Let's face it, we like our heroes a little broken. Virtually every superhero is born in trauma, whether it's the destruction of their planet or the death of a loved one, being imprisoned in a cave with a box of scraps or by a mind controller, doused with gamma radiation or struck by lightning when the particle accelerator exploded. But what is it that appeals about traumatized heroes, and why is it such a major feature of superheroes in particular? This panel explores the academic theory of heroic trauma and applies it to select movies and TV shows in the MCU and DC TV, including Iron Man, The Flash, Jessica Jones, and Supergirl. (Video of prior panels I gave on heroic trauma, please don't include this line in the program description: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PpYzYRfh8rI and https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PpYzYRfh8rI)
Panel Room