Superhero Breakdown

William Moulton Marston in writing Wonder Woman fetishizes women. With many quotes with him where he fantasizes that "man is brought under the love domination of woman" his bare desires are exposed. His sexual life bleeds into many aspects of his worldview in such a way that it's inexorably tied to the things that he produces. From the early polygraph that involves restraining a person to tease out secrets to the lasso of truth that operates in much the same way, this influence is plainly evident. The "slaves" choose a new mistress in Wonder Woman 1942 #3 I think the specific aspect of this I would like to focus on comes from the above page. The power dynamic play is a common aspect of the type of BDSM that Marston engaged in. (I understand potential complaints about it being tasteless, though that doesn't change the fact that this is a not uncommon variation on it.) It's delivered almost as a joke; initially the setup is that these women were hypnotized...

Rozelle argues in chapter 4 of Zombiescapes and Phantom Zones that "Kirkman’s zombies pose a challenge to this easy (and false) dichotomy separating humans and so-called lower beings". Although, like the Walking Dead zombies created by Kirkman that the chapter is focused on, the 1978 Dawn of the Dead can be read as arguing that there's no cut and dry distinction between man and nature besides the lines we draw in the sand in its own way. Much like natural processes humans fall into regular patterns and complacency and they also can trend towards territorial tendencies. Zombies enter the mall from habit Stephen turns the TV back on to only static In the film, a group of human survivors of a Zombie apocalypse hunker down in a shopping mall. As they become accustomed to their position they get comfortable and settle into patterns and habits. Similar patterns can be seen when they fly over a rural area with the inhabitants shooting zombies just out of habit...

In 2021 Batman/Fortnite: Zero Point released. While the idea of this crossover as an official DC comic is pretty silly, I believe that his design is notable for how it stands out. In an effort to emphasize his fighting ability, the way they depict him as a character overlooks other aspects of what makes the character Batman. Batman's relatively small silhouette is boosted with his cape in Detective Comics #27 Batman's physique is instead framed by his cape in Batman Hush #1 In many of the older comics, Batman is rather lean, more relying on his agility and concealment with his large cape. However with series such as Batman Hush, there's instead a focus on his muscles. The artists make him look like a body builder under his vacuum sealed suit. This level of muscle gives an impression of strength, but in practice would lower Batman's endurance substantially. It's exaggerated for emphasis. In Batman/Fortnite this is further emphasized. At the beginning he wears an...

Plants are essentially blank slates as far as most humans are concerned. They don't communicate in a way that humans can easily notice and mostly just sit there. They don't even have faces for us to project emotions on to (something that I'm sure any pet owner will be familiar with.) As such, when plants are anthropomorphized the results tend to be much more direct in their inspiration whenever they're more than just a man in a plant suit. A freshly emerged swamp thing in The Saga of the Swamp Thing (1982) #21 tries to be more than just a man in a suit. Alan Moore was part of a team that revolutionized The Swamp Thing with DC. They aimed to transform them from just some guy that got turned into plants instead into something different. Part of this revamp involved the introduction of a communal plant hive-mind of sorts known as "the green" which spans the globe. It can be argued that this was an attempt to distance the plants from traditional human intelligence...

Mr. Sinister in Powers of X uses genetic experiments in a way that is sometimes silly and sometimes cruel, but a look at his decision making can be used to shine a light on a larger issue in the ethics of genetic manipulation in people: Who gets to call the shots? A Mr. Sinister clone not calling the shots in Powers of X #4 Proponents of human genetic manipulation often tout benefits such as the curing of genetic diseases, but the question that stems from this is what counts as a disease that needs to be cured? At first this may seem silly, "well obviously cancer or HIV risk" some might fairly say, however others may go further. Schizophrenia has some genetic component , autism has some as well, even sexuality and gender are sometimes deemed to have a genetic component. Which of these are diseases? Which should be cured if any? Look at the states across the world trying to ban LGBT people from public life, clearly some would view it in such a way. This simple thought expe...

Mother nature is often described as fickle, with her anger coming through in bad weather and natural disasters. Of course, these are in reality the result of complex interconnecting systems, which can often be unpredictable in the same way as the emotions that were ascribed to the behaviors. The hero Storm herself represents a blending of the analogy and reality with her powers as seen in Storm (2014). Storm thinks to herself about her growth in Storm (2014) #1 The 2014 Storm run opens with her thinking about how she's grown as a person and as a mutant. "I'm older. And I hope a little wiser." she thinks to herself as she plans how to protect a town from a tsunami. This mirrors how industrial society's understanding of nature has evolved over time since Storm's debut in Giant-Size X-Men (1975) #1. This new understanding places an emphasis on the interconnectedness of the various aspects of nature and how unpredictable the response can be to sudden changes. As s...

Japan has a complex history with technology, especially nuclear technology. This history has led to many different portrayals of technology and man's relationship to it. The destructive potential can often be on full display, but just as often the bright future it can help create is shown. Osamu Tezuka's works, for example, depicts both quite directly through super-powered robots created in the human image. Michi from Metropolis (1949) shows the great destruction that can be wrought when humanity messes with technology that it's not ready for. In contrast, Mighty Atom has a much more hopeful outlook where some technology, Atom, can help protect humanity from those that would seek to use it for evil. Michi goes rogue in Metropolis (1949) Atom attempts to destroy the Mad Machine (1958) Being adopted by Professor Ochanomizu and the kindness received helps shape him into someone that works for good, representing the ways that technology can be good. In the Mad...