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Handbuch Filmsoziologie pp 1–14Cite as

The Superhero Genre in Film

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Abstract

Historically, the superhero first emerged in American popular culture with the debut of Superman in Action Comics #1 in 1939. This iconic character later helped establish the superhero film genre with the release of Superman in 1977. This chapter considers the construction of the superhero film genre by defining how the parameters of the superhero and the superhero genre developed in comic books. The chapter argues that the cinema has provided for the perpetuation of the superhero genre through its ability to adapt these parameters, including the superhero’s stance as a champion for social justice. Furthermore, the superhero film genre appears to succeed across time and around the world largely because the films reflect on different sociocultural concerns/conflicts to which the superhero models desirable resolutions.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    The Superman radio series even added to Superman’s canon by introducing The Daily Planet, Perry White, Jimmy Olsen, and kryptonite, thereby further expanding the defining parameters of the character (Maslon and Kantor 2013, p. 58).

  2. 2.

    Liam Burke argues that the protagonists of these films “are often heralded as the only ones with the skills necessary to exact vengeance…” (2015, p. 101) which creates an unnecessarily negative image of all superhero characters. Rather than critically appraise the character’s mission or morality, our argument simply acknowledges the existence and importance of them to the film’s narrative.

  3. 3.

    Although the character does represent a type of vigilantism that reflects the American Western, a genre that influenced the superhero genre (see Burke 2015, pp. 93–98), and his ultra-violent response to criminality may fulfill a darker impulse people have to crime that they would not themselves act on (see Fingeroth 2004, p. 21).

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Dominican University, Chicago, IL, USA

    CarrieLynn D. Reinhard

  2. University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA

    Christopher J. Olson

Authors
  1. CarrieLynn D. Reinhard
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  2. Christopher J. Olson
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Correspondence to CarrieLynn D. Reinhard .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Fachbereich Sozialwissenschaften, Universität Hamburg, Hamburg, Germany

    Alexander Geimer

  2. Universität Hamburg, Hamburg, Hamburg, Germany

    Carsten Heinze

  3. Universität Klagenfurt, Klagenfurt am Wörthersee, Kärnten, Austria

    Rainer Winter

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Reinhard, C.D., Olson, C.J. (2018). The Superhero Genre in Film. In: Geimer, A., Heinze, C., Winter, R. (eds) Handbuch Filmsoziologie. Springer Reference Sozialwissenschaften. Springer VS, Wiesbaden. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-658-10947-9_51-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-658-10947-9_51-1

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  • Publisher Name: Springer VS, Wiesbaden

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-658-10947-9

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-658-10947-9

  • eBook Packages: Springer Referenz Naturwissenschaften

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Chapter history

  1. Latest

    Das Superhelden-Genre im Film
    Published:
    14 April 2020

    DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-658-10947-9_51-2

  2. Original

    The Superhero Genre in Film
    Published:
    08 February 2018

    DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-658-10947-9_51-1

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