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Posthuman mythologies: Flawed heroes and homo superior in popular culture

This project has been completed, and the website is therefore no longer being updated.

Superhero-comics, science fiction and video games often explore the future of humanity and the challenges it poses to our perception of human unity and normality (Bukatman). Apart from giving a needed overview of the interrelated themes in these three popular media, this project will show that imperfection as the basis of humanity is a dominant in the characterization of classic superheroes from the 1930’s to the present. The thesis explores how the idea of a schism in human unity becomes the foundation for a modern mythology for the next step in human evolution in, for instance, the superhero universe of Marvel Comics, and the X-men. The investigation will show how the series molds stories and images of past mythologies, mainly from Antiquity and the Judeo-Christian tradition, into a new narrative framework for discussing and imagining our possible futures (Graham; Weiner).