GENDER INEQUALITY AND VIOLENCE IN SUPERHERO GENRE ABSTRACT Super hero comics are a reflection of our immediate society and recurring scenarios that have become consistent with the history of the genre and contemporary man in general. With specific focus on the genre’s portrayal of the general history of the United States in relation to other parts of the globe, it has its roots in the forging of the first mainstream superhero in the character of Superman. With the transition of time, we have come to witness the construction of a broad collection of superheroes according to the dictates of the demands of each decade i.e from global unrest/world wars to issues of feminism and racial divide. Often camouflaged as an action-packed collection of …show more content…
Common examples of these are Superman being science fiction, Batman headlining the detective front of comic stories and Xmen being the face of social discrimination and marginalisation, just to name but a few. But with that being said, it must be highlighted that certain aspects, whether purposefully neglected or often spotlighted characterise the works of superhero comic books: gender inequality and violence. Having gone through processes of metamorphosis over the years, it must be stated that the basis for which they have been employed within superhero genre has not. It is my intention to touch on these subjects with the main aim of emphasising the ways in which these subjects with the main aim of emphasising the ways in which these subjects have been portrayed over the years whilst making comparisons with how they were communicated …show more content…
The concept of the superhero as a genre draws its origins from the conception of the superhero character superman. As mentioned by P. Coogan (2012, critical approaches to comics) Jerry Siegel in 1934, conceived the idea of a superhuman character whilst in bed, that was born out of the combination of mythical strong men; drawing influences from ideological tales and influences hat had impacted on him. ‘’I conceived of a character like Samson, Hercules and all the strong men I’ve ever heard of rolled into one. Only more so.’’ The translation of these vivid flashes of brilliance rested on the shoulders of Joe Shuster, who upon being given the necessary information translated them to visuals since he was an illustrator. This character that had being created by these ambitious individuals remained in the closet till the first publication of Action Comics number 1 saw the light of day in June 1938, which cemented the primary conventions of the superhero genre. As mentioned by Peter Coogan (2012) these conventions of the superhero genre are characterised within the individual with a selfless pro-social mission, extra-ordinary powers, a codename, a costume an origin story, science-fictional science, and an urban setting. P. Coogan (2009) stressed in his definition of the term superhero, that the