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Post by Deleted on Feb 6, 2015 0:44:11 GMT -5
This was sparked by the first two issues of Angela: Asgard's Assassin, which I just read (and enjoyed). Other than Thor (a "superhero") showing up, it feels way more like Conan than a superhero book.
That got me to thinking about Thor's own title, which I'm now not sure doesn't just feel like a superhero book to me because "Thor is a superhero"; especially Aaron's run. So, is it the Donald Blake dual-identity (is this even still a thing?) that makes him a superhero? Is the fact that he has adventures in "the real world" and space coupled with his being a god (and all that entails) enough to make him a superhero? If he wasn't part of a shared superhero universe, would the book just be a sword & sorcery/fantasy title?
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Post by Deleted on Feb 6, 2015 3:58:34 GMT -5
A combination of things, but a Thor story could be told that isn't so much superhero in a self contained setting. Like The Punisher, who isn't super powered, but fits the rest of the tropes as well as Batman or Captain America.
Jason And The Argonauts is not a super hero tale, but there is definitely a supernatural element to it, and enchanted objects, and people with special abilities. I think if they all wore 1930's burglar masks and purple capes and their initials on their chest and called themselves the LEAGUE OF VILLAIN SLAYERS it would be different though.
So I think while Thor can go off and do his own thing in an Asgardian setting and it may not necessarily have enough superhero type stuff to be a superhero comic, when he teams up with The Hulk to fight bad guys in New York City, it's a superhero comic.
Even Hulk could be more of a Jeckyll & Hyde horror tale if it were self contained and written a certain way.
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Post by crazyoldhermit on Feb 6, 2015 4:34:18 GMT -5
Superhero is an umbrella term with a pretty loose definition.
The thing about Marvel superheroes is they tend to be pretty subversive which opens them up into other genres. Look at Captain America for example. He can be used in superhero stories but he can also be used in political thrillers that don't really have anything to do with superheroes.
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Post by Deleted on Feb 6, 2015 7:19:47 GMT -5
To me, he's more a mythological hero than a superhero because of his roots in Norse mythological deity that bears his name and that alone make him different (type of) hero than all the rest in the Marvel Universe. Also, noted he's the Asgardian God of Thunder and possesses the enchanted hammer Mjolnir, which grants him the ability of flight and weather manipulation and that alone makes him unique.
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Post by Nowhere Man on Feb 6, 2015 9:08:45 GMT -5
He's certainly a superhero as the term is understood now; though it is a little redundant for a race of beings (the Asgardians) who are all "super" by mortal standards. What's always fascinated me about Thor is that his mythos (adventures set in Asgard) could easily support a line of books if the market supported it, most of which would read like sword & sorcery.
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Post by badwolf on Feb 6, 2015 10:12:20 GMT -5
If he only appeared in pure mythological tales I wouldn't really call him a superhero, but I think he is because he interacts on equal terms with [other] superheroes (becoming part of their team early on), fights supervillains, etc.
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Post by wildfire2099 on Feb 6, 2015 13:37:47 GMT -5
Some Thor stories can definitely be more Sword and Sorcery than superhero... especially Aaron's run. That was very Asgard and cosmic focused. The most recent story, with Thor palling around with Roz Solomon, SHIELD enviornmentalist, and fighting Roxxon was definitely much more superhero. It really depends on the story. 'Superhero' is a pretty broad, loose category, after all.
For instance, I read 'The Rise of Aurora West' last night... it's sorta superhero-y (they actually call her and her dad 'science heroes' in the story), yet they're fighting monsters, not people, and it very much had a horror-ish vibe. Yet the main characters have superhero gadgets and costumes. I think it's a matter of degrees and personal canon in alot of cases.
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Post by Deleted on Feb 6, 2015 14:50:29 GMT -5
As several people have pointed out it's difficult to pinpoint what makes Thor a super-hero until and unless you have a clear definition and criteria of what is a super-hero? If there is no consensus or defined parameters of what is a super-hero, you can't make a case for or against Thor (or anyone else for that matter) being a super-hero. If superpowers are part of the equation, then Batman is not a super-hero, if just superscience gadgets and adventures make one a superhero, then you can make a case for JAmes Bond being a super-hero too, so until you lay out a working definition of super-hero, its a question that cannot be answered.
First step of any inquiry, define your terms or the inquiry is pointless and unproductive.
-M
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Post by Deleted on Feb 6, 2015 15:16:30 GMT -5
If there is no consensus or defined parameters of what is a super-hero, you can't make a case for or against Thor (or anyone else for that matter) being a super-hero. So, is there a consensus? |
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Post by Deleted on Feb 6, 2015 15:27:39 GMT -5
If there is no consensus or defined parameters of what is a super-hero, you can't make a case for or against Thor (or anyone else for that matter) being a super-hero. So, is there a consensus? Not that I've found. Pretty much every comic book fan has their own definition and while there is some common ground in a lot of them, I haven't yet seen a lot of complete agreement in definitions. The super-powers aspect seems to be a point of contention in a lot of them though... Trying to define might be an interesting (if not guaranteed to be productive) conversation here though. Yeah but without a defined definition of what super-hero is, trying to decide who is and isn't a super-hero enters into the 4 blind men describing an elephant territory. -M |
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Post by Deleted on Feb 6, 2015 15:37:41 GMT -5
Is an elephant a superhero?
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Post by Deleted on Feb 6, 2015 15:40:07 GMT -5
Is an elephant a superhero? I don't know-Dumbo can fly which is a superpower, so maybe. -M |
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Post by Deleted on Feb 6, 2015 15:41:13 GMT -5
Holy crap, Dumbo is more of a superhero than Punisher.
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Post by Deleted on Feb 6, 2015 15:42:15 GMT -5
Holy crap, Dumbo is more of a superhero than Punisher. Yes, but an elephant with an assault rifle and a machine gun would be scarier!  -M |
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Post by badwolf on Feb 6, 2015 16:06:42 GMT -5
I would say that some kind of costume, even a rudimentary one like the original Sandman's, would be another qualification. (I don't think Bond's suit counts as a costume.)
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