“The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock” in conversation with Marvel’s Runaways

While Eliot’s poetry and the Marvel Comics graphic novel/television series originate from drastically different time periods and address different topics, both can be seen as an artistic expression of self-identity and ennui surrounding social and personal relationships as time goes by. Through examining the metaphors and dramatic language of both medias, readers can identify the youthful angst present surrounding each central characters’ experiences. Each example explicates a different, often ambiguous meaning, yet all return to the ideals of discomfort and in one’s own life. 

J. Alfred Prufrock’s tale regards a lone man’s anxieties about his life and relations to others, lamenting the days gone by and wondering about his future. Meanwhile, Runaways involves an ensemble cast of characters, each grappling with questions of their personal identities whilst pondering their relationships with not only each other, but with their parents as well (who are quickly revealed to be involved with an alien supervillain). Although the fundamental structure of these stories are quite different, where Prufrock prepares “a face to meet the faces that you meet” (Eliot), the teens of Runaways also must learn who they are around their community--each creating tensions between their identities and those surrounding them. 

Of course, Runaways addresses teens whose identities as accidental superheroes are far from the typical, especially when compared to Prufrock’s presumably stereotypical middle-aged male “hero.” These differences may be embedded in cultural context of the time period of each respective media; however, the topics of sexual frustrations and mortality don’t immediately extend to the runaway teens central to the comic series. Instead, the purposeful utilization of ambiguity around Prufrock’s anxieties allow interpretation of his angst to be left up to the reader, whereas Runaways clearly addresses the ideals of coming of age in a turbulent world to ground the characters in reality. 

More importantly, the uses of metaphors and allusion are central to the themes of angst found in each tale. Eliot’s poetry starts with an epigraph from Dante’s Inferno, which infers that the tale is open to readers’ interpretation. In addition, the narrator refers to a multitude of historical texts-- involving authors like Shakespeare, Chaucer, and even texts like The Bible to describe Prufrock’s apparent sense of ennui. He describes himself in reference to a multitude of character archetypes, such as calling himself “almost, at times, the Fool” (Eliot) to demonstrate the tension between his identity and the world around him.

While Runaways certainly does not distinctly reference any historical or religious texts, the series also relies upon many metaphors and allusions to pop culture to express the personal tension each teen must endure. Many of the characters are given code names embedded in cultural meanings, such as Sister Grimm (based off the Grimm brothers) and Lucy in the Sky (referencing the Beatles song). These allusions to popular culture not only differentiate each character, but gives them an alternate identity that they grapple with in regards to their own powers and the discourse they endure with their parents. These further the tension between self and other, mirroring the ennui Eliot writes about.

In addition to the allusions to popular culture, different metaphors further enforce the notions of discomfort prominent in each respective story. For Prufrock, he describes a “yellow smoke that rubs its muzzle on the window-panes” (Eliot), utilizing the color and toxic feeling of smoke to indicate the decay and inner tension the narrator feels about arriving at the event he describes. The smoke makes its appearance several times throughout the poem, creating a metaphor that compares the physical state of the smoke to the mental state of the narrator. 

Runaways is a much longer-running series, so the metaphors found are much more complex and lengthy, yet they also work to link tangible items to the feelings of youthful angst each character feels. Each of the teens are given a power that becomes a metaphor for their struggles-- Nico’s “Staff of One” represents the loneliness she feels as she loses those around her, and Karolina’s glowing powers due to being half-alien later represents her personal struggle with her sexuality. While far more outlandish than Prufrock’s references to the Bible, these examples make use of physical items or states of being that shed light on the sense of ennui found threading throughout the series.

Naturally, Eliot’s cultural allusions and metaphors greatly differ due to being nearly a century older than Runaways, but both end up describing the turbulence of personal identity and self-expression through these respective formal element. These elements, though sometimes subtle--especially in the poem--are key to understanding the existentialist and often angsty ideals found in modern media.