Iron Age Design Journal #5

Shades of Gray
Telling the White Hats from the Black Hats in the Iron Age is tricky. The heroes abandoned the hopefulness and positive attitude (some would say naïveté) of the heroes of the past in order to adopt a harder-edged approach to heroism that was harsher and more practical.

This change was particularly obvious in regard to heroic motivations. Once upon a time, heroes were motivated by the desire to right wrongs and make the world a better place because it was the right thing to do, or to protect innocents from being victimized like the hero had been. In the Iron Age, heroes are driven by revenge and the desire to mete out justice…or, at least, what they consider justice.

Moral Ambiguity
Iron Age heroes often feel and act like they’re above the law. Because of their powers and their dedication to a higher cause, they’ll break laws in order to pursue what they believe to be right. To outsiders, who can only see how the hero looks and the actions he takes, he appears to be a vigilante at best — a villain at worst. Those outsiders don’t understand that, although the hero is often looking out for their best interests, he’s not concerned with how he’s perceived by them, which means he’s viewed in the worst possible light. All of this makes him seem immoral and uncaring, while that’s not necessarily true.

At the same time, there are a number of characters that really are as bad as they seem and only look like heroes because their personal goals occasionally fall in line with what the public considers “good” or “heroic.” As the saying goes, “Even a broken clock is right twice a day.” The rest of the time, these anti-heroes do as they please and look out only for themselves.

No matter where the character sits on the spectrum of good and bad, the real question is this: If a good guy can look bad and a bad guy can look good, what does it mean to be a hero? Is it about the character’s intentions? Is it the act itself? Is it all a matter of perception? Does any of that matter as long as the results are good?

Then there’s the matter of law. The justice system is imperfect; that’s as true in the real world as it is in the Iron Age world. Many heroes are sick of that system and have decided to take matters into their own hands. After all, if the bad guys can get away with murder, why can’t the heroes – especially if it’s the “right” thing? What choice does a person have? When the law fails, how can there be justice? If a law is unjust, why should it be obeyed?

For a lot of characters, those questions don’t matter. To them, so long as they remain true to the mission (whatever it is) that’s all that matters. They’re the heroes of their own internal stories; they understand their motivations and what they’re trying to achieve, so they’re the good guys, no matter what anyone else thinks.

All of these issues make for characters with strong viewpoints, but lacking the black-and-white simplicity of earlier heroes. The stories are more true to life, which also makes them murkier than those in traditional comics. This is a striking change to the genre, and one that influences every aspect of its stories and characters.

Lethality and Morality
Armed with both the latest in military-grade weapons and an array of superhuman abilities, heroes fight a war against the criminal empires that run the world. Whether the bad guys are members of the Mafia, billionaire businessmen, international drug cartels, alien invaders, or super-powered villains, they’re “the enemy,” and in war, the goal is to kill the enemy so you can achieve your ultimate objective. That’s what a lot of heroes do: kill the bad guys to make the world a safer place.

Villains have always killed to get what they want, and now the heroes are fighting back using the same rules. Soldiers and the police use lethal force, so why shouldn’t the player characters to do the same and still be considered heroes? The problem is the public doesn’t see it that way. The character probably isn’t deputized (especially in the Iron Age) or a member of the military, and even if he were, war hasn’t been declared on criminals. In addition, murder, even in pursuit of a noble cause, is still murder and must be addressed in the name of a society that values law and order. When some members of society start killing others in a personal crusade, they have to be controlled, whether they’re heroes or villains.

Nevertheless, the Iron Age is full of heroes who kill. To them, it’s a necessary evil. The bad guys always seem to come back, whether they escape from prison or return from exile in another dimension, so killing them is the logical way to remove them and the threat they pose permanently.

Besides killing, Iron Age characters have a penchant for other moral lapses as well. It’s not uncommon to find characters that suffer from drug addictions or other personal problems that endanger themselves, their friends, family, and the public. A hero with schizophrenia or a drug addiction can be an erratic and dangerous thing.

Finally, there are characters that use their powers not for the betterment of mankind, but to fill out their bank accounts. Making money off one’s powers is considered pretty vulgar by traditional heroes, but not to those in the Iron Age. It’s simply a matter of economics: the hero has something other people want, so he’s going to charge for it. Maybe he ends up working for the government, individuals, or corporations. It doesn’t really matter to him, as long as he gets paid.

The Death of Altruism
The naïve belief that society is going to improve because of the heroes’ actions went the way of the dinosaur for most Iron Age heroes. Heroes no longer buy into the idea that one man can make a difference. He may not like the system, but the best he can hope to do is chip away at the symptoms, not treat the disease. With the death of hope arises despair; it’s not an attractive trait for a hero, but definitely realistic in a world laden with overwhelming social problems with no clear solutions.

Characters don’t see themselves as icons or individuals to be emulated. Instead they feel they have a job to do that no one else has the guts to tackle. Their worldview may not be pretty, but that’s just the way it is. There are no heroes or villains, really — just people with their own agendas who will do anything to achieve them.