Quote Originally Posted by Agent Z View Post
That depends on the superhero.

Spider-Man and Hulk aren't generally viewed as celebrities.
I think within the universe, viewing heroes as something akin to celebrities makes a degree of sense. Especially for a world like Marvel, where superheroes are supposed to be a relatively new development, the public would try to make connections between heroes and established cultural structures in an effort to "make sense" of these costumed, flying godlings.

Granted, in many ways heroes are closer to soldiers, cops, and first responders than they are celebrities, but that division in perception also seems to fuel a number of narratives too; pretty much any time people question what a hero's role is and what they're responsible/accountable for, it seems to me it's the public trying to figure out if heroes are more "soldier" or more "celebrity."

So sure, when Iron Man flies down and saves someone from getting hit by a truck, it makes sense to me that people would swarm him with cameras the same way a famous celebrity would get swarmed if he revealed himself at the grocery store.