Abstracts M-O

'Men of Darkness' :: Chris Mackie

This paper deals with notions of darkness in heroic and superheroic conduct. It deals particularly with Odysseus and Batman as examples of individuals who have no 'superhuman' qualities through birth, of the type that we might associate with Heracles or Achilles or Superman. Odysseus in Greek myth is a kind of 'new man' for a new era, and he acquires his renown through the inspired use of his intellect (metis). He invariably does so however in dark and confined spaces - like Polyphemus' cave or the wooden horse or in the Trojan army at night. He is 'divine' in so far as his kind of heroism really comes to the fore at the 'divine time' (that is, at night). This contrasts him with the likes of Homer's Achilles who is associated with the brilliance of Olympian fire and the ferocious battle in the bright light of day.

This paper will explore some of the parallels with the figure of Batman, who has a day persona, Bruce Wayne, a man who is a pillar of society, and a night role where he transforms himself into a smart and effective fighting machine against the various forces of evil.

Bio Note :: Chris Mackie is Associate Professor in Classical Studies and Director of the Centre of Classics and Archaeology at the University of Melbourne. His areas of specialisation include myth and heroic narratives, on which he has published widely.

Email :: c.mackie@arts.unimelb.edu.au


My Own Private Apocalypse - Shinji Ikari in Hideaki Anno's Neon Genesis Evangelion as Schreberian Paranoid Superhero :: Paul M. Malone

The 1990s anime television series Neon Genesis Evangelion, devised by Hideaki Anno, is the story of adolescent Shinji Ikari, summoned by his estranged father Gendo to help save the world. Gend6 works for the shadowy organization NERV, an arm of the even more sinister SEELE; in order to combat gigantic aliens called "Angels," NERV has constructed giant humanoid cyborgs, the Evangelions or EVAs, which can only be piloted by teenagers. Gendo coerces Shinji into piloting EVA Unit 01; however, Shinji regards his missions in the machine, under his father's surveillance, as sheer torment. Evangelion is particularly unusual in that the story has two endings: in the original ending, after the attack of the final Angel, Shinji seems to survive in a world repaired and repopulated, implying that the entire action of the series has taken place within his mind. This conclusion was so unpopular, however, that a new ending was released as a theatrical feature. In this version, SEELE triggers the apocalypse and the world indeed ends, leaving Shinji as almost the only survivor-at least temporarily. The parallel existence of the two endings leaves open the possibility that neither version represents a reality external to Shinji's psyche. Indeed, Anno himself reportedly suffered a breakdown while working on Evangelion, and as he underwent therapy psychological themes already present in the work began to take over the series.

To date no study has attempted to interpret Evangelion as a reflection of the protagonist Shinji's (or his creator Anno's) paranoia-and indeed a paranoia which, allowing for the passage of time and the conventions of a different culture and mass medium, exhibits remarkable intertextual similarities to the fantasies of Saxon jurist Daniel Paul Schreber (1842-1911). When Schreber published his Memoirs of My Nervous Illness in 1903, he inadvertently established himself as the prime exemplar of paranoid delusion, offering a detailed case history that would be examined not only by Freud, but also by Jung and Lacan. Schreber's illness took the form of a paranoid megalomania in which he felt that his soul (Seele), which he experienced as being contiguous with his nervous system (Nerven), was being manipulated by rays which were themselves the nerves of God. The ultimate purpose was God's repopulation of the world, which Schreber had come to believe already destroyed, from a feminized Schreber himself. Subsequent critics have come to see in this delusion a conflation of Schreber's therapist, Dr. Paul Emil Flechsig, with Schreber's father Moritz, a well-known expert in child rearing whose disciplinary methods included the use of surveillance and mechanical contrivances on his children to enforce proper posture and blind obedience.

Eric Santner has explicated Schreber's delusions as products of a specifically German historical context in his My Own Private Germany (1996); but Cindy Hendershot has pointed out the similarity of Schreber's paranoid discourse to the themes and languages of science fiction, particularly in American films at the beginning of the nuclear arms race (Paranoia, the Bomb and 1950s Science Fiction Films, 1999). Schreber's discourse is reflected even more directly, however, in Evangelion, which not only reflects a Japanese social crisis analogous to that in Germany a century previously, but indeed also appropriates the very same German psychological terminology that Schreber had in his turn appropriated, and combines these terms with religious concepts and gender dynamics in a manner entirely typical of paranoid discourse in general and Schreber's case in particular.



Bio Note :: Paul M. Malone is an Associate Professor of German in the Department of Germanic and Slavic Studies at the University of Waterloo, Canada. In addition to his book, Franz Kafka's The Trial: Four Stage Adaptations ( Frankfurt: Peter Lang, 2003), he has published on literature, film, theatre/performance theory, and virtual reality computer technology.

Email :: pmalone@uwaterloo.ca

Magneto Was Right! - When 'Anarchy and Magic' Are the New 'Time and Space' :: Christian McCrea

The sharpest 'fiction suits' on the streets of our new etheropolis are worn by myth-smart, magic-savvy culture engineers whose radical politics are forged in four-dimensional experiences that may never happen. When the supervillans moved from the exterior, to the interior, to the purely and lethally symbolic, so did the superheroes. When one hero continuum has his authorial puppet-strings painted green and played like a autopoetic lysergic Stratocaster, questioning the nature of their construction and waxing lyrical the bald heads of the creators - and the next comic on the shelf is bound up in the eternal struggle of Spandex vs. Helmet, you realise the real value of heroes has shifted from giving us 'certainty' to giving us 'doubt'. The real epic knock-out battles, as ever, are being fought between artist and publisher, future and past. On one hand, the instinct to push the page and screen into increasingly rapid and weird ways to interact with audiences; the chaotic acceleration of potentials. The other, the colossal weight of tradition, of familiar ways to write and draw, and to make people pay for the results.

This paper will paint a picture of the new kinds of struggles that superheroes face, and tie them into the kind of cultural movements that the medium faces - namely commercialisation and ghettoisation, and suggests that something wonderful has changed. The superhero has more moments of existential crisis than Crises of Existence these days; the viruses propogated by Moore, Morrison, Mignola, et al, masquerading as a slight hiccup of postmodern naval-gazing turned out to wholly lethal; The prognosis isn't good; we may have to operate. Maybe Magneto Was Right.

Bio Note :: Christian McCrea is a doctral candidate in the Cinema Studies Program at the University of Melbourne. His PhD focuses on player investment and heroic formations in computer games.

Email :: saccharinmetric@gmail.com

The Literary Cult Superhero :: Kieryn McKay

This paper investigates what I term "the literary Cult Superhero": a unique form of the Superhero that is not endowed with powers of the super-real, but is tagged as such for displaying a super-strength in attitude, ideas or insight. The paper explores the relationship between a Cult Superhero and their fan, the fans to each other, and that between a Cult Superhero and their surrounding culture.

In the same way that a Superhero gains their status from their context (that is, their juxtaposition to the less-Super), so too does a Cult figure. The cult text is marked by: multiplicity; repetition; generousness; circulation; advertisement; 'insider' discourse; totem; affectation (physical and linguistic); appropriation; and, persuasion/rhetoric. While drawing constant parallels to Superhero fandom, this paper examines all these phenomena in the context of the American college campus of the sixties and seventies ­ the site where the cult literature first became a discernable movement.

The attending idolatry displayed toward literary Cult heroes is parallel, if not identical, to that displayed by a fan toward a Superhero. While bestselling titles generally attract reader coalitions made up of widely differing social groups, a cult book requires concentrated appeal ­ a specialist audience. The affection of that specialist audience for the text, also, must be ardent. It is not enough to have people read the book, they have to follow it. Appendages need only be worn, but a book, for it to be considered cult, must be believed. Indeed, the establishment of a cult text is at the hands of a group of people whose affection for a book goes beyond the usual, beyond the reasonable, into the realm of obsession.

The cult experience, like Superhero idolatry, is communal. Just as fans unite in their like-minded adoration of a specific Superhero, the following of a cult text promotes a bond between those who share a fascination for (or addiction to) that particular text. As Walter Pater, the first critic of the cult experience wrote: "There is a spirit of general elevation and enlightenment in which all alike communicate." But an inherent tension lies within the context of this relationship, as this attraction to others of a similar inclination is accompanied by a desire for an independent and unique relationship or identification with a text/figure. So, the cult experience is at once personal and communal, involving what Thomas Reed Whissen terms an "individual togetherness." This paper examines these tensions implicated in the identity of the Superhero fan. Additionally, it looks at notions of purity in the fan experience in relation to the possibility of the 'impure,' the impostor-fan and the infidel.

Bio Note :: Kieryn McKay is a postgraduate student at the University of Sydney. She is writing her (increasingly self-reflexive) doctoral thesis on cult literature, film and fashion, focusing on theories of contagion, obsession and insanity.
Email :: kieryn.mckay@arts.usyd.edu.au

Reign of the Superman: Power, Patriarchy and Paternalism In The Man of Steel :: James Mclean

This paper is the result of a very personal rediscovery of superheroes, in particular it represents an ongoing interest I have with the character of Superman. It also presents the opportunity to begin exploring the ways in which Superman is a significant icon of masculine idealism, presented through three key representations of him, beginning with Christopher Reeve's portrayal of him in Superman II, to his well-publicised violent "death" in DC comics in 1993. Finally, I will use these examples as a comparative basis for discussing the more complex figure that emerges in 1997, with Mark Waid and Alex Ross's Kingdom Come. As a means of approaching the various themes open for analysis, I will be looking at Superman through the lens of discourses surrounding The Man of Steel, as well as focusing on various theories of masculinity in general.

To begin with, my discussion will revolve around my initial discovery of the character, of my own "nostalgic" recollections of Superman, many of them rooted in childhood. Such recollections will incorporate ideas of how Superman is theorised as a compensatory object of perfection for, and by (but certainly not limited to), young people who tend to feel anything but perfect, and of how his heroic super-powers are then internalised as a means of combating feelings of powerlessness and insecurity. Superman II is a wonderful illustration of this mechanism at work, as the film's major themes revolve around issues of power and powerlessness.

The Man of Steel in the Death of Superman series is a very different character from the one played by Christopher Reeve in the films of the late 70's and early 80's. It presents us with a violent patriarchal figure, a Superman that justifies his extreme use of destructive force by legitimating it under the guise of protection. His subsequent "death" serves to deify the hyper-masculine values of power and war-like aggression that his battle with Doomsday brings to the fore. Even further, his resurrection in The Return of Superman creates a link to historic portrayals of masculinity with origins in combat and battle, structured as it is like a visual reworking of Homer's The Odyssey. Both works celebrate a specific type of masculinity that is intimately connected to male violence as a form of performative power.

It is not until the release of Mark Waid and Alex Ross's revisionary work on the Superman myth in Kingdom Come, that we see a new heroic figure emerge. Superman's role shifts from being the violent patriarch to that of the paternal protector. In Kingdom Come, aggressive force is used only when all other alternatives have failed. Superman's aversion to violence will be argued as a direct response to his embracing of it in The Death of Superman. Therefore, Superman's character represents more than just the sum total of his superpowers and perfect physique, which admittedly is still a trademark of many of the comics he appears in today. Instead, Waid and Ross present us with a character that embodies a wide range of different values, and in doing so, they reveal just how Superman can be seen as a metaphor for wider issues of masculinity in general.

Bio Note :: James Mclean is currently in his final year of studies at The University of Melbourne, majoring in Cinema and English Studies. James's areas of interest include the work of Contemporary Hollywood Directors (notably James Cameron, Sam Raimi and Steven Spielberg) and representations of masculinity in Hollywood film. He also harbours a particular fascination with the current resurgence in the popularity of the Superhero genre, having written about superheroes such as Batman, Spider-Man, and more recently Superman, and The Matrix Trilogy.

Email :: j.mclean@ugrad.unimelb.edu.au

The Superhero as the “Conscience of the King” :: Rod Marsden

Superheroes are often used as symbols by the artist and writer for either the way they feel about a situation or of their country and the direction it is going in. An example would be how the Marvel characters were used at the beginning of the Vietnam was as opposed to the way they were used near its end and after its conclusion. This change of heart, to some extent, was spurred by the growing popular belief amongst the young that the war was a tragedy that should never have happened. Early attacks against the Vietnam War were launched by the undergrounds in the USA.

In their 9/11 tribute to the fallen, there were artists and writers who made it clear that not all Muslims were responsible for what happened that day and that there were Muslims who fled to the USA for a better life away from the madness in their own respective country. D.Cs Superman has been used to symbolize the need to take better care of the environment and to look after pets and wildlife. Other superheroes, such as the X-Men, have also been used in a similar vain. In comic books, especially the undergrounds, views contrary to the government have been voiced. An example would be an issue of the California publication Slow Deathwhich in a story titled Mr. Atom laid out the reasons, in tongue-in-cheek fashion, why it is not a good idea for the USA and the USSR to be stock piling nuclear weapons. It was produced in the early 70s.

The idea of the second chance and of standing up for underdog are what comics have been about from the start. One of Superman's early battles has him going to a country ruled by a cruel dictator and sorting the fellow and his men out for the people under thumb. At the time America was not at war with Germany and so the dictator couldnt have been Hitler or Mussolini but, in retrospect, he did have certain features that made one think of Hitler. Could this have been an example of Simon and Schuster urging the US government to get involved in the war and to give the embattled British what help they could in terms of ships with supplies to keep Britain free? In terms of the second chance there is Marvels Hawkeye, once a villain, becoming a hero and being sponsored for membership in The Avengers by his old foe Ironman.

How proactive are comics and their superheroes right now? Are superheroes merely slugging it out with super villains or are there also underlying messages that pinch at our consciences and those of our rulers?

Bio Note :: Rod Marsden was born in Sydney but did most of his growing up while on holidays in the northern NSW fishing village of Iluka where his dad taught him how to fish. It was on these fishing trips he discovered he actually did like to read and wanted, one day, to be a writer. USA artist Gene Colan’s drawings of the sexy, slinky Black Widow made him wonder about becoming an artist. He has a BA in Liberal Studies, a Graduate Diploma in Education and a Master of Arts in Professional Writing. His short stories have been published in Australia, England, Russia and the USA. Rod lives on the south coast of NSW, Australia.

Email :: comix1@ozemail.com.au

Harold Bishop: Moral Superhero :: Peter Mattessi

This paper will examine the character of Harold Bishop, of Channel Ten and BBC’s Neighbours. It will contend that Harold, despite being a character in a predominantly naturalistic and populist soap opera, is a superhero. A superhero, however, of a different kind: an everyday moral superhero.

Through a critical analysis of superheroes and their characteristics, including drawing parallels between Harold and other contemporary television superheroes such as Buffy of Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Sydney Bristow of Alias, this paper will demonstrate that although Harold possesses no super powers or extraordinary physical abilities, it is still possible to conceptualise him as a superhero in the role he plays within the Ramsay Street universe. Harold’s moral and ethical strength is unparalleled amongst the cast of Neighbours, and possibly greater and more constant that that of any contemporary Australian television character. Harold is relied upon in difficult times, and rarely fails to provide the love and support that his friends and family need. He crosses generational borders and helps the show’s teenagers when they are in need of advice. And he will always, whatever the pressures, eventually do what is right.

But Harold’s unimpeachability, as central as it is to the show’s moral structure, can occasionally waver. Neighbours has in the past thrown Harold’s good nature into serious question, most recently with a stroke that drastically altered his psychological makeup. By following Harold’s journey from his stroke, through his ‘evil Harold’ phase, and back to the Harold of old, this paper will show that, like many superheroes, for example Buffy and Sydney Bristow, Harold has not made a conscious decision to occupy a certain role within society. Rather, Harold’s moral ‘super powers’ are fundamental to his personality and something that he cannot, despite his best efforts, change or escape. And, like many superheroes, Harold’s role in the life of Ramsay Street is occasionally a burden that he wishes to be rid of.

True to superhero form, though, regardless of the difficulties thrown at him, Harold comes through in the end and moral equilibrium is restored to Ramsay Street. Harold’s extraordinary moral strength goes beyond what can be reasonably expected from a virtuous human being: Harold is a moral superhero.

Bio Note :: Peter Mattessi is a Script Editor with the popular Channel 10 television series Neighbours.

Email :: pmattessi@mailcan.com


The Quest for Identity in Alan Moore's "Swamp Thing" :: Kevin Meaux

While the hero of Alan Moore's series remains in one geographic location, a bayou in the Deep South , his interior journey toward self-discovery is no less epic than those of hero archetypes found in mythology and Western Literature. It is my argument that the protagonist of the story, Dr. Alec Holland, undertakes parallel journeys on his quest. On one level he is on a homeward voyage, not unlike Ulysses. He strives to return to the life that has been taken from him by the story's initial antagonists. However, his true quest traverses the geography of his own psyche. The story depicts the hero's loss of selfhood and his struggle to reclaim it. The protagonist believes that the ultimate goal of his adventures is to once again become Dr. Alec Holland. Ironically, the true objective, whether he realizes it or not, is the evolution of his new identity, Swamp Thing. In the end, selfhood itself is the Holy Grail of this story.

My paper, drawing on earlier archetypes found in Christian and Classical literature, will track the course and discuss the psychological complexities of the Swamp Thing's evolution toward self-awareness. I will also draw comparisons to sections of Ovid's Metamorphosis and discuss how the function that gods once played in a protagonist's story has, in the case of Swamp Thing, been supplanted by the science or pseudoscience found in contemporary comic book fiction. In addition, I plan to address Alan Moore's exploration of identity distortion and expansion. Specifically, I will deal with the psychedelic counter-culture's influence on Moore 's treatment of this subject, as seen in issue 34 (March 1085) and issue 43 (December 1985).

Though the ideas mentioned above will form the body of my presentation, I feel obliged to begin with a brief discussion of the history of this comic books series. For example, I intend to trace the origins of the story back to the original series, written by Len Wein and illustrated by Bernie Wrightson and discuss the revision (or reinvention) of the series by writer Allan Moore. This discussion will focus on the major differences found between the two writers' handling of Swamp Thing's quest to reclaim his identity.

Bio Note :: Kevin Meaux is a Lecturer in English at Lamar University . He was the 1999 winner of the prestigious Ruth Lilly poetry award, and received his MFA from McNeese State University .

Email :: kwm1977@HOTMAIL.COM

Gods Amongst Us / Gods Within: The Black Metal Aesthetic :: Aleks Michalewicz

Black Metal is a music genre characterised by "nihilism and a heroic anti-social assertion of the self." Evolving in Scandinavia in the 1980s, it first exhibited a strong ideological concern with Satanism, which later developed into a preoccupation with native pagan mythologies - a natural progression in the anxiety regarding Christian influence over traditional Scandinavian culture. The scene has since dispersed internationally, with many Australian bands successfully touring overseas. Moynihan and Soderlind explain it thus:

The principal elements of Black Metal reside as much in belief and outlook as they do in the music itself. There is a considerable berth given toward sonic experimentation as long as certain attitudes are prominently displayed by the musicians. At the same time.the boundaries of the ideology shift as time passes. A small number of books have been published on various metal sub-cultures. Most studies, however, adopt either a narrow sociological approach that does little to capture the spirit inherent in participation, or a sensationalistic tone that rarely does justice to the more creative elements of the genre. It is easy to view Black Metal performers simply as paradigmatic counter-cultural 'super-villains': The genre is highly theatrical, characterised by corpse-paint, costume (leather, pvc, spikes), long hair, extreme lighting and most of all by 'negative' thematic concerns as expressed through both the lyrical content and the sonic textures of the music itself. Indeed, Black Metal is widely criticised throughout the metal scene as a whole for its perceived exclusivity and elitism. However, to limit one's understanding to these factors alone demonstrates a superficial analysis.

Although the Black Metal scene might be overtly dystopian to outsiders, from within the subculture the meanings take on new subtleties. This allows participants to become part of something that is both an individual and collective conceptual ideal: identity is renegotiated not only through an overall aesthetic, but also through a philosophy which actively pursues metaphysical concerns. For this reason, the reinterpretation of mythology is often used to create an alternate reality in which all are potentially elevated to heroism.

Most of those who attend concert are themselves active within the metal scene. This creates an intimately organic and interactive scene, and one that relies less on album sales than fan participation. Black Metal originally developed via tape trading and fanzines, and this has now progressed to cd burning and the internet. Indeed, the scene greatly embraces new technologies, as is reflected in the high production values of recordings. Further, the competitive nature of such a hyper-masculine scene promotes intense deconstruction of performance and thematic content.

I participate in Black Metal as a spectator, consumer, musician, woman; my perspective is both academic and that of a fan. Through a study of lyrics, song/album titles, band and stage names, as well as the use of imagery, I will argue that Black Metal elevates performance and participation to an inclusively spiritual level. It is my position that Black Metal allows the participant to become a part of something that transcends the everyday, and allows those on stage - through the ritual of performance - to become superheroes. This is achieved by explicitly dealing with themes such as im/mortality, death, the divine and the Other; and is further emphasised by exploring particular codes of honour, an integral part of the scene's ideology. In these ways, Black Metal successfully evokes a different kind of reality: one that is darker, superior, harsher - and perhaps more beautiful than what we might expect.



Bio Note :: Aleks is a Masters candidate in Classics and Archaeology at Melbourne University. She has also tutored in the subject "Imperial Insanity: Mad Emperors of Rome" at the University of Melbourne.

Email :: a.michalewicz@pgrad.unimelb.edu.au

El Santo: Wrestler, Superhero and Saint :: Gabrielle Murray

This paper will investigate the phenomena of El Santo, the Mexican wrestler and super hero. El Santo is a major Mexican professional wrestler, known as a luchador, who became a huge star as a "superhero" in the wrestling and fantasy cinema of the 1960s and 1970s. Lucha Libre, which translates roughly as "free fight", is an extremely popular form of entertainment in Mexico. Originally inspired by the U.S. professional wrestling of the 1930s, Lucha Libre is renowned for its tradition of masks, and its choreographed high-flying or airborne style, which is characterized by its flips, tosses and dives of the ropes. Its ritualized form re-enacts a story - a mythic battle between good and evil. Each match involves a good guy, known as a 'tecnico', who wears lurid colours and generally wins, whereas the bad guy or 'rudo' wears black and is heckled by the crowd. Wearing a simple silver mask, Rodolfo Guzman Huerta debuted as El Santo in 1942. After his debut, Huerta went to great lengths to hide his identity and always appeared in public in his mask, greatly adding to his mystique.

In 1952 at the height of his popularity a publisher named Jose Cruz started a comic book featuring Santo's adventures fighting crimes and monsters, while also continuing to wrestle. Considered one of the most famous superhero comic books in Mexico, it ran continuously for 35 years. Santo's status as a luchador and the comic books popularized him with Mexican audiences to hero status. Although initially declining film offers, the success of the comic books encouraged him to appear in films. However, it was in 1961 that producer Alberto Lopez hired him to star as "El Santo" in the classic Santo Contra Los Zombies (Santo verses the Zombies). From 1958 to 1982, Santo starred in 52 Mexican films as "El Santo".

In his book, Santo el Enmascarado de Plata, Álvaron A. Fernández Reyes notes that within the immense cultural productions of modern Mexico, the ritual and myth that revolve around the heroic figure of El Santo, are peculiarly diverse, embodying the creation of new traditions and the recuperate of old ones. He is a "real" flesh and blood figure, the masked wrestler el Santo, he is also the fictional star of wrestling fantasy films where he battles bad guys, vampires and mummies, and for his predominately Mexican audience, he is a also a magical "superhero".

This paper will explore the different manifestations of El Santo, luchador, saint and superhero. It will also focus on the generic hybridity of the films, whereby a noirish crime or a campy vampire tale will be interrupted to allow Santo to engage in several wrestling matches, with no attempt within the narrative or in the film's aesthetic sensibility to integrate the matches.


Bio Note :: Gabrielle Murray is a Lecturer in Cinema Studies at La Trobe University. Her research interests include Mexican Cinema, ritual and the sacred in film, and the cinema of Sam Peckinpah. Her book This Wounded Cinema, This Wounded Life: Violence and Utopia in the Films of Sam Peckinpah was published by Praeger in 2004.

Email :: gabrielle.murray@latrobe.edu.au
The Fight Between Superhero and Everyman: Betting On Different Kinds of Extraordinary :: Gabrielle Moyer

God is dead, with his divinity thrown in the laps of men. Modern heroes are the anti-heroes. They are not divine but simply us at our transformative best. Is this enough, though, do we need something more extraordinary for our lives? "It is hard to go on living without some hope of encountering the extraordinary." Harold Bloom is speaking here of the sublime awe that aesthetic experience can promise. This hope for art as a supernatural pick me up was born of the Enlightenment's and Romantic's increasing religious skepticism, alongside their continuing need for "the highest kind of means of salvation and consolation" (Nietzsche). We are the inheritors, I will argue, of the same skepticism and needs: we have acquiesced to the death of God but need something more extraordinary, more super heroic, than the anti-heros modern fictions afford. In my paper I will look at two modernist works, Joyce's _Ulysses_ and T.S. Eliot's play, "The Cocktail Party," and their contrary versions of the heroic life. I ask whether Joyce's everyman, Leopold Bloom, is a match for the Homeric superhero whose path he follows, and whether Eliot's alternate picture of how to transform just such an every day life into something divine, can be called heroic or terrible.

Bio Note :: Stanford University, English Department
Email :: gmoyer@stanford.edu

Breaking Down the Gates of Hell :: Angela Ndalianis

In the late 1930s, the skies opened and a little bit of Heaven fell to Earth. The birth of Superman in 1938 heralded the Golden Age of comics, and with it the arrival of a superhero whose image reflected the great gods and hyper-humans of a mythic past. Superman, Batman, Captain America , Wonderwoman – they were the stuff of legends. The super-beings of Mt.Olympus and Asgard had spread their arms to embrace new geographies and alternate temporal zones. Realising (within the world of fiction) the theme of the New York World Fair’s Futurama exhibit of 1939, the early superheroes arrived in order to ‘build the World of Tomorrow’. They offered hope to a despairing humanity that had lost faith in the civilization embodied by urban life. Beginning with these early years, this paper will fast forward to the transformations that these god-like beings have undergone in more recent times. The world of tomorrow finally arrived, bringing with it new superheroes as well as revamped old ones – Dark Knight, Watchmen, Punisher, Preacher, Invisibles, Sandman – and a fissure of immense proportions began to rip across the Earth’s surface, bringing with it not gods but armies of super (and delightfully addictive) - devils.

Bio Note :: Angela Ndalianis is Associate Professor in Cinema and Entertainment Studies in the School of Art History, Cinema, Classics and Archaeology at Melbourne University. Her research interests in special effects cinema, computer games, theme parks, comic books and media history are reflected in publications which include the book Neo-Baroque Aesthetics and Contemporary Entertainment (MIT Press, Cambridge MA 2004). You can visit her website at http://www.ahcca.unimelb.edu.au/profiles/a-ndalianis/

Email :: angelan@unimelb.edu.au

Girl Power: the Female Cyborg in Japanese Anime :: Craig Norris

This paper will explore the merging of women into machines and technology to become a type of superhero in anime (Japanese animation). I will focus on the identity of the cyborg-half machine, half human-and how they problematise two issues: gender and ethnicity. Firstly, I argue that cyberpunk anime, such as "Ghost in the Shell", "Armitage III", and "Battle Angel Alita" depict female heroes who articulate a 'cyborg subjectivity' (Haraway, 1991) of unity with self/machine/nature that is attainable to female, not male, cyborgs. However, I question how transgressive these female cyborg superheros are given that these anime are intended for a young male audience. This is particularly apparent in the more exploitative use of schoolgirls as cyborgs in anime such as "She - the ultimate weapon-" and "Gunslinger Girls". Secondly, I consider Toshio Ueno's (1999) claim that these female cyborgs are often ethnically coded as Japanese. I suggest that these female cyborg superheros indicate the possibility for a new politics of transgressive pleasure and resistance for a Western male audience that reformulates the concept of the exotic Asian woman who was once submissive to the colonial or masculine but has now become a symbol for the cosmopolitan, rich, modern, and technologically sophisticated Asian woman.


Bio Note :: Craig Norris recently completed his PhD at the University of Western Sydney and is currently working at Monash University's Japanese Studies Centre researching issues related to Japanese comic books (manga) and animation (anime). As well as an interest in exploring the export of animated euphoria from Japan he also teaches in the area of communication and media studies at Monash University.

Email :: Craig.Norris@arts.monash.edu.au

Smack-Head Hasan: Why are all Turkic superheroes intemperate, treacherous, or stupid? :: Claire Norton

This paper will examine how an early 17th century Ottoman military commander has been re-imagined as a Turkic superhero through intertextual references to older myths and literature. It will also explore the impact that this re-figuring potentially had on audiences' understanding of narrated events.

Turkic myth and literature abound with heroes and superheroes. The latter, like their more modern western counterparts, have special supernatural powers, a sidekick, mysterious origins, magic tokens, and their adventures are serialised and generally involve a personal duel with the evil arch-villian. However, unlike their modern counterparts Turkic superheroes have another less positive aspect: they are generally intemperate, licentious, dishonourable, or stupid. Many are either gluttons, alcoholics or drug addicts; they kidnap both young women and men to satisfy their often inordinate sexual appetites; they are slothful, treacherous, cruel and mean; they are extremely desirous of material gain and personal aggrandisment; and they often fail miserably. This duel nature reflects, as Dum'zil (The Destiny of the Warrior) argues the liminal and contradictory position that superheroes and gods occupy for some audiences: they are the saviours and champions of the people, but through their very success they can become the elite and thus potential oppressors.

In a corpus of manuscripts known collectively as Gazavat-i Tiryaki Hasan Pa ? þa the Ottoman commander and hero of the 1601 siege of Nagykanizsa, Tiryaki (opium-addict) Hasan Pasha, has been re-figured through intertextual references as a Turkic superhero. While other narrations present him as a heroic military commander, an admired bureaucrat, or as a dutiful Muslim, these manuscripts, and especially London : British Library O.R.12961 Hikaye-i Tiryaki Gazi Hasan Paþa [The story of Tiryaki Gazi Hasan Pasha], depict him as spiteful, threatening, opium-addicted fool who does not even have the strength to tie up his trouser cord. However, like all Turkic superhereos he also possesses supernatural powers: he can disappear and reappear, part rivers, create fire, navigate treacherous mountain passes, control the weather and of course save the day.

Tiryaki Hasan Pasha is full of contradictions: he is part of the central military-bureaucratic officialdom yet outside of it; he is religious, yet heterodox references overshadow his orthodoxy; he is a military hero, yet is slyly mocked for his physical and mental weaknesses: he is described as a senile opium addict, as having snot running down one nostril and limbs like mint stalks. This depiction of Tiryaki Hasan Pasha reveals multiple tensions which can most coherently be explained if he is read as a site of contestation for 'popular' audiences' competing plural attitudes and emotions towards heroes and members of the ruling elite. By re-figuring Tiryaki Hasan Pasha he becomes a superhero for sceptical audiences distrustful of the central elite: audiences who like to contain their heroes through laughter. In this respect Hasan Pasha can be seen as continuing the tradition of earlier Turkic superheroes such as the gluttonous and slothful Jolio and the greedy, dishonourable Köroglu.


Bio Note :: Lecturer in Early Modern History at St Mary's College, University of Surrey.
Email :: nortonc@smuc.ac.uk

Homer and Rap: the Ancient is Fresh :: Erin O'Connell

Thought to be merely a short-lived fad when they began to take hold in the public imagination, rap music and hip hop culture are now a multi-billion dollar industry and claim a central place in the contemporary representation of heroes and villains. The public identity of rap artists is developed and marketed with an eye to selling an image that figures itself along the superhero/supervillain continuum. Most successful rap singers are performing artists whose public identity spreads far beyond their role as musicians or poets, they are cultural icons after the fashion of ancient mythic characters. Popularized through a wide variety of media--the recording industry, music videos, film, advertising, and print journalism --the musical literature and visual iconography of contemporary Gangsta Rap and Political Rap music possess a sophisticated and complex ethos of idealized masculine behavior that finds its antecedents in mythic heroes such as Achilles, Odysseus, Ajax and Agamemnon.

This paper examines the ways in which the heroes and villains of contemporary hip hop culture mirror the heroes and villains of Homer's Iliad and Odyssey. The argument explores the cultural similarities between Homeric epic and modern rap music - in both form and content - despite the vast historical and social differences. It is shown that the contemporary heroes and anti-heroes in rap culture, such as the members of the rap groups Public Enemy, and the Disposable Heroes of Hiphoprisy, or the individual figures of Tupac, or Anybody Killa, for example, serve a similar mythic and cultural function as Homer's Achilles, Hector, Ajax & Odysseus. Rappers can be seen as modern representatives of the heroic paradigm in ancient Greek popular culture. Following in the mythic tradition of the Homeric heroes, rap artists play a major role in defining current popular perceptions of extraordinary greatness and extraordinary threat. The paper explores common themes between the two mythic traditions such as the range and complexity of male excellence, the overlapping discourses between heroism and villainy, and the roles of women as both subjects and objects.

Bio Note :: Erin O'Connell is an Assistant Professor of Classics at the University of Utah. She earned her PhD in Literature at the University of California-Santa Cruz. Her research interests include Ancient and Modern relations, ancient Greek literature and philosophy, Performance Studies, and Literary Criticism. She has published articles on Ancient Greek Drama, and has a book forthcoming from Peter Lang, entitled Presocratic Deconstruction: Heraclitus and Derrida.
Email :: erin.oconnell@mail.hum.utah.edu

The Bold and the Forgetful: Amnesia, Character Mutability and Serial Narrative Form in the X-Men :: Radha O'Meara

This paper will examine the X-Men as an example of the hyper-mutability of characters in serial narrative. This is part of a larger project to outline the formal tendencies of serial narrative and suggest analytical approaches. Characters in serial narrative are generally notable for their ability to transform repeatedly and in "unrealistic" ways and comic book superheroes generally have some kind of change built into their characters. However the X-Men are notable for the principle of mutation fundamental to their characters. The hyper-mutability of X-Men characters will be analysed across different comic book series, as well as cross-media forms including the animated TV series and live action feature films.

Outlining different kinds of character mutation common in serial narratives, this paper will use examples from various X-Men texts. The hyper-mutable serial character often transforms repeatedly, like the frequently enacted physical mutations of the X-Men characters. Characters in serial narrative such as the X-Men are recognisable across various incarnations drawn in diverse styles by different artists and acted/voiced by different performers in different media. Characters in the X-Men age arbitrarily as Rogue "loses" ten years between the animated series and the feature films, may die and be "resurrected" like Jean Grey, and feature doppelgaengers such as the transformations of Mystique.

In particular, this paper will analyse the use of amnesia plots as particular examples of character mutability. The origins of Wolverine's character remain a mystery through several plots focussing on the search for his past. Only the amnesiac Wolverine is portrayed in the available texts, which suggest that his former character was radically different. In contrast, Jean Grey suddenly loses the memory of her former personality and experiences when she becomes the Phoenix . Such stories redefine previous plots and retrospectively invent memories and pasts, in a focus on history common to serial narrative form. These examples will be discussed in relation to examples of amnesia and character mutability in other kinds of serial texts, such as soap operas.

Bio Note :: Radha O'Meara is a postgraduate student in the Cinema Studies Program at the University of Melbourne. Her PhD topic deals with serial form in television and the cinema.

Email :: romeara@unimelb.edu.au

Yearnings for Paradise: The Quest of the Silver Surfer :: B J Oropeza

This paper examines the original Silver Surfer as written by Stan Lee and portrayed by Jack Kirby and John Buscema (1960's and 1970's).
It presents the plight of the Silver Surfer in terms of his attempt to restore a paradise lost. After his banishment from the heavens due to his rebellion against Galactus (his master), the Surfer surveys the earth and comes to the conclusion that the planet is a virtual paradise in which something has gone terribly wrong. He sees his commission as a type of guardian angel protecting the innocent and attempting to restore love and order to a planet that sees power as its ultimate virtue and abuses that power for its own ends.

Subtopics include the myth of the Silver Surfer as it interacts with the imagery of an angelic harbringer of doom in the original Galactus saga (Fantastic Four Volume 1, #48-50), a messianic savior delivering both the Earth and the Planet Zenn-La from the apocalyptic doomsday brought about by Galactus, and the metamprophosis of a god becoming man as the silver space rider adapts to the earth and its inhabitants and is tempted to sell his soul to his nemesis, Mephisto.

Bio Note :: B. J. Oropeza is a professor at the C. P. Haggard School of Theology at Azusa Pacific University (Azusa, California) and an internationally acclaimed author whose many publications include The Gospel according to Superheroes: Religion and Popular Cutlure (Peter Lang, 2005); 99 Answers to Questions about Angels, Demons, and Spiritual Warfare (IVP, 1997), 99 Reasons Why No One Knows When Christ Will Return (IVP, 1994), Paul and Apostasy (Mohr-Siebeck, 2000), and A Time to Laugh (Hendrickson Publishers, 1996). He also worked as Assistant Professor of Religion at George Fox University in Newberg, Oregon and was formerly Associate Researcher for the Christian Research Institute and Christian Research Journal. He received his Ph.D. from the University of Durham, England.

Email :: BOropeza@apu.edu

Achilleus: Man of Bronze :: Annabel Orchard

In the Iliad, the Trojan hero Aeneas says of his Greek enemy Achilleus: "he claims to be made all of bronze (panchalkeos)" Iliad 20.102 The poet has apparently reserved a special term for this reference to Achilleus. The word panchalkeos or "all bronze" occurs in the Iliad only in this passage. Achilleus' physical identity is so closely associated with his armour that he might well be described by the Trojans as a man made of bronze. Whenever he appears on the battlefield, he is encased in armour made for him by the lame smith god Hephaistos. The bronze armour that he wears represents Achilleus' identity as a warrior and hero.

This paper examines the perceptions of the armoured body of Achilleus. It considers the effect of the armour on the person inside it and on those who view the armed figure on the battlefield. Drawing on ideas about the cyborg, it examines the enhanced power of the hero due to the technological and supernatural properties of the armour. It also considers the concept of imperfect invulnerability in this myth, and considers the significance of a physically imperfect god creating armour for a physically vulnerable hero.

Bio Note :: Annabel Orchard is a Ph.D candidate in Classical Studies at the University of Melbourne. She is currently researching the role of metal-craft in myth, and the effect of contemporary technology on mythic form and content. Other projects include the development of interactive media for education, research and entertainment. A recent project, www.wingedsandals.com, is an interactive website for kids 6-12 which uses digital storytelling to expand the means of retelling Greek myth. Annabel is also a co-founder of the Sword and Sandal Reading Group, an interdisciplinary group based in Cinema Studies and Classics, University of Melbourne. Further details at http://www.ahcca. unimelb.edu.au/ CCA/People/PostGrads/A-Orchard/

Email :: amo@unimelb.edu.au