The Critical Factors of A Superhero Film
Continuity and Canon
The Critical Factors of a Superhero Film
By Raphael Louis Hipos
I certify that the following submission is mine and that I have written it on my own. Any significant borrowings have been properly acknowledged and referenced. According to Wikipedia, a superhero film is a “film that is focused on the actions of one or more superheroes.” Peter Coogan defines superheroes as “a heroic character with a selfless, pro-social mission; who possesses superpowers—extraordinary abilities, advanced technology, or highly developed physical and/or mental skills (including mystical abilities); who has a superhero identity embodied in a codename and iconic costume, which typically express his biography or character, powers, and origin (transformation from ordinary person to superhero); and is generically distinct, i.e. can be distinguished from characters of related genres (fantasy, science fiction, detective, etc.) by a preponderance of generic conventions. Often superheroes have dual identities, the ordinary one of which is usually a closely guarded secret.” These films typically feature action, fantasy and/or science fiction elements, with the first film of a particular character often includes a focus on the origin of the special powers including the first fight against the character 's most famous supervillain, or archenemy. Over 85% of superhero films are based on comic books, while the rest are not. An example of a superhero film that is not based on a comic book is Unbreakable. In making a superhero films one of two things usually happen. The director and producers can scrap the canon set by the source material, and create their very own mythos, like what happened with Tim Burton’s Batman. Conversely, if the movie studio and the creators of the comic work closely together, the end movie usually ends up being faithful to the original comic. An example of this is The Avengers and Iron Man. My concept paper shall seek to explain how
The Critical Factors of a Superhero Film
By Raphael Louis Hipos
I certify that the following submission is mine and that I have written it on my own. Any significant borrowings have been properly acknowledged and referenced. According to Wikipedia, a superhero film is a “film that is focused on the actions of one or more superheroes.” Peter Coogan defines superheroes as “a heroic character with a selfless, pro-social mission; who possesses superpowers—extraordinary abilities, advanced technology, or highly developed physical and/or mental skills (including mystical abilities); who has a superhero identity embodied in a codename and iconic costume, which typically express his biography or character, powers, and origin (transformation from ordinary person to superhero); and is generically distinct, i.e. can be distinguished from characters of related genres (fantasy, science fiction, detective, etc.) by a preponderance of generic conventions. Often superheroes have dual identities, the ordinary one of which is usually a closely guarded secret.” These films typically feature action, fantasy and/or science fiction elements, with the first film of a particular character often includes a focus on the origin of the special powers including the first fight against the character 's most famous supervillain, or archenemy. Over 85% of superhero films are based on comic books, while the rest are not. An example of a superhero film that is not based on a comic book is Unbreakable. In making a superhero films one of two things usually happen. The director and producers can scrap the canon set by the source material, and create their very own mythos, like what happened with Tim Burton’s Batman. Conversely, if the movie studio and the creators of the comic work closely together, the end movie usually ends up being faithful to the original comic. An example of this is The Avengers and Iron Man. My concept paper shall seek to explain how
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