The unethical adventures of Clark Kent

This week I spent the night contemplating the ethics of fictional journalists in the comic book world.

The profession of superhero flies close to the profession of journalism. The archetype of the “superhero journalist” is so common that is almost overused. Sometimes the superheroes might not be represented ethically correct but is there valid reasoning behind it’s purpose?

As editor of a newspaper, one thing that I tell the staff is not to use “convenience interviews.” This means not to interview people just because they are easily accessible. Comic book journalists are in direct violation of this rule. They create the news and then write about it —how ethical is that? Superman can literally do any job in the world and he decides to profit off of promoting his own personal accomplishments. I’m surprised that J. Jonah Jameson hasn’t noticed that Peter Parker is the only reporter that can get up-close and personal shots of the one-and-only Spiderman. Also, isn’t it strange that Iris West has all the dirt on what is going on with the villains in Central City? You think her editor would have caught on by now.

If the superhero and reporter are not merged into one character, then they usually have a close friend or love interest that works for a newspaper. Female reporters such as Lois Lane, Iris West and Vicki Vale are such great reporters but never seem to notice what is right in front of their eyes; the superhero. Though the character is very smart in their role at work, they are dumber than a bag of rocks when it comes to escaping from the villain in the story. They are always represented as the damsel in distress and this gives women reporters a bad name. The recent release of movies such as “Man of Steel” have tried to put a stop to the negative portrayal of female reporters in the comic book world, but the realm of TV hasn’t caught up yet with The CW’s “The Flash” and CBS’s “Supergirl.”

Since the role of journalist and superhero are tied so closely in the comic book world, I think that the idea of protector of justice is instilled upon us as a culture when we are young to look up to the media as people we can trust and look to in times of crisis. Reporters are supposed to uphold the truth, inform the public and be a “watchdog” for the people. The media needs to pull away from their current days of Mystique and get back to their good ol’ days of Captain America.