The Dark Knight Returns/Watchmen

Although I have yet to finish reading Watchmen, in reading the first few chapters, it is impossible not to draw connections between the comic created by Moore and The Dark Knight Returns by Frank Miller. Both are American comics conceived of in the same year (1986) and though Watchmen is a British collaboration, the simultaneous creation of these two series lends contextual richness to both pieces. Within both comics, there is a fixation with Superman--it seems that both Moore and Miller react to the Superman comics so as subvert the values depicted by Superman. As we discussed in class on Tuesday, Miller's depiction of Superman is a fairly overt critique; Superman is presented as a God-like figure, a homage to the first issue of the comic and therefore, in his destruction, Miller is able to debunk Siegel and Shuster's wholesome and majestic figure. Then, in Watchmen, Superman is referenced by Hollis Mason in his biography. Though the reader does not know much about Mason, he is potentially suspected by Rorschach for the murder of The Comedian, and thus his morality is ambiguous. He speaks of Superman having "basic morality...without all their darkness and ambiguity" and emphasizes Siegel and Shuster's use of primary colors and depiction of complete wholesomeness unmarred by a repressed sex urge or thirst for violence. He too debunks this conventionally heroic figure when he writes that his interaction with Superman comics gave rise to his "transparent juvenile fantasies." It was not until he read about real superheroes in the newspaper, that he was able to conceive of his fantasies in reality and hence, it was not the comic, but the newspaper, which incited his occupation. I am curious to learn more about Mason's character so as to more fully understand Moore's Superman commentary and would also like to note that Mason's account of Superman gives rise to a self-awareness of medium, not seen in previous comics. Moore presents Superman as a fantastical story found only in comics, juxtaposing him to the Watchmen, who are more appropriately conveyed in news sources... and yet Watchmen is itself a comic.