Ubiquity of superheroes in pop culture
THE face of superhero culture may be gone with the passing of Marvel legend Stan Lee, but there is no risk of his work fading into the pop culture background.
Instead, the indelible characters he created such as Spider-Man, The Hulk or the X-Men are essentially modern mythological heroes, whose place on the big screen is immutable.
“Graphically and d culturally, these charr fashion, street art, , pop art, de s ign, , television and cinema: thei r importance is significant,” said Jean-Jacques Launier, the founder of the Art Ludique museum in Paris.
entered the wider public consciousness in 1938 with the arrival of Superman man in Action Comics #1. The following year, he was joined by the Caped Crusader, Batman.
The genre lost popularity in the post-war period but rebounded in the late 1950s and early 1960s — notably thanks to Lee, who created The Fantastic Four in 1961 for Marvel Comics.
In quick succession, The Hulk, Thor, SpiderMan, the X-Men and Black Panther followed.
Today, those characters have become ubiquitous in pop culture — regulars on the world’s movie screens, stars of video games, the most-wanted toys on children’s Christmas lists.
After a series of animated specials and silver screen with a vengeance in the 2000s.
In 2008, Marvel launched its linked Cinematic Universe with “Iron Man.” The following year, the company was acquired by Disney. Twenty films have come out in a decade, with three more already sche duled for release.
Today, it seems like hardly a month goes by without a hero’s name on the multiplex marquee.
‘Evolve with the times’
There is a winning formula: emphasize the ve very human problems le and conf licts o of those gifted with su superpowers, which al allows the public to id identify with them. Another reason for su superhero staying po power? Their ability to adapt to the times. - ated ate his emblematic heroes, hero “the Cold War was raging, and fear of nuclear n bombs along with it. Spider- Man gets bitten by a radioactive spider, The Hulk is exposed to gamma rays, the X-Men are called the ‘children of the atom’,” explains Launier. “Avengers: Infinity War,” which came out earlier this year, is currently ranked number four on the all- time worldwide box office champions’ list. One of its main themes? Overpopulation.
For comics expert Jean Depelley, “comic books have always known how to evolve with the times and take on the issues of the day.” “There were comics that talked about Watergate, the Vietnam war. Today, comics touch on racism, and transgender issues,” he told AFP.
stay for a long while, especially because their protagonists are household names. “As long as the creativity and inventiveness are there, they will not run out of steam,” she said.