ENGL 205 University of Delaware Iron Man Comic Socio Political Analysis Notes on an Iron Man comic book issue of your choice. Choose one of the issues of

ENGL 205 University of Delaware Iron Man Comic Socio Political Analysis Notes on an Iron Man comic book issue of your choice.

Choose one of the issues of Iron Man that is on Canvas. (Note: an “issue” of a comic book series is a single copy of the periodical.) Then choose one of the following Approaches to Literary Studies. Analyze your issue of Iron Man by focusing on the particular interpretive approach that you chose. For example, if you chose “Gender Studies,” you will want to write down your observations about how women and men are represented in the comic book. If you chose “Disability Studies,” you might focus on Tony Stark’s alcoholism, his time in a wheelchair, or his artificial heart. If you chose “Socio-political,” you might focus on the story about Tony Stark in the Vietnam War.

1.) Disability Studies asks questions such as …

Iron Man is practically invincible—able to beat death, able to fly faster than airplanes, able to defeat foes four times his size. Tony Starks, the inventor and chief occupant of the Iron Man suit, has a heart condition that renders him dependent on technology to stay alive. He also battles alcoholism, and when he is shot, he is paralyzed and in a wheelchair. Many superhero characters occupy this dual state of being: their hero bodies are super-abled, yet their human bodies are often weak or impaired in some way. Disability studies asks: How is the physical capacity of the body represented, both visually and in words, in the text? Are disabled characters depicted positively or negatively? You may include mental illnesses in your analysis.

2.) Race and Ethnicity Studies asks questions such as …

How are race and ethnicity represented? Who is doing the representing? Are the “minority” race characters represented as heroic, or does the work privilege white characters and, if so, how? What are the races and ethnicities of the villains and heroes?

3.) Gender Studies asks …

How is gender represented? How are femininity and masculinity defined and represented, both visually and in words, in the text? Do women and/or men have agency and autonomy in the text?

4.) Class Studies asks …

What social classes do the various characters (especially the main character) belong to, and how is social class represented? What economic values do the characters and the text implicitly or explicitly promote?

5.) Socio-political (with a focus on representations of international warfare) asks …

At what time in history is the story set? How is that time period in history represented in ways that are relevant to the year the story is published? When it comes to international warfare, how are nationhood and nationality (and, when relevant, ethnicity) represented? How do the authors and illustrators depict the “enemy” nation in terms of appearance, values, etc.?

Identify the issue number, year, and title of your Iron Mancomic book. Then write one long paragraph answering the questions asked by your particular interpretive approach, making sure that you refer to least 3 specific examples from the particular comic book issue that you are analyzing.

Iron Man Issue # _____, Title: ______________________________ (Year: __________)

Interpretive Approach that was your focus _____________________________________

Observations, in paragraph form: