Symbols do tend to take on a life of their own.
It could be said that they encourage us, in their two-dimensional way, to endurance and bravery. Norman's world is well on the road there already. Superheroes and villains, the children and grandchildren of the more benign DC characters we know today, have turned duelists, tearing up the cities and irradiating most of the Midwest during the course of their constant, pointless fighting. The Spectre and Norman go on a tour to see what's become of the retired heroes who sired these destructive gangs. They've ended up as franchises.