The body unbound:Empowered, heroism and body image

Abstract

Within most superhero comics, superheroes start as established heroes who save others and planets in the ultimate battle of good versus evil; although characters do evolve and become stronger over time, they still are treated as heroes by fellow superheroes and citizens. Offering an alternative reading, this article explores the transformative narrative arc of a female character who begins as disempowered and struggles to become empowered. Through Adam Warren's graphic novels Empowered, this article argues that through rhetorics of (dis)empowerment and challenging the duality of strength and femininity/sexuality, a new version of superhero emerges: a vulnerable, human superheroine.

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