Superhero or vigilante? A matter of perspective and brand management

Vigilantism is a recurring theme in superhero narratives where, objectively speaking, all superheroes are vigilantes. Nevertheless, the fictional nature of superheroes allows one to contemplate the ideological grey area and connotations of vigilante. This article will focus on three specific ‘human’ superheroes who display a strong brand identity in order to examine the theme of vigilantism in connection with brand identity and brand management so as to display the oscillating power struggle between individual and the collective, between the private corporate sector and government power. Drawing on the position of power from which one speaks or is prompted to speak, as advocated by Michel Foucault, as well as the practices of brand management and postmodern marketing as advocated by Adam Arvidsson, this article views vigilantism as occupying an ideological grey area due to the brand presence of the superheroes, thus displaying a convoluted relationship between a brand governing authority and a government authority. The question at hand is whether the character wants to be perceived as a vigilante due to a context he has set, or is deemed as such, because a different authority cannot infiltrate said context so as to control and conform him to the opposite effect.