Theme: Superheroes

The superhero refers to the protagonist of any work who has enhanced abilities. These can include superior strength (Superman, Hulk), invulnerability to damage (Luke Cage, Deadpool), enhanced agility and speed (The Flash), enhanced sensory abilities (Daredevil, Superman’s x-ray vision), psychic powers (Professor Xavier and many of the X-Men), animal or transformational abilities (Spider-Man, Manimal), size control (Ant-Man, The Atom), elemental control (Orora Munroe, Johnny Storm), enhanced martial ability (Iron Fist) or command over an environment (Aquaman, Swamp Thing).

Superpowers can be natural (such as due to alien origin like Superman), gifted (received objects like Green Lantern’s ring, Shazam’s powers) or the result of mutation (most Marvel superheroes, the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles). Other superheroes such as Batman, The Punisher, Black Widow, Hawkeye and The Green Hornet are mundane in nature and operate using acquired skills or draw their abilities from technology (as do Iron Man, Cyborg and The Six Million Dollar Man).

The calling of most superheroes is fighting crime, saving the innocent from peril and fighting earth-threatening menaces. Most superheroic works have created a vast pantheon of colourful Super-Villains and their frequent world domination schemes for superheroes to fight against.

Most superheroes wear a distinctive costume. Many also wear a mask of some type and maintain secret identities that allow them to lead normal lives – Superman’s identity as klutzy, bespectacled Clark Kent is a perfect example. Of more recent, we have seen teams of superheroes (usually those belonging to a comic-book mythos) coming together in teams like The Avengers, Justice League, Teen Titans, The Boys and The Umbrella Academy where each of their varied powers works as part of an ensemble.

The earliest superhero film adaptations were as serials during the 1940s and then on tv during the 1950s where the menaces fought were mundane crime plots rather than super-villains and the low-budgets rendered them in baggy tights and with impoverished effects.

Things changed with tv’s Batman (1966-8) and its taking a campy approach that emphasised the silliness of heroes in tights. This became a dominant approach for a number of years and saw several superhero comedies and parodies.

Things changed with the Christopher Reeve Superman (1978), which brought respect and convincing effects to the superhero genre. This was followed by a number of other superhero films. The biggest success among these was Batman (1989), which drew on the revisionist Dark Knight influence of graphic novel artists of the mid-1980s to create a Batman that was dark, troubled and took place amid a brooding Gothic landscape. This approach was popular for a number of years.

The ascendency of Marvel Comics started in the late 1990s beginning with Blade (1998) and then the massive successes of X-Men (2000) and Spider-Man (2002), followed by a host of sequels and other adapted properties. The Marvel Cinematic Universe itself did not begin until a decade later with Iron Man (2008) where Marvel began a process of bringing all their comic-book superheroes together in a shared universe continuity and have them make appearances in other films, while building anticipation towards their team-up with The Avengers (2012).

DC Comics had great success with Christopher Nolan’s Dark Knight trilogy but were slow to adopt the same model as Marvel. They finally did so with Man of Steel (2013), which led into crossover with Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice (2016) and others. Other comic-book properties have attempted to ride the bandwagon with differing degrees of success. There have been surprisingly few in the way of original screen superheroes.

The superhero parody has enjoyed much success in the 2000s/10s. This includes a number of comedies about the superhero with no powers.