Save the Cat Goes to the Movies (34 page)

Every “Superhero” must face a super bad guy, and Russell Crowe has met his match in one of the great Nemeses in movies: Joaquin Phoenix as Commodus, shown here in the Act Three crucifixion beat from
Gladiator.

Perhaps my favorite genre and one that’s forever been the world’s favorite is
le piece de resistance …
“Superhero”!.

Somewhere up on Mt. Olympus is a special guy or gal who is on the way down here. Poor dope! Though imbued with amazing powers, and sent to save us dumb clucks from ourselves, he’s the one who’s stuck: Not quite human nor quite god, unable to date — or tell his plight to anyone who’ll “get it” — Mr. Square Jaw must bear the brunt of the hostility, jealousy, and fear from us Lilliputians. He don’t get no respect, he don’t get no love — he don’t get
nada!

And yet he has no choice but to be our savior.

It’s not easy being special. And the real bummer is the Superhero knows he is — and will pay a price for being so.

But what is he to do?

As long as we’ve been telling stories, someone is always coming to rescue us — Jesus, Moses, Hercules, Joan of Arc, and Spider-Man. And their legends are all the same. It isn’t until later that we look back on these folks and say: “Thanks for stopping by!” ’Cause right at the moment, while in our midst, they’re a little scary — which is why Dracula, Frankenstein, and The Wolfman fall into this same category. Truth is: There’s a reason superheroes get no respect — because being special means they’re not like us. It’s why theirs are stories of triumph and of sacrifice.

And the range of these stories is Valhalla-like.

The “People’s Superhero” is about a civilian rising from the ranks to meet a great challenge, like Robin Hood, Zorro, and the pre-fabricated kind, as seen in
Gladiator.
There is the “Comic Book Superhero,” those we think of first from the genre’s title, and very often with “Man” in their last name: Spider-Man, Superman, Batman … and Murray Silverman, my accountant. What
about the “Real Life Superhero” like Jesus, Joan of Arc, Lawrence of Arabia, and true tales of biography shaped into the Superhero form, like the story of Jake La Motta in
Raging Bull?
Even made-up worlds need saving, so there’s the “Fantasy Superhero” like those found in
The Matrix
and
Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon.
And since animated stories deal so heavily in this world, we get the “Storybook Superhero” in
The Lion King
and
Mulan
, tales for kids that are basically variations on the “chosen one” legend, but made palpable with funny songs and talking animals.

You know you have a Superhero story if you’ve got these three unique components: (1) a “power” the hero is imbued with, or a mission to be “super” that makes him more than human; (2) a “Nemesis,” an equally powerful bad guy who opposes the hero’s rise; and (3) a “curse” or Achilles heel — for every power there is a defect, one that can be used by the bad guy against our guy.

In terms of the “power” the Superhero is given, at first it seems like fun. Think of Superman as a teenager testing his speed and strength, Spidey flinging webs, or Jesus making the lame not so lame anymore. Whether it’s New Testament or DC Comics, the appeal is the same; we watch as a special being gets to show off his specialness, demonstrated in the “Fun and Games” sections of these tales. The hero is not “us,” but we can enjoy the fantasy by proxy. And it’s great. It’s magic. It should be! But we also know, deep inside, that the higher they fly, the harder they hit the pavement. For every superpower, there’s a cosmic payback coming.

The Superhero genre is most like Fool Triumphant; there is a lot of crossover when dealing with stories of being special. One thing they share is the “hero changes his name” beat. In Fool Triumphant tales, the hero often sneaks into Act Two using his new name as a deception or as part of a disguise he needs to survive, while in SH tales the hero
proclaims
his new name, as seen when Colonel Lawrence, British officer, becomes “El Aurens” in
Lawrence of Arabia
, and Russell Crowe is dubbed “Gladiator.” This tradition goes back to the “chosen one” tales in the Bible, as when Abram becomes Abraham and Saul is re-named Paul. The powers
of the Superhero are different, too: Unlike FT tales, a Superhero knows power comes with a price. The Fool is unaware of his power’s cost — and sometimes even unaware he is opposed!

What really makes the Superhero different from the Fool Triumphant is a Nemesis with matching or greater abilities. I say in the first
STC!
that what makes James Bond 007 is not the gadgets or the girls, it’s Blofeld and Dr. No and Goldfinger. To be a Superhero, you must have a Lex Luther-y kind of bad guy opposing you: the Moriarity to our Sherlock Holmes, the Commodus to our Maximus, the Dr. Evil to our Austin Powers. These are the most fascinating good guy/bad guy match-ups in storytelling, because the distinction between good and evil is so slight. And what does the Superhero have that the Nemesis lacks?

The answer is simple: faith.

The Superhero doesn’t have to wonder if he’s special, he knows he is; the bad guy in these tales can only rely on himself and the little machinations he’s created to prop up the image he has as the “chosen,” which he secretly knows is false. Often the Nemesis is a “super genius,” relying on his brain for his power — the very symbol of self-will run amok. While the Nemesis may best the Superhero for a time, in the end his lack of faith makes him need to kill his opposite, for only if he erases the real “chosen one” can he ever triumph. If the Nemesis were truly special, he wouldn’t need to kill anyone, which is why in so many of these tales — the Christ story being the most obvious — there is a showdown where the hero is tested, facing his enemies essentially all by himself, and often killed or tortured for his trouble.

Finally, the “curse” is that thing in most Superhero tales that balances out the powers and makes us not hate the protagonist as badly as we might. From “The Immutable Laws of Screenplay Physics,” we know that anybody who gets everything they want is unlikable, so to make them bearable, we stick our Superhero protags with some kind of handicap. Look at the “sexual sacrifice” of Jake La Motta in
Raging Bull
, Peter Parker in
Spider-Man
, Clark Kent in
Superman
— let alone the curse of having to keep one’s identity hidden, leading to
the duo-identities of these heroes. It’s a pain being special is the message, and we have to give up something for the power. For every ounce of kryptonite for Superman, there is daylight for Dracula, and a full moon for the Wolfman, and on and on. And don’t forget the Superhero, like Gulliver against the Lilliputians — forever tied down by a thousand annoying little threads — has us to contend with too. And yet we still identify. Though not super, we’ve also faced tiny minds.

Just try pitching your movie idea at Disney!

A character that pops up in a lot of these SH tales is the
Mascot
, that puppy dog nipping at the Superhero’s heel and loyal to the end, such as the servants that Lawrence chooses in
Lawrence of Arabia
, Jimmy Olsen in
Superman
, Jake La Motta’s brother in
Raging Bull
, and Simba’s sidekicks in
The Lion King.
These are the characters who show the contrast between us and … them.

One interesting note in reviewing this genre is the absolute dearth of female-driven Superhero stories. Why?

No, really.

Of the very few that have been attempted —
Lara Croft, Elektra, Underworld, Aeon Flux
, and
Catwoman
— all seem to be pale imitations of their male Superhero counterparts, and like the historic Superhero tale of Joan of Arc, half the story is devoted to the people around the hero being unable to believe “a girl” can do the job. Of these, the best is a little indie called
Whale Rider
, but that story is more about prejudice than empowerment. So for those out there who like a challenge, let’s see some more female Superheroes at the Cineplex! Perhaps this requires a reconfiguring of the rules, and a challenge to the group. Will you be “the one” to bring this change?

That’s what being a true Superhero is all about.

Does he deign to be among us? Know she’s something special? Not afraid to face the forces that oppose? Shazam!

1. The hero of your tale must have a special “power” — even if it’s just a mission to be great or do good.
   
2. The hero must be opposed by a “Nemesis,” of equal or greater force, who is the “self-made” version of the hero.
   
3. There must be a “curse” for the hero that he either surmounts or succumbs to as the price for who he is.
   

If you feel the need to be super, take a look at these variations on one of our oldest story traditions.

What is “super” about Jake La Motta? The boxer on whom director Martin Scorsese based his landmark film don’t seem all dat divine. When we meet him in the form of Robert De Niro (Best Actor Oscar
^®
), it is 1964 and his “super” days are past. He is fat and full of himself, bloated by a life misspent, and dumb as a punch in the head. He’s achieved much in the ring but years of battling his brother and his child-bride wife have left him with nothing.

What the protag of
Raging Bull
shares with others in the “Real Life Superhero” category, and the Superhero generally, is the price paid for being special. He has talent as a middleweight, raw drive, and an “up-from-the-street” urge to triumph in the name of family and neighborhood. But flaws of vanity, selfishness, and jealousy are the Lilliputian ropes that bind this Gulliver, taint his higher purpose, and finally pull him down to our level. Like many who descend from Mt. Olympus with a special gift, he’s “cursed” by human weakness.

Animal imagery (from the title to sound effects in the ring) is used to show that the Raging Bull is less a boxer than a force of nature. And religious iconography, including his bloody “crucifixion” at the hands of one of his foes, reveals this movie is about a fall from grace. In the end, outside the ring that is his place to shine, we see how handicapped he is as a man.

SH Type: Real Life Superhero

SH Cousins:
Lenny, Gandhi, Braveheart, Malcolm X, Frances, Joan of Arc, Erin Brockovich, The Passion of the Christ, The Aviator, A Beautiful Mind

RAGING BULL

Screenplay by
Paul Schrader
and
Mardik Martin
Based on the book by
Jake La Motta
and
Joseph Carter & Peter Savage

Opening Image:
New York City. 1964. A fat and over-the-hill Jake La Motta (Robert “Bobby” De Niro gained the weight, dis ain’t prosthetics) practices his “act” in a nightclub dressing room.

Set-Up:
1941. Bobby is in the ring in Cleveland. He is lean, mean, and hungry … but losing this fight. Despite his Mascot brother Joey (Joe Pesci), who tells him he needs a knockout to win, Bobby can’t deliver — a foreshadowing of the near miss of greatness in his life. Back in the neighborhood, Joe meets Salvy (Frank Vincent), one of Bobby’s Nemeses and the brains in this jungle. He and boss Tommy (Nicholas Colasanto) control boxing. Bobby is also in a loveless marriage. Joe and Bobby are underdogs who must work as one if they are going to win.

Theme Stated:
Bobby complains to Joe about his small hands. He’ll always be a middleweight and never fight the heavyweight champion. “What are you trying to prove?” Joe asks. Will needing to prove himself, and never being satisfied, be his undoing?

Catalyst:
At Minute 17, Bobby sees a pretty girl, Vickie (Cathy Moriarty), and is smitten. She will fuel his desire to win.

Debate:
Can he have her? His dream girl is not only 15 years old, she is Salvy’s girl. No one to retreat from a challenge, Bobby dogs Cathy at a dance. Animal instinct is in the air as fights break out and Bobby sees Cathy get into Salvy’s nice new car.

B Story:
A Superhero should have a super mate. At Minute 25, Bobby drives up in his own car — just as nice as Salvy’s — and asks Cathy out. Raising the ante, he woos her from the smarter animals in the jungle.