Superheroes And Philosophy : Truth, Justice, And The Socratic Way

The physicality and violence of the hypermasculine hero is emphasized in the character of Edward Blake, the costumed crime fighter known as The Comedian, but this emphasis serves not to glorify him but to expose our acceptance of vigilante violence, especially when abstracted from morality. Many superheroes

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

A hero is universally seen as a selfless individual who puts the needs of others before themselves. Heroes usually hold the same values; honor, nobility, integrity, and strength. Now what happens when a person does not hold those heroic values? What if their motivations did not have good intentions? These are the questions that will be answered using the deconstruction critical lenses. “Today, it is much harder to detach the concept of heroism from morality; we only call heroes those whom we admire and wish to emulate.” (Lebarge web) The Greek myth of Theseus and the Minotaur has evolved into the modern trilogy of Batman which, when deconstructed, reveals how the selfish motivations of

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.

Gary Engle describes Superman as the ultimate American, “Superman is the greatest American hero” (Engle, 677). After reading three comic books I notice an occurring theme of wanting to protect what is good, even though the comic books chosen span over eleven years. Several distinct things to Superman’s personality are his cape, the respect he has for others, the respect others have for him, his intelligence, his protection of all life and what is right, his origin, and the sacrifices he makes. Superman is considered to be the greatest American hero of all time.

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.

Merriam-Webster Dictionary defines a superhero as, “a fictional character who has amazing powers (such as the ability to fly)” or “a very heroic person”; yet, many of the characters in Watchmen have no supernatural power and are immoral by most precedent societal standards. Alan Moore, in the graphic novel Watchmen (1986-1987), asserts Rorschach as an example of deontology. Moore supports his thoughts through dialogue and illustration. The author’s purpose is to juxtapose philosophical beliefs by comparing their varied flaws through differing narrators’ points of view. The author takes a condescending tone in an effort to enrage his target audience of adult males. This paper seeks to illustrate, qualify, and challenge Moore’s claim that Rorschach is a deontologist.

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.

This paper involves discovering how the morality of Batman and Superman has, or has not, changed throughout the happenings in The Dark Knight Returns compared to their previous depictions. The goal of this paper is to show that the morality of Batman and Superman have altered due to the extension of their personalities. The paper is claiming that Batman and Superman act as extensions of their formerly depicted selves by overindulging in their personal beliefs and ideologies as each of them struggle to with their morality by trying to do the “right” thing in a world gone wrong. This claim was created by examining and analyzing the primary text of The Dark Knight Rises by Frank Miller and by using various credible online sources and interpretations of the graphic novel. Upon examination of the sources used, morality plays a key role in the character development of two main characters of Batman and Superman. Through showing that the extension of personality has an impact on the perception of a character, this paper and research highlight the differences and similarities of Batman and Superman in terms of morality and character development.

Good and bad a requirement in all superhero stories, without either one of them the story just remains incomplete. Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons two well-known writers in the graphic story medium. Both authors worked together to create a fantastic piece of work; The Watchmen. In the graphic novel, Watchmen by Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons, the central theme portrayed throughout the graphic novel is the good versus bad. Throughout history, us humans have tried to obtain powers over others, for example, the World Wars, British rule in India, Rwanda Genocide; they were all a big fight for power. Some used the power for good things while other used it for evil things. It isn’t necessary for a hero to have super powers they can just be seen as anyone that helps out the society and

Superheroes, everyone knows them as the ones who fly or run around defeating the villains, then there are the vigilantes who like to keep their actions in the dark. These two groups have always been confused with one another and there really is not a clear difference in their goals. However, there are many differences in the way they will reach them. They protect the world in many different ways, and they leave people in admiration.

Throughout history, comic book heroes like Superman, Spiderman and Batman have captured the imaginations of children and adults alike. These strong-willed and brave individuals who perform courageous acts, overcome great odds and defeat the forces of evil have always been prevalent in English literary texts. However, in The Messenger by Markus Zusak, the author positions the reader to view heroes that deviate from the normal black and white archetype. Through the use of themes such as deceptive appearances, small things can be big and morality, Zusak effectively constructs Ed as a reluctant hero and shows that people don’t have to sport spandex and flashy capes to be known as heroes but instead can be someone who performs small kind acts.

For centuries, man has struggled with the concepts of good and evil and have produced astounding works as a reflection of it. This is ideally the foundation of early fables and folklore dating back to ancient civilizations. Stories about famed heroes and the battle of good and evil woven into extravagant tales of danger, destiny, and triumph. These stories were often assimilated into individual societies, told from generation to generation until eventually finding themselves becoming an integral part of the culture. In 1938, a new era began to emerge known as the “golden age” of superheroes. Superman made his first appearance in action comics, forging a unique identity as the first comic book superhero in American culture and quickly

Through my analyzation of these values, I have assessed the relevance of superheroes in cinema through the impact of American popular culture, the contrast of gender roles, and their impact on children. As a result, society should be gracious toward the immense popularity of superhero films, as they bolster American popular culture and positively impact children from a young age. Although the gender roles might be a bit skewed, many film companies are taking steps to include women in more empowering roles such as Wonder Woman in the DC cinematic universe. Therefore, superheroes in cinema tend to only create and preserve positive characteristics within society, which is glorious in the future of mankind. In closing, I end with the question, “Which superhero best depicts

A superhero’s main characteristic is to be able to a unique individual which will separate them from being categorized with the typical other “heroes”. Coogan states that a “superhero” is an individual that exemplifies the three main characteristics mission, power and identity. A unique superhero must have a mission that involves the main motive to save civilians without there being any personal gain from this experience. Coogan states that without this personal mission that this “superhero” would just be a ordinary person that would be an extremely helpful in the event of a dilemma. A unique superhero must posses these extraordinary but mystical powers that reflect their human identity or personality. These powers have been greatly exaggerated