the real scary part is that we, nonetheless, or at least I, get drawn into the idea that this man is a hero, that this world is real, is our day-to-day world

Yes! And the fact that this is a character many of us (including me) have loved since we were small makes the show's politics particularly hard to grasp, because the characters and (to a lesser extent) plot are naturalized by our cultural familiarity.

Thanks for linking--it's been great to talk to some new folks via this post. and thanks again for reading. Maggie