Book review:
GLADIATOR
(1930) by Philip Wylie
(Shown here are 2 print editions, and a
Marvel Comics adaptation)
Who created the superhero genre? Let
me rephrase that: Who created and picked apart the concept of the
”American Superman” about 8 years before the comic book
Superman?
Today, the author Philip Wylie is mostly remembered
for the novel WHEN WORLDS COLLIDE, which was turned into a popular
movie. Oddly enough, in a time when superhero movies are all the
rage, there is very little talk about Wylie's GLADIATOR.
His
novel is a superman ”origin story,” and also a tragic tale of how
a superman fails to integrate with society. The hero (or antihero)
protagonist isn't from an alien planet, but is born on Earth and
gains superhuman strength due to a chemical experiment by his own
father.
Remarkably, Wylie describes precisely why a ”caped
superhero” couldn't exist in the real world. His superman wants to
fit in, but it repeatedly proves impossible – he has to exist at
the margins of society and never becomes a crime fighter. This kind
of lonely, emotionally tortured protagonist obviously has an appeal
to readers who feel alienated... but to the author's credit, he
doesn't offer a simplistic power fantasy.
The writing is
quite uneven, and the ending comes too abruptly, but the story and
characters hold up. It surprised me how much sex there is in this
novel, considering it was published in 1930 - and the segment where
the protagonist partakes in World War I is gruesome and
gory.
Recommended for lovers of 1930s pulp fiction, and those
who are curious about the origins of the superhero genre.
NOTE: The
novel is now Public Domain and available on
gutenberg.org
and
librivox.org (audiobook).
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