The Mummy Series and World-Historical Heroes

Hegel classifies humans into heroes, citizens, individuals, and victims, with heroes being god-emperors and builders of nation and empires. As larger-than-life characters, mummies are often world-historical heroes linked to oriental despotism, and their return triggers the fear of despotism in modern times. Since mummies unleash chaos in an attempt to reset the world order, The Mummy Trilogy (1999–2008) invites audiences to problematize tyranny on the one hand and revisit the contemporary view that posits civilizational wars along religious and cultural boundaries on the other. In the movie series, citizens from different countries form alliances to defend civil society and individuals rely on their moral sense to resist dark powers. The restoration of peace signals the subduing of world-making heroism, but the disappearance of mummies merely highlights their lurking presence.