Punisher. Deadpool. Vs. Batman, Spiderman and so many others. Growing up, I read about superheroes like Captain America who fought with their fists. Of course, a cool superpower like throwing fireballs, e.g. Human Torch is even better. But then there is a rise of characters that use guns. Should comic heroes use guns? To me it doesn't seem to fit. What makes someone who shoots a gun special? But they are undeniably popular. What does that say about our view of superhero comic characters?
Given today's battle for gun rights this topic is very timely and fits in well with the discourse in the media. – Munjeera9 years ago
I'm not terribly familiar, but it seems that comic heroes that use guns usually have a military background or some other specialized training with arms. That might feed into peoples belief that having guns can keep them safe, because if you give a comic character a gun, all of a sudden they've got superpowers of a kind. – chrischan9 years ago
It also seems that superheroes that use guns are the anti-hero and not the hero like Captain America. Deadpool is considered a hero / anti-hero for the most part, as well as, Punisher at times and etc., so maybe that is something to think about also when writing this! – scole9 years ago
Before Black Panther the entire MCU only had 2 prominent black characters (Rhodey and Falcon). Now they are making a film jam-packed with incredibly talented people of colour both on screen (Boseman, Nyong'o, Michael B. Jordan) and off (director/writer Ryan Coogler and writer Jor Robert Cole). What positive impacts will this have on the MCU, and people of colour within the superhero film genre as a whole? What (of an endless list) could possibly go wrong? Will Marvel/Disney continue down a more diverse path after Black Panther, or will they claim they "did enough"? Most importantly, WHY is it so important that this movie be a success?
Let's not forget that Ta-Nehisi Coates, the most prominent commentator on race today, is writing the latest comic issues. I haven't read the comics, but I've read his other works, and race is the central theme. If you don't know who he is, he became "famous" after publishing an article on The Atlantic about The Case for Reparations. – ismael6769 years ago
Excellent point! I've heard great things about the first issue he wrote – Darcy Griffin9 years ago
Look at the difference in subject matter between webcomics compared to traditional comics. Does the lack of payment and corporate censorship alter how webcomics stories and art are crafted? Do webcomics cover darker/more controversial content than traditional comics?
A particularly interesting subsection of this would be to look at the racial/sexuality/gender representation in both webcomics and traditional comics.
Webcomics are not able to earn revenue in the traditional sense that traditional comics are able to, but I think webcomic artists ultimately have freedom of expression in how to tell their story and how it is crafted. Traditional comics may be looking for a number of things such as a particular style, topic, or issues the characters deal with and are allowed to deal with. Webcomics worry about none of those things, as the artist works as publisher and producer of the work in question and the only limitation is time and effort to make the comic. While they don't make money from "purchases" of the comic, ultimately there is a level of accessibility provided by being on the Web. Artists can also receive donations from fans who enjoy the work, or set up a system to receive money from viewed advertisements on whatever site the webcomic is published to. Good topic! Would be a nice topic for further research. – Nayr12309 years ago
A big problem for webcomics is that they tend to be written by one person which can limit the point of view of the work. One person's biases and social ideas will vary heavily from others, and that includes what should or should not be censored. One artist can be just as conservative as boardroom of people, and in addition that person has even less reason to try something new. Many of the webcomics I've seen or read about that deal with "darker" content tend to be rather shallow. Just because you are allowed to portray limitless gore doesn't mean you'll be doing it in an interesting way. – Arca9 years ago
Analyse major story archs in different superhero universes and how they handle the theme of should superheros be regulated. Explore ideas of ethics, morals, politics, and social politics. Some examples of comics that do this are Marvel's Civil War, DC's Kingdom Come, Watchmen, and more.
Powers by Bendis would also be useful to look at. – TheReelFolkBlues9 years ago
This is potentially a huge topic...an author might want to pick one universe and analyze from there...or do one veeeeery broad article. Either way, I would be fascinated to see what s/he comes up with! Superhero universes always have one foot in real life. – sophiacatherine9 years ago
this would be a very cool topic to counter compare to DC, since the idea of 'regulation' comes from Civil War and that idea, it would be cool to apply it to DC and see how it would work in an alternate universe. – scole9 years ago
It was discussed in DC: Golden Age as well as New Frontier that the "mystery men" of the golden age of DC comics were forced out by a form of McCarthyism and it would be interesting to explore that impact as well. – gjkalmek9 years ago
Have you read that comic book titled "The Boys"? They also made a TV show. Season 3 just finished. – T. Palomino2 years ago
Is lean and muscular the only physiological type for a superhero? Are there overweight superheroes? What does this say about our concept of heroes? Is there a need for different body types as heroes?
could also talk about the plus-sized superhero named Faith, who recently has come out with a comic - and what that shows for the future of comics and how we are broadened into a way to show different physiological superheroes. – scole9 years ago
See, the amount of strength required to perform heroics need to reflect what the viewers believe to be the ideal body type for such strenuous actions. Here's an example that might be on the extreme side: You have three guys. One is morbidly obese, one is anorexic, and one is average built. You ask all three of them to lift at least 50 pounds worth of baggage with one hand only. Who do you think can lift the 50 pounds without the problem? The morbidly obese guy who look like he could have a heart attack any moment? The anorexic guy who look like the wind can blow him away? Or the average built guy who hasn't been to the gym but eats a balanced meal every day? Yes, there are cases when a person is deceptively strong even if he/she doesn't show much muscle. But if you are specifically looking for the anatomical errors, you can look up the infamous Captain America's torso portion or Spider-Woman's pose on comic book covers. – ADYang9 years ago
Even if an argument is made about "realism," it's worth noting the large diversity among people who are "in shape" (there was a photo floating around the Internet a while ago highlighting the different body types of Olympic athletes that seems relevant.) Heroes today are drawn with extremely defined muscles, and that level of leanness is rarely healthy, and not really necessary for a hero defined by strength. There's also a trend of making characters with entirely non-physical abilities extremely muscular; check our how Magneto looks in the comics. – bbctol9 years ago
Wow, I've never before thought of this. Anyone wanting to write on this should not forget Mr. Incredible!! – Tony139 years ago
I think the hardest part to get such a super hero popularized in the franchise is that none already exist and those who flock to the new marvel movies etc. are doing so for childhood memories. Even Hulk and The Thing aren't plus sized, they are just hugely muscular. The only memory I have is of a (literally) obese x-men mutant from a tv show who was a bad guy. Will the best way to approach introducing a plus sized be to create a new one or re-shape (punny) an older hero? With all the current gender bending and race changing going on in current Marvel movies would this be acceptable? – Slaidey9 years ago
When I offered this topic, I was thinking on my days of playing D&D, and that there was a role for every Archetype, and each archetype had a stereotypic body type. The thin "anorexic" wizard, the paunchy "obese" clerical healer, the muscular warrior, etc. Each body type was honored as having a particular strength within the context of group work. When I looked at comic superheroes, yes they do have superhero groups, but they almost all have the muscular body type. – DrTestani9 years ago
It seems that DC is trying so hard to force a DC cinematic universe that they are forgetting that good individual movies come before the spectacle of watching multiple superheroes clash with each other.
Agreed. It seems as if it is all just a precursor to the League of Justice. I think Avengers worked well because individual story lines were developed so when there was an ensemble superhero cast we could all watch our favorite. But I am more of a Marvel girl. – Munjeera9 years ago
Exactly. With DC's poor rushed attempt to form their Justice League, we have to acknowledge that they're in an industry rivalling against Marvel. This competition and craze to cash in on the superhero movie buzz is causing some very bad films right now. – KellyKova9 years ago
I so agree with this. The fact that the audience was introduced to a new Batman really hurt the film; Affleck did a decent job, but since this particular DC universe hadn't established his character, Goyer made us watch his parents die again, not once, but TWICE in the film -- utterly ridiculous! – Kathleen Lassiter9 years ago
> I think Avengers worked well because individual story lines were developed so when there was an ensemble superhero cast we could all watch our favorite.
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I think a major difference between DC and Marvel though is that the DC heroes are (not to be combative) more well known. Superman, Wonder Woman, Batman these are iconoclasts. Compared to C-listers like Iron Man and Thor (whose relatively well known as a Norse Diety but much less known in his Marvel Incarnation). The Marvel characters NEED introduction and Marvel did that brilliantly. They made Iron Man a rock star and I know comic nerds who still couldn't name 3 Iron Man villains. There may be problems with Superman v Batman but I definitely can't fault the idea of skipping all the introductions to characters that have been in the front of pop culture since the 70s. – wolfkin9 years ago
It depends. Necessary for whom? Film industry is a business, and people in this business are fond to make money to buy stuff, as everybody else. – T. Palomino2 years ago
Analysis of the alignments of the movers and shakers of the mostly immortal cast of "WicDiv." The main theme is the rethinking of classic morality with respect to the gods, with Lucifer and Woden being the most striking examples. The role of youth and fleeting time vs. age and lengthened time is very important in regards to perspectives on morality too–YOLO recklessness versus cold, distanced sacrifice. I was imagining moral profiles of some of the major players, with Sakhmet standing standing out (as cats do) as the amoral god.
Explore how women and girls are portrayed in superhero comics by comparing depictions of women in a variety of superhero comics, their (gender) role in the narratives, the challenging the problematic concept of the "strong female" trope, as well as delving into the (for the most part) unrealistic depictions of their bodies.
Female heroes do come with a variety of stereotypes. It is great to see the increasing number of female superheroes which are more reflective of our times today. It would be great to see how relevant is Wonder Women today and see how her role and character has been upgraded in the latest installment in Superman vs Batman. I find it odd that she is not mentioned in the title. Perhaps an analysis could start there.
– Munjeera9 years ago
Really love this topic. Maybe the writer would also want to, very, very briefly, discuss how and which female led comics get adapted to film, as well. – Jaye Freeland9 years ago
This is a great topic, but I think it would work better narrowed down. Maybe select the most popular women heroes, or only heroes from either Marvel or DC Comics. There so many characters to write about--in fact, too many! – Tiffany9 years ago
Great topic, but are you focusing on all girls in superhero comics or specifically female heroes? There are plenty of female villains, you should clarify who you are targeting or possibly do a comparison between the heroes and villains. – dlowe49349 years ago
