What is the future of the superhero?The future of the superhero will reflect the times in which they are created. Comics have always been a mirror image of what was going on in society. They portray social stereotypes and fads, as well as matching their plots with current events. For example Captain America was a form of propaganda used to boost patriotism and to be anti Nazi. The superhero of the future will also mainly be focused on movies. I think the future for the paperback comic book hero will be short lived, and that an explosion of superheroes in cinema will emerge. The future superhero will represent all the positive characteristics that past superheroes fought to defend, but they will fight their battles in futuristic cities and on new frontiers. These superhero’s will not fail to uphold their beliefs in the fight for good, but the technique and scenarios in which they do them will be new to the reader. The future of the superhero is bright, and has many different directions in which they can go in.
Throughout the 60’s, comics were at the forefront of social transformation. Possibly the best example of this is through comics reflection of the public’s view of the Vietnam War. At the beginning of the war a majority of Americans fully supported the cause. The idea that communism, the most evil idea conceived, could spread first through South-East Asia and eventually to the US lead Americans to accept the need to occupy Vietnam. However as the war progressed it became more obvious that it was less to defend democracy and actually just a proxy war against Russia. As support for the war diminished, comics greatly altered their position on the war to question the causes of the war, and whether the US should actually be there. The comic Iron Man accurately represented this shift in support as he stopped dealing arms, and took a moral stand against their use. As well as Vietnam War culture, comics also accurately portrayed youth culture in the US throughout the 60’s. Comics suc...
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