The supermen of the Justice League and X-Men

Abstract

Media representations of masculinity have become increasingly popular in recent academic analysis, but few have considered the medium of comic books. Through the lens of hegemonic masculinity, this project seeks to fill that void using a comparative textual analysis of two of the most popular comic book franchises today, Justice League and Uncanny X-Men. Additionally, it considers how those portrayals have changed through the implementation of relaunches by both of the producing companies, Marvel and DC Comics, through an analysis of the series preceding the current series. Findings suggest the Justice League franchise has remained mostly hegemonic in its representation of men in regards to demographic traits but more non-hegemonic in behaviors. On the other hand, the Uncanny X-Men franchise has transitioned from more hegemonic male characters to more non-hegemonic male characterizations with a variety of demographic and behavioral traits. Opportunities for further research are also discussed.