2. Superman: The First Superhero
1938
Detective Comics (DC)
Metropolis (not Gotham)
Nietzsche & The Nazis
Ubermensch
Refugee gratitude
Small Town Values
Anti Corruption
Altruistic
Justice
Dilemma: How much to
interfere
3. Batman: Masked Avenger
1939
Detective Comics (DC)
Reworking of ‘The Shadow’
Gotham not Metropolis
No Superpowers
Sublimated Revenge
Dilemma: How to ethically
use Fear & Force
4. Like any genre, the Superhero genre changes as the times change:
Early adaptations to television were much less violent than their comic
book equivalents. For example, the “Justice League of America”
became “Super Friends.” By the 1990’s television adaptations such as
Fox’s Batman was more dark, complicated and geared towards older
audiences as well.
Early televisions adaptations of Batman and Superman featured
superheroes who looked like men with plain, ordinary bodies in
brightly colored tights. Later adaptations, such as the Batman movies
of the 1990s, featured a muscular character dressed in a darker
costume and environment.
In recent years, film adaptations such as The Hulk and Spiderman have
tried to incorporate more elements of the comic book into the movie.
Technological advances have helped spur these efforts.
Changes over time: Zeitgeist
5. Early Serials Cartoon Superman
Superman Story 1
Superman Story 2
Batman
Superman(Live Action)
7. Superman: 1978
National Crisis
Nostalgia
NY in Crisis
Mario Puzo
Two film story
Blockbuster
Post- Star wars Scifi Boom
Franchise
Utopian/Fantasy
‘Conservative’ Critique
Oscars
8. Superman Years: 1978-87
Film Year Gross Publisher Studio
Superman 1978 $300 m DC Warner
Superman 2 1980 $108 m DC Warner
Superman 3 1983 $60 m DC Warner
Supergirl 1984 $14 m DC Warner
Superman 4 1987 $15 m DC Warner
2 ‘Hits’
9. Batman: 1989
Economic Boom
NY resurgent
‘The Dark Knight’
‘Killing Joke’
Popular Culture
Cyber-Punk Scifi
Tech Noir
Dystopia
‘Liberal’ Critique
Auteur Director
11. The ‘90s: Dark Heroes
1989 Batman DC Comics Warner Bros. $411,348,924
1989 The Punisher Marvel Comics Artisan
1990
Teenage Mutant Ninja
Turtles Mirage Studios
New Line
Cinema $201,965,915
1990 Dick Tracy
Tribune Media
Services
Touchstone
Pictures $162,738,726
1990 Darkman Original
Universal
Studios $48,878,502
1990 Captain America Marvel Comics
21st Century
Film Corporation $675.437.000
1991
Teenage Mutant Ninja
Turtles II: Mirage Studios
New Line
Cinema $78,656,813
1991 The Rocketeer Pacific Comics
Walt Disney
Pictures $46,704,056
1992 Batman Returns DC Comics Warner Bros. $266,822,354
1993
Teenage Mutant Ninja
Turtles III Mirage Studios
New Line
Cinema $42,273,609
12. The ‘90s: Dark Heroes
1993 The Meteor Man Original
Metro-Goldwyn-
Mayer $8,023,147
1994 The Fantastic Four Marvel Comics Constantin Film
1994 The Shadow
Street and Smith
Publications
Universal
Studios $48,063,435
1994 The Mask
Dark Horse
Comics
New Line
Cinema $351,583,407
1995 Batman Forever DC Comics Warner Bros. $336,529,144
1995
Mighty Morphin
Power Rangers: Original
20th Century
Fox $66,433,194
1995 Darkman II: Original
Universal
Studios Direct-to-video
1996 The Phantom Various
Paramount
Pictures $17,323,326
1996 Darkman III: Original
Universal
Studios Direct-to-video
1997
Turbo: A Power
Rangers Movie Original
20th Century
Fox $9,615,840
13. The ‘90s: Dark Heroes
1997 Batman & Robin DC Comics Warner Bros. $238,207,122
1997 Spawn Image Comics
New Line
Cinema $87,840,042
1997 Steel DC Comics Warner Bros. $1,710,972
1998 Blade Marvel Comics
New Line
Cinema $131,183,530
1999 Mystery Men
Dark Horse
Comics
Universal
Pictures $33,461,011
19 ‘Hits’
14. The ‘00s: Mutant Heroes
Marvel strikes back
Genetics
Outsiders
Batman begins
‘Vanilla Reboots’
Franchise rush (LOTR)
Superman returns
15. The ‘00s: Mutant Heroes
2000 X-Men Marvel Comics
20th Century
Fox $296,339,527
2000 The Specials Original
Regent
Entertainment $13,276 Comedy film
2000 Unbreakable Original
Touchstone
Pictures $248,118,121
Psychological
thriller
2002 Blade II Marvel Comics
New Line
Cinema $155,010,032 1998's sequel
2002 Spider-Man Marvel Comics
Columbia
Pictures $821,708,551
2003 Daredevil Marvel Comics
20th Century
Fox $179,179,718
2003 X2: Marvel Comics
20th Century
Fox $407,711,549 2000's sequel
2003 Hulk Marvel Comics
Universal
Studios $245,360,480
2003
The League of
Extraordinary
Gentlemen
WildStorm/DC
Comics
20th Century
Fox $179,265,204
2004 Hellboy
Dark Horse
Comics
Columbia
Pictures $99,318,987
2004 The Punisher Marvel Comics Lionsgate $54,700,105
16. The ‘00s:Reboots
2004 Spider-Man 2 Marvel Comics Columbia Pictures $783,766,341
2004 Catwoman DC Comics Warner Bros. $82,102,379
2004 Blade: Trinity Marvel Comics New Line Cinema $128,905,366
2005 Elektra Marvel Comics 20th Century Fox $56,681,566
2005 Son of the Mask
Dark Horse
Comics New Line Cinema $57,552,641
2005 Sharkboy and Lavagirl Original Columbia Pictures $69,425,966
2005 Batman Begins DC Comics Warner Bros. $372,710,015
2005 Fantastic Four Marvel Comics 20th Century Fox $330,579,719
2005 Sky High Original
Walt Disney
Pictures $86,369,815
2006 X-Men: The Last Stand Marvel Comics 20th Century Fox $459,359,555
17. The ‘00s: Finales
2006
X-Men: The Last
Stand Marvel Comics 20th Century Fox $459,359,555
2006 Superman Returns DC Comics Warner Bros. $391,081,192
2007 Ghost Rider Marvel Comics Columbia Pictures $228,738,393
2007 Spider-Man 3 Marvel Comics Columbia Pictures $890,871,626
2007
Fantastic Four: Rise
of the Silver Surfer Marvel Comics 20th Century Fox $289,047,763
2007 Underdog Various
Walt Disney
Pictures $65,270,477
2008 Superhero Movie Original
Metro-Goldwyn-
Mayer $71,237,351
18. The ‘00s: New Ambition
2008 Iron Man Marvel Comics
Paramount
Pictures $585,174,222
2008 The Incredible Hulk Marvel Comics Universal Studios $263,427,551
2008 Hancock Original Columbia Pictures $624,386,746
2008
Hellboy II: The
Golden Army
Dark Horse
Comics Universal Studios $160,388,063
2008 The Dark Knight DC Comics Warner Bros. $1,001,921,825
2008 Punisher: War Zone Marvel Comics Lionsgate $10,100,036
2008 The Spirit DC Comics Lionsgate $39,031,337
2009 Watchmen DC Comics Warner Bros. $185,258,983
2009
X-Men Origins:
Wolverine Marvel Comics 20th Century Fox $373,062,864
37 ’Hits’
19. The ‘10s: The Avengers cash in
Marvel’s ambitions
Batman
20. The ‘10s: The Avengers
2010 Kick-Ass
Icon
Comics/Marve
Comics Lionsgate $96,100,206
2010 Iron Man 2 Marvel Comics
Paramount
Pictures $621,751,919
2010 Jonah Hex DC Comics Warner Bros. $10,876,396
2011 The Green Hornet
Holyoke
Publishing/NOW
Comics Columbia Pictures $227,478,580
2011 Thor Marvel Comics
Paramount
Pictures $431,600,000
2011 X-Men: First Class Marvel Comics 20th Century Fox $348,529,513
2011 Green Lantern DC Comics Warner Bros. $154,501,789
2011
Captain America: The
First Avenger Marvel Comics Paramount $365,935.065
2012
Ghost Rider: Spirit of
Vengeance Marvel Comics Columbia Pictures
2012 The Avengers Marvel Comics Walt Disney Pictures
21. The ‘10s: DC strikes back?
2012
The Amazing
Spider-Man Marvel Comics
Columbia
Pictures
2012
The Dark Knight
Rises DC Comics Warner Bros.
2013 Man of Steel DC Comics Warner Bros.
2014 Guardians of the
Galaxy
Marvel
Comics
2015 Ant Man
Fantastic Four
Marvel
Comics
2015 Batman v Superman DC
2016 Suicide Squad DC
2017 Wonderwoman
Justice League
DC
22. Themes
Good & Evil
The Hero’s Journey
Archetypes
((Hyper)Masculinity
Femininity?
Difference
American Identity
Ethnicity
Crime/Social order
The Cold War
Terrorism post 9/11
US Foreign policy
Capitalism
Ecology
23. Themes: Good & Evil
Binary Opposition
Levi Strauss’s Theory
‘Anomalous Zone’
The Hero Myth (doing ‘Evil’ for ‘Good’ ends)
The ‘Villain’ (representing ‘Elemental Evil’)
25. Spiderman: Teen Hero
1962
Marvel (Stan Lee)
Teenager
Radioactive mutation
Dilemma: How to balance
the Mission with Personal
Relationships
26. Hell Boy: Anti Hero
1993
Dark Horse (Indy)
Mike Mignolia
‘Occult’/Conspiracy
‘The Beast’
Dilemma: How to remain
hidden
27. X-men: Team No 1
1963
Marvel (Stan Lee & Jack
Kirby
Mutants
Fantastic Four
(1961)Avengers (1963)
Dilemma: How to serve a
Society that fears difference
28.
29. Themes: Propp’s Archetypes
The Hero/Protagonist, who departs on a search (seeker-
hero), reacts to the donor and weds at end
Antagonist the villain, who struggles with the hero
The Donor, who prepares and/or provides hero with magical
agent
The Helper, who assists, rescues, solves and/or transfigures
the hero
The Princess, a sought-for person (and/or her father), who
exists as a goal and often recognizes and marries hero and/or
punishes villain
The Dispatcher, who sends the hero off
The False Hero (or antihero or usurper), who claims to be the
hero, often seeking and reacting like a real hero (ie by trying
to marry the princess)
30. X-men: Politics
the isolation of mutants and their alienation from ‘‘normal’’ society
could be read as ‘‘a parable of the “alienation of any minority’’ in the
1960s.
Professor Xavier and his X-Men, who sought accommodation with homo
sapiens, recalled moderate elements of the civil rights movement
of the 1960s as exemplified by Martin Luther King.
Militant mutants such as Magneto … who ‘‘disdained to cooperate with
homo sapiens’’ resembled increasingly radical elements. These included
the Nation of Islam (or ‘‘Black Muslims’’) whose best-known
spokesperson, Malcolm X, advocated black nationalism.
JOHN M. TRUSHELL (2004)
31. Batman v Superman
Frank Miller’s ‘Dark
Knight.’
“a dionysian figure, a
force for anarchy that
imposes an individual
order. Dressed as a bat,
Batman deliberately
cultivates a frightening
persona in order to aid
him in crime-fighting, a
fear that originates from
the criminals’ own guilty
conscience.”
33. Superman: Conservative?
In Superman we have a perfect
example of civic consciousness,
completely split from political
consciousness. Superman's civic
attitude is perfect, but it is exercised
and structured in the sphere of a
small, closed community
the underworld is an endemic evil, like
some kind of impure stream that pervades
the course of human history, clearly
divided into zones of Manichaean
incontrovertibility-where each authority is
fundamentally pure and good and where
each wicked man is rotten to the core
without hope of redemption.
The Myth of Superman
Umberto Eco
34. The genre’s thematic and moral discourse, which supports the action and
conflict, may include:
the possibility of transformation beyond what most of us are capable of;
endowment with extraordinary powers, including a sometimes fatal weakness
which prevents hubris;
a story establishing a myth of origins, legitimizing the exercise of one’s
powers;
unavoidable dilemmas wherein the hero must choose between a normal life
and the heroic role;
tensions between reality’s complexities and a comics vision that is usually
black-and-white, good-and-evil;
facing the injunction that “with great power comes great responsibility,” which
poses questions about the extent of one’s power and one’s responsibilities;
living the phenomenon of the misunderstood outsider, sometimes driven by a
passion to better the world;
the necessity of lies, secrecy, secret or dual identities, costumes, significant
symbols, to make the heroic role easier to realize and an occasionally
“normal” life possible.
Themes & Values
35. Superhero stories often make similar assumptions about the nature of our world.
Here are two examples of the types of assumptions they make:
Assumptions about the Nature of our Problems:
Our fate is in the hands of a single, heroic individual.
We lack supernatural powers, so we cannot solve our own problems.
Women, in particular, are weak and require saving by the superhero.
Assumptions about Morality:
Everyone – even superheroes – have to obey moral rules and responsibilities.
Although some rules can be violated (lying about identity) in pursuit of higher morals
(saving the planet).
Some people, like the villains, are pure evil.
Physical confrontation is the only way to deal with such villains.
Assumptions about the World
36. Themes& Values: Gender
‘Hyper-masculine’ heroes
Unsuitable Bachelor alter-ego (Playboys or ‘Dweebs’)
Women ‘good’ or ‘bad’ girls
‘Impossible’ relationships
Girls in Peril (&/or Dead)
Dead Father figures with strong morals
Widowed Mother Figures with strong emotions
‘Gay’? (Wertham’s ‘Seduction of the Innocent’)
37. Themes & Values: Difference
‘Immigrants’ (reflecting Siegel & Schuster’s experience?)
Outsiders (Teenage alienation?)
Social Class Division (reflecting ‘American Dream’?)
Mutants & Aliens (metaphors for alienation?)
Alienation (Psychological difference)
Concealed Identity (‘Anomie’? Lack of social
approbation?)
Concealed ‘Powers’ (Physical difference?)
39. Themes/Values: US Identity
Immigrant Identity
Second World War
The Cold War (Secret Agents?)
US Foreign policy (Iron Man /Watchman)
‘Simple’ Patriotism (Truth, Justice & The American way)
Ethnicity (Bruce Wayne as WASP?)
Terrorism post 9/11(Joker?)
40. Themes/Values:
Crime & Disorder
Binary Opposition (Levi Strauss’s Theory)
The‘Anomalous Zone’
The Hero Myth (doing ‘Evil’ for ‘Good’ ends)
The ‘Villain’ (representing ‘Elemental Evil’)
Masked Super villains
Side-kicks
The ‘Underworld’ (Criminal Class)
Gangs
‘Ethnic’ Gangsters
Corrupt Politicians
New York
41. Genre: Repertoire of elements
Narrative: Story & Plot
Setting: Time& Place
Characters
Stars
Visual Style
Iconography
Themes
42. The Genre as Narrative
Spectacle (Set Pieces, Jeopardy,
Revealing powers/abilities)
Plot (Foiling Super Villain’s plan)
Story (maintaining secret Identity and
managing personal relationships)
Character (Idealism versus Evil &
Cynicism)
43. Genre: Repertoire of elements
Setting: Time& Place
New York/Big Cities/The Metropolis
Small Towns
Domestic
Work place
44. Genre: Repertoire of elements
Characters (Propp)
Super Villains (Antagonist/Nemesis)
Villains (Antagonists)
Mentors/Father Figures/ ‘Kings’
Romantic ‘Princesses’
Assistants
False Assistants
45. Super Villains & Antagonists
Mirror/Shadow
Nemesis
Mad Scientist
Madman/Anarchy/Misrule
World Dominator/Bad Mentor
Corrupt Politician
Organised Crime Boss
Temptress
46. Mentors, Allies & Side Kicks
Understudies
Faithful Servants
Girl in Peril/ Smart Girls
Mentors
Street Smarts
Techies
Chalk & Cheese ‘Buddies’
47. Genre: Repertoire of elements
Stars
‘Auteur’ Directors
NEW Action Hero Male Leads
Female Leads
‘Guest’ Villains & Mentors
48. Genre: Repertoire of Elements
Visual Style
Spectacular
Big screen spaces
High Production Values
Dystopian & Utopian iconography
Urban decay
Iconic Modern Architecture
49. Sub Genre: Scifi elements
Iconography
Vehicles
Weapons
Gadgets
Screen technologies
AI & Robotics
Futuristic Cities
51. The Genre cycle
Fast forward
Bust?
Big and Dumb?
Franchise fever
Multi-platform
52. The Genre as Narrative
Spectacle
Plot
Story
Character
53. PLOT ELEMENTS
The Superhero genre’s plot-lines usually involve:
a normal person who becomes a hero, often with
extraordinary powers;
a romantic interest rescued by and/or endangered by hero but
seldom learning the truth;
a powerful villain planning to do evil but temporarily
thwarted by the hero;
a hero forced to choose between extraordinary obligations
and a need for love and a normal life
the villain learning the hero’s secret identity; and
forcing a decisive confrontation and the hero’s triumph.
54. Sub Genre: Scifi elements
Iconography
Vehicles
Weapons
Screen technologies
AI & Robotics
Futuristic Cities
56. The Genre cycle: Fast Forward
1. Naïve - The Origin Story
2. Classic - Meet the Nemesis
3. Revisionist- The Big Twist
4. Pastiche – Camp it up
5. Vanilla Reboot
57. The Genre cycle
Fast forward
Bust?
Big and Dumb?
Franchise fever
Multi-platform
58. The previous assumptions provide some insights into limitations of the genre:
It plays into our fascination with crime and evil
However, it offers no realistic messages about how to deal with our problems
given that we don’t actually have supernatural powers.
For example, negotiation or compromise cannot solve the problems in the
story. (Image if they could: you’d have characters with skills like
“supernatural negotiation skills” – that would not fascinate or sell!)
It commonly perpetuates stereotypes about women and minorities.
Oversimplifies problems of crime and good vs. bad.
Limitations of the genre:
59. TWISTS
Of course, there are many variations to the
generic superhero story :
Sympathetic Villains – (Villains in
Spiderman)
“Normal Guy” superhero – Unbreakable
Women as superhero – Catwoman, Wonder
Woman
Anti-heroes – The Punisher, Wolverine,
Hellboy
Out-of-control Superhero: The Hulk