, how are so many heroes able to come back from being killed, or watching their world be set ablaze?
Batman writer, Tom King, has been dropping hints to something called now known as "Sanctuary", revealed during the “Aftermath: Battle and Trauma in Comics” panel at this weekend’s DC in D.C. event. During the panel, King explained the idea as
"-the most obvious idea I think I’ve ever had. The DCU has a bunch of superheroes and all they do is fight, every time, and that must have a psychological effect on them, right? You can’t live a life of violence and not feel that violence deep in your heart — and we also have a group of superheroes, the trinity-Superman, Batman and Wonder Woman-, who care about these other heroes. They sort of feel like parental figures, the foundation that stands beneath them. And they care about them for two reasons: one, because they’re good people, but two, if superheroes feel trauma and it drives them a little mad, that’s a danger.”
"-is a place that you can go, modeled on veterans’ crisis centers — which is an interesting name for them — and talk about this trauma and admit that this had an effect on you; where you can admit that being a superhero and seeing a life of violence and seeing people get hurt around you, that that has some sort of impact on you, and Batman, Superman, and Wonder Woman can help you."
As of right now, there's no date for when the Sanctuary will appear but for a company to dedicate the time into an idea that brings a more realistic approach to these iconic superheroes, it's truly inspiring. The idea that the heroes are no longer the titans we use to see, but people with who suffer from their ideals of helping people, and that they need help has the ability to help comic readers who suffer from mental health problems to seeking out help instead of standing strong. Yes, DC characters are not real, but they do still influence those reading them.
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