1 page Discussion board ( Spider-Man )

Comic books are the American mythology, and, much in the same way Zeus and Poseidon and Perseus come down to us from the Greeks, Superman and Batman and the X-Men represent the culture that birthed them. These are our Gods and Heroes, our stories— and our commentary on our society. - http://romanfitnesssystems.com/articles/mythology-and-superheroes/

Outline of a Superhero for this Assignment: A Superhero is a type of stock character possessing "extraordinary or superhuman powers" and dedicated to protecting the public. The stock character is fictional and originated in literary form via comic strip, comic book or graphic novel. Stock characters rely heavily on cultural types or names for their personality, manner of speech, and other characteristics. In their most general form, stock characters are related to literary archetype [ar-ca-type] but they are often more narrowly defined. An archetype is a universally understood symbol. Superman is an archetype.

Since the debut of Superman in 1938 and Batman in 1939, both pre-WWII by the way and now officially classic text -- stories of superheroes ranging from brief episodic adventures to continuing years-long sagas have dominated American comics. The die was also cast for establishment of an alt-ego: Superman as Clark Kent, newspaper reporter and Batman as Bruce Wayne, billionaire.

In a quick look at Greek Mythology this Semester we understood that the Greeks needed gods to explain their environment: the angry sea, the storms, the changing seasons, etc. Fast forward a few thousand years and we have the American mythology of superheroes. So are they purely for entertainment or is there something more purposeful to their existence for Americans? Note that there are hard-fast rules that do not allow tampering of the superhero’s backstory which implies that they are somehow sacred.

There is no question that the Greek gods are considered sacrosanct in that we are still reading about them thousands of years later. In the comparatively short existence of America (500+ years) its own Superheroes (gods) have been around for less than 100 years and except for Superman and Batman whose existence span 80+ years, many of the Superheroes "die" or are "retired" in any given decade. 

See the details of the “FINAL Part II Superheroes” assignment below. 

FINAL Part II Superheroes DB due 12/22 Select a superhero from this Superhero Website. Note it is an A-Z listing but if you scroll down to the very bottom of the website screen you will have the option of finding superheroes by gender, villains and comic book brand. In addition, an alternate Superhero website lists the superheroes by photos. Post your Superhero selection to the relevant DB asap . Superman and Batman are not available for selection. No duplicate superhero selections allowed.

Answer the following questions:

(1) Does your superhero have either (a) beyond-human traits similar to Superman or human but enhanced traits similar to Batman; (b) an alter-ego that has specific “American” qualities; (c) a pronounced muscular physical structure that harks back to Greek statues?

(2) Do the facts of the backstory of your superhero make him or her a tragic hero or reluctant hero as per the Greek Mythos definition in the essay below?

(3) Superman and Batman have been on the scene for 80 years. When did your superhero first appear in the text of a comic strip, comic book or graphic novel? Do you think your Superhero has the mythological qualities to sustain another 50 years in comics and/or on the scene? Why or why not?

(4) Comment on a classmate's post as your farewell to the Semester.

Note: "SUPER HEROES" is a trademark co-owned by DC Comics and Marvel Comics/now Disney since its $4.5 billion purchase of Marvel in 2009 ["United States Patent and Trademark Office latest status info for trademark serial #78356610].