Supervillains And Privilege

So what? Arguments metaphorically mapping superheroes and supervillains to society’s morals and our quest to be human abound, but the 800 pound elephant that we all choose to ignore still remains undiscussed: the dominant hetero-middleclass-white-male narrative that underlies the superhero genre.

Must we use the word “his” when talking about superheroes? Certainly the genre’s cast and audience is composed mainly of males, so how does that affect our reading of the book? If being an outcast sows the seeds for a white male to fall into supervillainy (a cynical and bitter response to not fitting in) how does this compare to the experience of someone who does not fit in because of their genitalia or the color of their skin? A white male supervillain does not have as many problems to overcome as say, a black homosexual woman supervillain—how can a supervillain justify their contempt when they have access to so many more privileges than people of other races, sex, genders, etc.