Superheroes Film - Protagonists
The protagonist is usually the superhero himself/herself.One common concept of superheroes is that they are usually morally righteous and looks asthethically pleasing. This is evident from the films that we analysed. For instance, Captain America (Steve Rogers), Batman (Bruce Wayne), Mr. Incredible (Bob Parr), Spider Man (Peter Parker) are all examples of the above statement.
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| Batman (Bruce Wayne) |
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| Captain America (Steve Rogers) |
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| Mr. Incredible (Bob Parr) |
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| Spiderman (Peter Parker) |
Superheroes are predominantly male. However, there are exceptions too. In the
Powerpuff girls, there is a divergence from the ordinary stereotype that
superheroes are of the male gender, as here, the ones saving the city of
Townsville happens to be three small girls with superpowers.
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| The Powerpuff Girls showed that females can be great superheroes too! |
Superheroes tend to be normal people who do
not want to stand out, but merely using their superpowers to contribute, making the world a better place. The desire to save the world is
ingrained in them, which is also what people expect heroes to be;
self-sacrificing and morally good – someone that they can look up to. The
Powerpuff girls are extremely righteous and would not condone any evil or
misdeeds conducted under their watch. Batman, Captain America and
Spiderman excellently portray the self-sacrificing element, where they give up
their reputation (Batman was willing to be branded a villain for the sake of
citizens of Gotham City having hope), lives (Captain America flew a plane with
nuclear bombs into the Arctic in order to save America from suffering massive
destruction), and love (Spiderman pushed Mary-Jane away in order to allow her
to have a safe life which she can only have if she wasn't associated with him).
However, most well-developed superheroes do possess character flaws. For instance,
1) Batman
is obstinate, and does not take the advice of anyone easily, not even his
butler, Alfred. He also seems to be driven by a strong need for vengeance caused by witnessing the murders of his parents; hence, Batman focused his energy and wealth to battle Gotham City's underground criminals.
2) Mr Incredible lied to his wife about his nightly ‘heroic’
escapades and seems to shirk his responsibilities as a father when he is given
an opportunity to return to his superhero lifestyle.
3) The Powerpuff Girls, just like all other children, face
problems such as bed wetting, loosing teeth, going to
school or the dependence on a security blanket, something that we would not
expect of a superhero.
4) Spiderman had a low self-esteem
and confidence and was observed to be occasionally peevish and indecisive in the movies.
Character flaws are a integral part of superheroes as they help to 'humanise' the hero in question. This allows the protagonist of the superhero genre to be more compelling to the audience - us - as all humans have character flaws too. More admiration towards the hero can be observed when we see them emerging victorious over such human frailties. On the extreme end of the spectrum, some superheroes are also portrayed as a being a paragon of a single virtue. For example, Captain America is an extreme patriot; this is evident from the movie where he repeatedly tried to enter the army to defend America. It is in this way that Captain America is being portrayed as a hero borne out of war times - a natural leader. Hence, one can say that the actual appeal of superheroes seems to stem largely on their moral qualities instead of their extraordinary powers.
Identity of Superheroes
The identity of superheroes is a very important issue here, and most of them choose to keep their identity a secret to avoid endangering their friends or family. They are often identified by their weapon or a specific outfit that may give them their identity, or even a power. These are often specific to the different superpowers that each hero possesses. Batman is identified by his Bat costume and mask, designed to help him get over his fear of bats by confronting it. Captain America is characterized by his fanciful costume and his circular shield which is used for defense and attack, consisting of red, white and blue (the colours of the American flag) and a huge star motif. Spiderman’s suit was personally designed himself, and is in red and blue with web patterns found on his upper-body.
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| Without their costumes, superheroes look pretty much like normal people |
Superheroes Film - Antagonists
In a superhero movie, the antagonist are
usually the villains in the movie. The villain is arguably one of the most important character in a superhero movie as the villain is responsible for the conflict of most superheroes themed movies. Generally, most villains commit crimes due to a personal grudge against the hero or are hungry for world domination. For superheros films in a series, there is usually a new
villain with each new installment of the film.
In the three installments of Spiderman, there were new villains each time: the “Green Goblin”, Dr Otto
Ocatvius and the dark side of spiderman which was influenced by the symbiote. In Batman, the villains are The Joker, Harvey Dent and Bane. There was also a new villain for each episode of the
Powerpuff Girls. However in the Incredibles and Captain America, there is only
one villain so far – Syndrome and the Red Skull respectively, as additional installments of
the film have not been produced.
The polar opposites of the superheroes, the villains are essential as they keep
the plot going
Most villains attained their powers through extreme means; they
were usually not born with their powers, or came across the powers by chance. This search for superpowers were usually sparked off
by the desire to achieve their evil goals. In the Incredibles, Syndrome used advanced weapons technology to invent and develop Omnidroids, robots which
were used to kill off superpowers. In Spiderman II, Dr. Otto invented 4 mechanic arms attached to his body in an awry experiment. In Captain America, Schmidt gained his powers in an ‘unnatural
way’ as well, injecting himself with serum that was still under experiment,
causing himself to be as strong as Captain America. In the Powerpuff girls,
Mojo Jojo also attained his powers through an experiment that had gone wrong.
In a superhero movie, the antagonist are
usually the villains in the movie. The villain is arguably one of the most important character in a superhero movie as the villain is responsible for the conflict of most superheroes themed movies. Generally, most villains commit crimes due to a personal grudge against the hero or are hungry for world domination. For superheros films in a series, there is usually a new
villain with each new installment of the film.
In the three installments of Spiderman, there were new villains each time: the “Green Goblin”, Dr Otto
Ocatvius and the dark side of spiderman which was influenced by the symbiote. In Batman, the villains are The Joker, Harvey Dent and Bane. There was also a new villain for each episode of the
Powerpuff Girls. However in the Incredibles and Captain America, there is only
one villain so far – Syndrome and the Red Skull respectively, as additional installments of
the film have not been produced.
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| The polar opposites of the superheroes, the villains are essential as they keep the plot going |
Most villains attained their powers through extreme means; they
were usually not born with their powers, or came across the powers by chance. This search for superpowers were usually sparked off
by the desire to achieve their evil goals. In the Incredibles, Syndrome used advanced weapons technology to invent and develop Omnidroids, robots which
were used to kill off superpowers. In Spiderman II, Dr. Otto invented 4 mechanic arms attached to his body in an awry experiment. In Captain America, Schmidt gained his powers in an ‘unnatural
way’ as well, injecting himself with serum that was still under experiment,
causing himself to be as strong as Captain America. In the Powerpuff girls,
Mojo Jojo also attained his powers through an experiment that had gone wrong.