Cross Media Study

Superheroes Hollywoods Love affair with Super-heroes

Superman: The First Superhero 1938Detective Comics (DC)Metropolis (not Gotham)Nietzsche & The NazisUbermenschRefugee gratitudeSmall Town ValuesAnti CorruptionAltruisticJusticeDilemma: How much to interfere

Batman: Masked Avenger1939Detective Comics (DC)Reworking of The ShadowGotham not MetropolisNo SuperpowersSublimated RevengeDilemma: How to ethically use Fear & Force

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 1990s television adaptations such as Foxs 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

Early SerialsCartoon SupermanSuperman Story 1Superman Story 2 Batman Superman(Live Action)

60s/70s TVGreen HornetBatmanHulkWonder Woman

Superman: 1978National CrisisNostalgiaNY in CrisisMario PuzoTwo film story BlockbusterPost- Star wars Scifi BoomFranchiseUtopian/FantasyConservative CritiqueOscars

Superman Years: 1978-87FilmYearGrossPublisherStudioSuperman1978$300 mDCWarnerSuperman 21980$108 mDCWarnerSuperman 31983$60 mDCWarnerSupergirl1984$14 mDCWarnerSuperman 41987$15 mDCWarner2 Hits

Batman: 1989Economic BoomNY resurgentThe Dark Knight Killing JokePopular Culture Cyber-Punk ScifiTech NoirDystopiaLiberal CritiqueAuteur Director

The 90s: Dark Heroes

The 90s: Dark Heroes 1989BatmanDC ComicsWarner Bros.$411,348,9241989The PunisherMarvel ComicsArtisan 1990Teenage Mutant Ninja TurtlesMirage StudiosNew Line Cinema$201,965,9151990Dick TracyTribune Media ServicesTouchstone Pictures$162,738,7261990DarkmanOriginalUniversal Studios$48,878,5021990Captain AmericaMarvel Comics21st Century Film Corporation$675.437.0001991Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II:Mirage Studios New Line Cinema$78,656,8131991The RocketeerPacific ComicsWalt Disney Pictures$46,704,0561992Batman ReturnsDC ComicsWarner Bros.$266,822,3541993Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles IIIMirage StudiosNew Line Cinema$42,273,609

The 90s: Dark Heroes1993The Meteor ManOriginalMetro-Goldwyn-Mayer$8,023,1471994The Fantastic FourMarvel ComicsConstantin Film1994The ShadowStreet and Smith PublicationsUniversal Studios$48,063,4351994The MaskDark Horse ComicsNew Line Cinema$351,583,4071995Batman ForeverDC ComicsWarner Bros.$336,529,1441995Mighty Morphin Power Rangers:Original20th Century Fox$66,433,1941995Darkman II:OriginalUniversal StudiosDirect-to-video1996The PhantomVariousParamount Pictures$17,323,3261996Darkman III:OriginalUniversal StudiosDirect-to-video1997Turbo: A Power Rangers MovieOriginal20th Century Fox$9,615,840

The 90s: Dark Heroes1997Batman & RobinDC ComicsWarner Bros.$238,207,1221997SpawnImage ComicsNew Line Cinema$87,840,0421997SteelDC ComicsWarner Bros.$1,710,9721998BladeMarvel ComicsNew Line Cinema$131,183,5301999Mystery MenDark Horse ComicsUniversal Pictures$33,461,01119 Hits

The 00s: Mutant HeroesMarvel strikes backGenetics OutsidersBatman beginsVanilla RebootsFranchise rush (LOTR)Superman returns

The 00s: Mutant Heroes 2000X-MenMarvel Comics20th Century Fox$296,339,5272000The SpecialsOriginalRegent Entertainment$13,276Comedy film2000UnbreakableOriginalTouchstone Pictures$248,118,121Psychological thriller2002Blade IIMarvel ComicsNew Line Cinema$155,010,0321998's sequel2002Spider-ManMarvel ComicsColumbia Pictures$821,708,5512003DaredevilMarvel Comics20th Century Fox$179,179,7182003X2: Marvel Comics20th Century Fox$407,711,5492000's sequel2003HulkMarvel ComicsUniversal Studios$245,360,4802003The League of Extraordinary GentlemenWildStorm/DC Comics20th Century Fox$179,265,2042004HellboyDark Horse ComicsColumbia Pictures$99,318,9872004The PunisherMarvel ComicsLionsgate$54,700,105

The 00s:Reboots 2004Spider-Man 2Marvel ComicsColumbia Pictures$783,766,3412004CatwomanDC ComicsWarner Bros.$82,102,3792004Blade: TrinityMarvel ComicsNew Line Cinema$128,905,3662005ElektraMarvel Comics20th Century Fox$56,681,5662005Son of the MaskDark Horse ComicsNew Line Cinema$57,552,6412005Sharkboy and LavagirlOriginalColumbia Pictures$69,425,9662005Batman BeginsDC ComicsWarner Bros.$372,710,0152005Fantastic FourMarvel Comics20th Century Fox$330,579,7192005Sky HighOriginalWalt Disney Pictures$86,369,8152006X-Men: The Last StandMarvel Comics20th Century Fox$459,359,555

The 00s: Finales2006X-Men: The Last StandMarvel Comics20th Century Fox$459,359,5552006Superman ReturnsDC ComicsWarner Bros.$391,081,1922007Ghost RiderMarvel ComicsColumbia Pictures$228,738,3932007Spider-Man 3Marvel ComicsColumbia Pictures$890,871,6262007Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver SurferMarvel Comics20th Century Fox$289,047,7632007UnderdogVariousWalt Disney Pictures$65,270,4772008Superhero MovieOriginalMetro-Goldwyn-Mayer$71,237,351

The 00s: New Ambition2008Iron ManMarvel ComicsParamount Pictures$585,174,2222008The Incredible HulkMarvel ComicsUniversal Studios$263,427,5512008HancockOriginalColumbia Pictures$624,386,7462008Hellboy II: The Golden ArmyDark Horse ComicsUniversal Studios$160,388,0632008The Dark KnightDC ComicsWarner Bros.$1,001,921,8252008Punisher: War ZoneMarvel ComicsLionsgate$10,100,0362008The SpiritDC ComicsLionsgate$39,031,3372009WatchmenDC ComicsWarner Bros.$185,258,9832009X-Men Origins: WolverineMarvel Comics20th Century Fox$373,062,86437 Hits

The 10s: The Avengers cash in Marvels ambitionsBatman

The 10s: The Avengers 2010Kick-AssIcon Comics/Marve ComicsLionsgate$96,100,2062010Iron Man 2Marvel ComicsParamount Pictures$621,751,9192010Jonah HexDC ComicsWarner Bros.$10,876,3962011The Green HornetHolyoke Publishing/NOW ComicsColumbia Pictures$227,478,5802011ThorMarvel ComicsParamount Pictures$431,600,0002011X-Men: First ClassMarvel Comics20th Century Fox$348,529,5132011Green LanternDC ComicsWarner Bros.$154,501,7892011Captain America: The First AvengerMarvel ComicsParamount $365,935.0652012Ghost Rider: Spirit of VengeanceMarvel ComicsColumbia Pictures2012The AvengersMarvel ComicsWalt Disney Pictures

The 10s: DC strikes back?2012The Amazing Spider-ManMarvel ComicsColumbia Pictures2012The Dark Knight RisesDC ComicsWarner Bros.2013Man of SteelDC ComicsWarner Bros.2014Guardians of the GalaxyMarvel Comics2015Ant ManFantastic FourMarvel Comics2015Batman v SupermanDC2016Suicide SquadDC2017WonderwomanJustice LeagueDC

ThemesGood & EvilThe Heros JourneyArchetypes((Hyper)MasculinityFemininity?DifferenceAmerican IdentityEthnicityCrime/Social orderThe Cold WarTerrorism post 9/11US Foreign policyCapitalismEcology

Themes: Good & EvilBinary OppositionLevi Strausss TheoryAnomalous Zone The Hero Myth (doing Evil for Good ends)The Villain (representing Elemental Evil)

Themes: The Heros Journey

Spiderman: Teen Hero1962Marvel (Stan Lee)TeenagerRadioactive mutationDilemma: How to balance the Mission with Personal Relationships

Hell Boy: Anti Hero1993Dark Horse (Indy)Mike MignoliaOccult/ConspiracyThe BeastDilemma: How to remain hidden

X-men: Team No 11963Marvel (Stan Lee & Jack KirbyMutantsFantastic Four (1961)Avengers (1963)Dilemma: How to serve a Society that fears difference

Themes: Propps ArchetypesThe Hero/Protagonist, who departs on a search (seeker-hero), reacts to the donor and weds at endAntagonist the villain, who struggles with the heroThe Donor, who prepares and/or provides hero with magical agentThe Helper, who assists, rescues, solves and/or transfigures the heroThe Princess, a sought-for person (and/or her father), who exists as a goal and often recognizes and marries hero and/or punishes villainThe Dispatcher, who sends the hero offThe 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)

X-men: Politicsthe 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 movementof 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)

Batman v SupermanFrank Millers 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.

Social & Historical Context

Messages & Values

Genre Conventions

Narrative

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 SupermanUmberto Eco

The genres 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 ones powers; unavoidable dilemmas wherein the hero must choose between a normal life and the heroic role; tensions between realitys 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 ones power and ones 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

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

Themes& Values: GenderHyper-masculine heroes Unsuitable Bachelor alter-ego (Playboys or Dweebs)Women good or bad girlsImpossible relationshipsGirls in Peril (&/or Dead)Dead Father figures with strong moralsWidowed Mother Figures with strong emotionsGay? (Werthams Seduction of the Innocent)

Themes & Values: DifferenceImmigrants (reflecting Siegel & Schusters 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?)

Super PowersSupernaturalExtra-terrestrialScience Fiction MagicTechnologicalTraining

Themes/Values: US IdentityImmigrant IdentitySecond World WarThe 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?)

Themes/Values: Crime & DisorderBinary Opposition (Levi Strausss Theory)TheAnomalous Zone The Hero Myth (doing Evil for Good ends)The Villain (representing Elemental Evil)Masked Super villainsSide-kicksThe Underworld (Criminal Class)GangsEthnic GangstersCorrupt PoliticiansNew York

Genre: Repertoire of elementsNarrative: Story & PlotSetting: Time& PlaceCharactersStarsVisual StyleIconographyThemes

The Genre as NarrativeSpectacle (Set Pieces, Jeopardy, Revealing powers/abilities) Plot (Foiling Super Villains plan)Story (maintaining secret Identity and managing personal relationships)Character (Idealism versus Evil & Cynicism)

Genre: Repertoire of elementsSetting: Time& Place

New York/Big Cities/The MetropolisSmall TownsDomesticWork place

Genre: Repertoire of elementsCharacters (Propp)

Super Villains (Antagonist/Nemesis)Villains (Antagonists)Mentors/Father Figures/ KingsRomantic PrincessesAssistantsFalse Assistants

Super Villains & AntagonistsMirror/ShadowNemesisMad ScientistMadman/Anarchy/MisruleWorld Dominator/Bad MentorCorrupt PoliticianOrganised Crime BossTemptress

Mentors, Allies & Side KicksUnderstudiesFaithful ServantsGirl in Peril/ Smart GirlsMentorsStreet SmartsTechiesChalk & Cheese Buddies

Genre: Repertoire of elementsStars

Auteur DirectorsNEW Action Hero Male Leads Female LeadsGuest Villains & Mentors

Genre: Repertoire of ElementsVisual Style

SpectacularBig screen spaces High Production ValuesDystopian & Utopian iconographyUrban decayIconic Modern Architecture

Sub Genre: Scifi elementsIconography

VehiclesWeaponsGadgetsScreen technologiesAI & RoboticsFuturistic Cities

The Genre cycle (Schatz)Nave/ExperimentalClassicRevisionist/RefinementPastiche/Self Reflexive/Mannerist

The Genre cycleFast forwardBust?Big and Dumb?Franchise feverMulti-platform

The Genre as NarrativeSpectacle PlotStoryCharacter

PLOT ELEMENTSThe Superhero genres 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 lifethe villain learning the heros secret identity; andforcing a decisive confrontation and the heros triumph.

Sub Genre: Scifi elementsIconography

VehiclesWeaponsScreen technologiesAI & RoboticsFuturistic Cities

The Genre cycle (Schatz)Nave/ExperimentalClassicRevisionist/RefinementPastiche/Self Reflexive/Mannerist

The Genre cycle: Fast ForwardNave - The Origin StoryClassic - Meet the NemesisRevisionist- The Big TwistPastiche Camp it up

Vanilla Reboot

The Genre cycleFast forwardBust?Big and Dumb?Franchise feverMulti-platform

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 dont actually have supernatural powers.

For example, negotiation or compromise cannot solve the problems in the story. (Image if they could: youd 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:

TWISTS

Of course, there are many variations to the generic superhero story :

Sympathetic Villains (Villains in Spiderman)Normal Guy superhero UnbreakableWomen as superhero Catwoman, Wonder WomanAnti-heroes The Punisher, Wolverine, HellboyOut-of-control Superhero: The Hulk