What is a comic book hero, and why do they struggle so much with their identities? A common definition for a hero is “a person admired for achievements and noble qualities”. However, as we all may know comic book heroes are vastly different from this. Throughout our lives almost everybody has been exposed to the comic book hero or superhero that our society seems so obsessed over. We love to read about and watch these fantastical characters’ fly around and save the day. But there is one unsettling truth that is seen in almost every comic book hero, their secret identity and everything it holds. Perhaps the biggest secret for each of these heroes is their identity. This secret can mean life or death not only them but all of their loved ones as well, and all that is protecting them is a little fabric mask on their face. This since of fear that each character must live with is underlining theme that takes place in virtually all comic book hero stories. So as the readers of these comics and watchers of these movies, we must ask ourselves as how can such powerful people live in such a state of fear? In addition to this, can this use of a heroes alter ego be compared to us normal people and our alter egos that we create online? In order to answer how these heroes can live in such a state of fear I want to look at two common characters from both comics and the movies, Iron Man and Batman. First I would like to clarify that while comic books are such a rich part of our history, due
Adam Hogue, in his article “Why Do Americans Love Superheroes So Much?,” discusses the reasons behind the popularity of the superheroes. Hogue’s purpose is to instill the idea that superheroes are popular due to their static personalities. First, he illustrates his opinion with his anecdote about Captain America: “Sure, there were some slightly different nuances here and there, but for the most part, he was the same man…The superhero is someone we deeply trust” (para 9). Here the author describes how his personal attachment to Captain America was due to his unchanging personality and how the Captain “wasn’t going to be dead forever” (para 9). Not only this, Hogue demonstrates his ideas by using Spiderman as an example: “With
Superheroes can be defined in many ways by many experts. Clare Pitkethly’s academic background consists of comparative literature, culture and communication as she also speaks and writes comic books and superhero, defines a superhero to be different. In Pitkethly’s article “Straddling a Boundary: The Superhero and the Incorporation of Difference,” talks about
In today’s culture, few things are as relevant as superheroes. Every other movie is a multi million dollar budget Comic Book film. Why are these movies so popular? Why are the source material so enthralling? Well, that most likely has to do with the fact that the characters in these stories are so interesting to read about. Though there stories and lives may be extremely beyond reality to anyone, the characters still seem so real. So relatable. Which, if one were to think about it, is rather strange. What is relatable about a young man in a fire truck red costume that swings from buildings stopping crime? Nothing. But one could be sure that it would be quite simple to relate to a nerdy outcast who gets bullied everyday and is crushing on someone way out of their league. So, it's more of a relation to the person behind the mask, not who they come while wearing the mask. The title The Psychology of Superheroes may give the impression that the work will be about the persona, it's more about the
The concept of a hero has been around for many generations, and the meaning of a hero is defined in ways people grasp its idea. A hero can be a person who has a superpower and is willing to make a personal sacrifice for the benefit of others or can be an ordinary everyday person who just wants to help people out of his or her own heart. Linda Seger’s article, “Creating the Myth,” tackles the idea of a “Hero 's Myth,” and shows the ten steps of how heroes are transformed from an ordinary person to the Savior. On the other hand, Robert B. Ray piece titled, “The Thematic Paradigm,” emphasizes that in modern films, it is either having an “Outlaw Hero or an Official Hero,” which he uses three stages to demonstrates how they are different each other in the way they perform in the society. Further, the article, “Out of Character: Wonder Woman’s Strength Is Her Compassion - What Happened?” by Stevie St. John, explains how Wonder Woman was viewed as a compassionate woman in the 1940s and 1950s, and in the 2000s she changes into a more violent person. In this essay, I argue that a hero is subjective, and is defined by the villain or event that they had to adapt to suddenly.
The portrayal of superheroes in films has changed in terms of their character, appearance, style and strength. Superheroes has been a popular theme in hollywood films since its inception. They are what peoples imagination can only think of. A perfect human being who saves the world .The first time superhero appeared on T.V was “The Adventures of Captain Marvel” in 1941. Superheroes was on the rise within popular comic books in 1930′s to the 1940’s as well in which they were considered the ‘Golden Age of Comic Books’ . Comic books became widespread and popular which translated into making films about them.
In the essay, “Secret Skin: An Essay in Unitard Theory”, American novelist, Michael Chabon, disputes that superheroes utilize their costumes in hopes of ‘concealing’ background knowledge of: who they are, how they obtain their abilities or why they adopted their alter ego (Chabon par. 28). Chabon develops his claim by arguing that people transform instead of escaping reality. Chabon believes that costumes can make a person develop into a stronger, more esteemed version of themselves. His purpose is to emphasize costumes do not keep identities anonymous but are used to display a physical representation of a person’s inner being.
This source discusses the most popular superheroes and how they relate in their own given time period. It makes connections with the major time periods in and the location of the publications. For my essay I intend to use the time period and publication locations to show relation in the societies culture through their superheroes. This source is also very credible being that the author Joseph Darowski has not only a BA and MA, but a PHD as well. He’s written 15 other books that been published.
Ironman and Batman both fight Ironman is a Much a hero but Batman is a dark hero. Everybody is scared of Batman. because he is a criminal and likes to catch problems From the citizens in the Gotham City. He is also a bad person at night. He goes and finds people in the city of where he is at nobody likes him cause he is a character they made batman a
Batman is an anti representative character with some good and bad traits, I will be discussing these points and specifically Batman’s eagerness to “fight crime” no matter what gets in the way, Batman and Bruce Wayne’s impulsive ways, Bruce Wayne and his money, the history of the Batman comic strip and then lastly Batman’s good side. Along with these points I will be explaining how Bruce became Batman.
For my archetype project, my partner and I decided to do a Google Slides presentation. In this slideshow, we broke down the archetypes present in the Batman movies.
It seems that children seek to have an ideal of a perfect hero to whom they can admire. Superhero comics deserve their own part in the history of comics, since most comics are only about superheroes, and Captain America, is in fact a superhero. What are the roles of a hero in defining the values of a culture? A man on the street might tell you, a superhero is someone with extraordinary abilities and powers who saves the day. Superheroes could be characterized as having super strength, the ability to fly, or magical capabilities that utilizes the elements. Most would probably say superheroes are usually attractive white men, who have a super strength,
Why is it that when most people think of a superhero, a character with a cape and superpowers comes to mind? The way that someone looks can be a reflection of someone’s personality, but at the end of the day, true heroic qualities come from acts. People think that heroes must look a certain way, but this is very misleading because a hero is someone with a good heart who does courageous things. For example, heroes put their own lives at risk for others. A hero develops when a person has been through a difficult situation.
The heroes from the early age of comics are grand, god-like, and morally good, without much anxiety to keep them from achieving their tasks. However, this characterization evolved over the years, showing that such characters have many layers to them. The characterization of heroes, as given in Watchmen, has evolved to fit that of the problems of the age, and here, we see that there are more problems than just political or economic; the society itself is faulted, but perhaps due to the different experiences one has gone through, traumatic or trying. Watchmen provides an account of different heroes that use the mask, such as Laurie Juspeczyk, The Comedian, Rorschach, and Ozymandias, and delves into them to demonstrate the lack of agency, the addiction, the
What is a hero? Music, literature, and media all represent the hero as a perfect human being. Spiderman, Superman, and Iron Man are all modern day examples of superheroes. Within epic poetry, we also see heroes. Surprisingly, epic heroes share many characteristics with modern superheroes. All epic heroes surpass others in strength, courage, appearance, and determination. The major difference that is seen in epic heroes when compared to modern day heroes is that epic heroes are noble and rich. Often times, in movies we like to glorify the everyday person because we can relate to them. However, epic poetry takes a completely different point of view.
The superhero genre is so popular and influential that many studies have been done on its depictions of the groups and the impact it has on a large part of society how it has “become a staple on film, television, and in video games” (Darowski). The genre is so influential in fact, that it dates back all the way to the Ancient Greeks, and possibly even further (Haynes). Every group in history has had their mythologies and epic tales of crime fighters, they just did not call them superheroes. For example, Achilles only had one weakness (his heel) and was by the Greeks definition, considered a hero (greek-gods.org). The same goes for heroes like Perseus, Theseus, and even Heracles. Back then though instead of being changed into a super soldier in a lab by a German scientist or creating a flying metal suit in the desert, these heroes were part god which explained their extra-ordinary abilities. Super crime fighters have always existed, but when comic books began in the 19th century a new set of rules was created to guide their content to be more appropriate than the Greek tales (Coville).