How Kick-Ass deconstructs the Masculinist reading of the Superhero Genre

Seminar paper from the year 2016 in the subject Didactics for the subject English - Literature, Works, grade: 1,0, University of Cologne (Englisches Seminar I), language: English, abstract: Roughly 80 years after Superman's invention in 1938 as "the ultimate power fantasy" for American men whose virility struggled under the socio-economic situation his, role still indicates the idealization of the strong, potent male. The recent reinstallment of Superman's cinematic career in "Men of Steel" (2013) supports what numerous scholars agree upon: To this day, superhero stories most often depict characters who typify conventional gender norms, with the traditionally male heroes denoting a masculinist structure. In times of changing gender norms and a steeply increasing interest in superhero stories, the unchanged masculinist structure in contemporary genre representatives becomes more apparent than ever. This paper examines how the subversive agenda of the superhero story Kick-Ass unmasks the masculinist nature of the very characteristics that define the superhero genre and how Kick-Ass deconstructs them by offering self-aware alternatives.