[Andrew999]

We are saturated with superheroes who defeat our enemies through violence in true 20th century style.

But - we live in a new world now - a century of viral weapons, psychic war, gene-targeted disease and media-programmed social hysteria. Muscle-bound heroes are so pass

[Captain Audio]

We are saturated with superheroes who defeat our enemies through violence in true 20th century style.

But - we live in a new world now - a century of viral weapons, psychic war, gene-targeted disease and media-programmed social hysteria. Muscle-bound heroes are so pass

[Robb_K]

We are saturated with superheroes who defeat our enemies through violence in true 20th century style.

But - we live in a new world now - a century of viral weapons, psychic war, gene-targeted disease and media-programmed social hysteria. Muscle-bound heroes are so pass

[The Australian Panther]

Currently Superheroes exist in a completely fantasy world largely unrelated to daily reality, where they spend time punching each other out, traveling back and forward through time, meeting versions of each other from other universes, dying and returning from the dead or having their entire existence rebooted. They are like Kabuki or Sumo, don't make much sense unless you are fully indoctrinated. Grant Morrison once said something like, ' It's a comic book, don't expect reality.'
Back in the Golden age heroes fought crime bosses or Nazis and the occasional mad scientist. So, basically real world scenarios. But the world we live in today is too complex and too obviously not black and white.
Try to ground a story in reality and it gets too uncomfortable.
DC tried an interesting experiment with a series collected in 2014 called Zero Year.
This originally ran in the Bat Family' of books.
The idea was, back before the Bat family of characters put on costumes, Gotham City, [read New York] was subject to a disastrous Hurricane and Tidal Wave and all these characters acted heroically but as Civilians. Batman does suit up, but he is at the beginning of his career. Then we get what amounts to per-origin stories for Superman, Barbara Gordon, Batwing, Batwoman, Black Canary, Catwoman, James Gordon, Barry Alan and Oliver Queen, [Visting Gotham] John Stewart, Dick Greyson and Jason Todd. Many Bat Family supporting characters show up and one or two villains. But for the most part the good guys don't suit up, the situations are real world based and we get to see how and why they become what they will become.
                 

[paw broon]

Captain Snot.  The Cougher - well we had The Whisperer and The Whistler. The Masked Medic. Jane, Wonder Nurse. The Bin Man.  PPE MARVEL.
Back in the real world, I know the value of the district nurse, the social carers, the volunteers, because they are looking after my 94 year old mother-in-law, and they are invaluable.