THE RISE OF SUPERHEROES AND THEIR IMPACT ON POP CULTURE // SUPERHERO SKETCHPAD
HAVE YOU EVER… Ever dreamt of creating your own original superhero with his or her own special set of superpowers? You’re not alone. In this companion to The Rise of Superheroes & Their Impact on Pop Culture, we will lead you through the process of envisioning your own superhero, using your culture and contemporary social and political issues as the seeds of inspiration. From there you will devise an alter ego and backstory for your superhero. Who are they when they’re not super? And of course, your hero will need a foil, a super villain. What powers does your super villain possess? And how do they reflect the conflicts in today’s world? Turn to the next slide for instructions to get started…
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THE RISE OF SUPERHEROES AND THEIR IMPACT ON POP CULTURE // SUPERHERO SKETCHPAD
INSTRUCTIONS The Superhero Sketchpad Keep it open as you progress through the course, toggling between your Sketchpad and edX to complete each activity. But, before you begin, you should name your Notebook. We recommend the following format: Lastname_Firstname_SuperheroSketchpad
If you haven’t done so, go back to Slide 1 and enter your name and email in the fields marked “Click to add text”. Simply click inside each field and begin typing. And last… BE CREATIVE! Smithsonian wants to see your original ideas. It’s fine if you base your hero on an existing superhero, but we also encourage you to think differently. Are there gods and goddesses from your own culture’s mythology that might represent a new kind of superhero? Use them! Are there stories from your own experience that would make your hero’s narrative more human? Use them too! If you aren’t an artist, that’s okay. We’ve created some alternatives to illustrating your character, as well as social media groups, where you can meet other members of the community who might help you realize your original idea.
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TABLE OF CONTENTS WEEK 1: The Secret Origin Of Comic Books slides 5-12
WEEK 2: The Golden Age of Super-Heroes slides ???
WEEK 3: New Genres and The Beginning of the Silver slides ???
Age
WEEK 4: Superheroes of the Silver Age and The Age of Marvel slides ???
WEEK 5: The Bronze Age to Today slides ???
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THE RISE OF SUPERHEROES AND THEIR IMPACT ON POP CULTURE // SUPERHERO SKETCHPAD
WEEK 1 CREATE YOUR SUPERHERO’S MYTHIC INSPIRATION INSTRUCTIONS
Upload an image of your mythic god/goddess and use it to replace the placeholder image on the left. Then, enter the characteristics about your god/goddess and your rationale for choosing this mythic figure.
KEY CHARACTERISTICS NAME OF GOD Atalanta GENDER Feminine CULTURE OF ORIGIN Greek PERSONALITY TRAITS Proud, independent, fighter, determinate, bold, daring, brave, adventurous
RATIONALE We were looking for a mythical figure that fit with the archetype of strong girl, determined, but problematic and that had a problem with authority figures. 6
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Atalanta, one of Abantiades, the descendants of Abas, the son of Linceu, fits perfectly with what we wanted. She is a warrior, a huntress, someone who doesn´t care about limits and make her own rules. The virgin huntress, Atalanta is sometimes portrayed as the daughter of Iasus, the king of Argos, or even daughter of Melano, the king of Arcadia (depending on the mythical source you follow). She was abandoned on a mountain by her father at birth, because he wanted only sons. When she was about to die, a she-bear picked her up and fed her until she was found by hunters who raised her as a daughter. So she learned to fight like a bear and hunting under the Artemis protection. Very agile, she was so fast "that could compete with the gods Hermes and Iris" the fastest gods. Nobody is a match for her. She can defeat any man who challenge her at any clash. But there was a prophecy that said she would be cursed and transformed into a peanut when she get married, so Atalanta remained a virgin. Until her father decided that she should marry, but she will only marry the suitor who win a race with her, otherwise he would be killed by the own Atalanta, pierced by a spear. When her future husband, Hippomenes, captivated the father of Atalanta he enlisted the help of Aphrodite and just so she lost the race and eventually married. However Hippomenes forgot to glorify and thanks to Aphrodite, as punishment, the goddess led the couple to break one of the Rhea´s sanctuary and to have sex on the sacred ground. But the titanic goddess discovered and punishes the couple turning them into lions.
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THE RISE OF SUPERHEROES AND THEIR IMPACT ON POP CULTURE // SUPERHERO SKETCHPAD
WEEK 1 FIND A CONTEMPORARY SOCIAL INFLUENCE INSTRUCTIONS
Write a few sentences explaining a contemporary social or political issue that will influence the conflicts your superhero will encounter. If you’d like, add an article describing the issue from a recent news publication.
DESCRIPTION OF ISSUE: We want through our character explore the scenery of the youth that knows no limits, the nowadays millennials and their superficial lifestyle. Those who to participate of certain social circles act in a selfish and thoughtless way, and end up not realizing the harm they do and the people they can reach. Young people who living in an illusory reality where they are always right and all of their actions have no consequences. But they are wrong because their actions have a weight that will always generate a reaction, and it is this breaking point of the reality in which these young people live we wish to address in our story. LINK TO RELEVANT ARTICLE: Justin Bieber found guilty of assault, careless driving in Canada: http://edition.cnn.com/2015/06/04/entertainment/feat-justin-bieber-guilty-canada/index.html 'She's a spoilt brat': Grandfather of British teenager who killed policeman blames himself for moving family to America and says she just wanted her own way: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2592193/Shes-spoilt-brat-Grandfather-British-teenager-killedpolice-officer-blames-moving-family-America-says-just-wanted-way.html 8
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WEEK 1 CREATE YOUR SUPERHERO’S SUPERPOWERS INSTRUCTIONS
Your superhero needs at least one superpower! It can be something that the original god possessed or something you create on your own. Do keep in mind how the power will aid your hero in the conflict you identified. If you’d like to add an image that illustrates the superpower, feel free though it’s not required.
DESCRIPTION OF PRIMARY SUPERPOWER:
Super strength. Daughter of a Superhero with a human, our heroine has inherited half of his force above the ordinary. She is able to lift the weight of 1763.7 lb using only her bare hands. This also give her an extraordinary stamina, she is not able to stop bullets in the skin, but is apt to fight a large number of enemies without get hurt. DESCRIPTION OF SECONDARY SUPERPOWER:
Super Agility. She has a speed and precision above the ordinary. Her balance is perfect, what gives to her a greater speed than an ordinary human.
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WEEK 1 CREATE YOUR SUPERHERO’S SUPERPOWERS INSTRUCTIONS
To balance your superpower(s), you’ll need at least one weakness, though you may add a second. Once again, describe each below and add a visual representation if you’d like.
DESCRIPTION OF PRIMARY WEAKNESS:
Lack of training. How she was abandoned by her father as a child, our heroine has no complete understanding of her powers. Untrained, her actions become inaccurate and dangerous, both for herself as for the people who she wants to help.
DESCRIPTION OF SECONDARY WEAKNESS:
Impatience. Our heroine believes that she will become the greatest hero of Earth, but she has no patience to follow her natural course of growth in the superhero business. She jumps steps and doesn't care to listen other´s criticism, she prefers to believe she is always right in her attitudes. She acts rashly, selfish and gets angry easily. 10
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WEEK 1 SCRATCH PAGES
THE ME ME ME GENERATION
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WEEK 1 SCRATCH PAGES INSTRUCTIONS
Social media inserted as daily lives of young people and the need for acceptance by the other.
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THE RISE OF SUPERHEROES AND THEIR IMPACT ON POP CULTURE // SUPERHERO SKETCHPAD
WEEK 2 YOUR SUPERHERO BIOGRAPHY INSTRUCTIONS
It’s time to start putting it all together! Highlight the SUPERHERO NAME and replace it with your character’s original name. Then, go to Insert > Photo > Picture from file to add the digital sketch of your superhero. Last, insert text to re-enter your SUPERPOWERS AND WEAKNESSES and to write your character’s ORIGIN STORY.
HardCandy SUPERPOWERS AND WEAKNESSES
Super strength, super agility; Lack of training, Impatience. ORIGIN STORY Cynthia "Cyndi" Howard is a common student who doesn´t wish great flights but secretly hides a double life as a rising superheroine known as HardCandy. She is the daughter of the superhero Argonaut with an ordinary policewoman. Cyndi inherited half of the powers from her father and nothing more than this, because she was abandoned by him when she was only a four years old baby at the time the hero left the planet saying he would go to space to save the humanity from an interdimensional war and than he never returned.
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When Cyndi realized that her powers were blooming she decided to hide this fact from her mother, she was not wanting to awaken emotions of past wounds that were already closed. But the girl wanted to follow hers father's footsteps in the heroism branch and created HardCandy identity to fight crime. Acting alone and the way that she believes is right, Cyndi begins to draw attention in the world of superheroes mainly of a group of young heroes called Lost BoyZ. Now she is playing at the great leagues like her father did before her.
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WEEK 2 YOUR SUPERHERO’S ALTER EGO INSTRUCTIONS
Highlight the ALTER EGO NAME and replace it with your original name. Then, insert text for PERSONALITY TRAITS, OCCUPATION, AND BACK STORY. And last, if you want, you can Insert a sketch of your alter ego character. This is optional. If you don’t have an alter ego sketch, feel free to highlight the image icon and delete it.
Cynthia “Cyndi” Haward PERSONALITY TRAITS Discreet, private, airy, distracted, egocentric, selfish unself-critical OCCUPATION Student BACK STORY Cyndi was always half distracted and she never felt connected to other people her age. Some people think she was a fool, others saw her just how arrogant because she did not liked to mix with people. In fact, she carried a secret, she is the daughter of one of the greatest modern superheroes, the Argonaut, the most powerful and revered of all, but he simply disappeared 16 years ago.
Optional. You may delete this if you don’t have an image of your alter ego character.
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Mary Howard, mother Cyndi, was just a rookie street cop when she met the Argonauta, it was love at first sight, a romance she always wished, a dream come true. But the awakening came with the thud of pregnancy news. One day after knowing that would be father, the hero left his love only saying he would fight in Earth's name on a interdimensional war and never returned. The girl never met her father and lived next to a grieving mother (even though the couple never had married or even publicized their love to the world), however Cyndi dreamed of one day being like her father, a hero, a warrior of justice, except she was a ordinary human with no power. One day her powers appeared, almost similar to his father, only slightly weaker. Now she could realize her dream, but she believed should hide this fact from her mother, she did not want to bring the same concern and sadness that his father brought to her mother. A double life was the path she followed. By day she would remain Cyndi Howard, teenager, daughter, student, ordinary person; at night she would Hard Candy, vigilant who would fight crime mercilessly. And so it was until attracted the attention of a group of teenage heroes, The Lost BoyZ. At principle, she was reluctant to join the group, by reason of not to reveal her ancestry, and so she ended up hid once again her identity, denying her origin. At first, all were flowers, a dream come true, which fast became nightmare when, by recklessly and irresponsibility, Cyndi accidentally kills with her own hands an entire family.
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WEEK 2 SCRATCH PAGES INSTRUCTIONS
At the end of each week we will include a few “scratch pages” for you to record anything else you’d like to add as you develop your superhero. Feel free to delete these pages or add more by copying and pasting them.
Cyndi Howard Sketch
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WEEK 2 SCRATCH PAGES INSTRUCTIONS
At the end of each week we will include a few “scratch pages” for you to record anything else you’d like to add as you develop your superhero. Feel free to delete these pages or add more by copying and pasting them.
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THE RISE OF SUPERHEROES AND THEIR IMPACT ON POP CULTURE // SUPERHERO SKETCHPAD
WEEK 2 SCRATCH PAGES INSTRUCTIONS
At the end of each week we will include a few “scratch pages” for you to record anything else you’d like to add as you develop your superhero. Feel free to delete these pages or add more by copying and pasting them.
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THE RISE OF SUPERHEROES AND THEIR IMPACT ON POP CULTURE // SUPERHERO SKETCHPAD
WEEK 2 SCRATCH PAGES INSTRUCTIONS
At the end of each week we will include a few “scratch pages” for you to record anything else you’d like to add as you develop your superhero. Feel free to delete these pages or add more by copying and pasting them.
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THE RISE OF SUPERHEROES AND THEIR IMPACT ON POP CULTURE // SUPERHERO SKETCHPAD
WEEK 13 CREATE YOUR SUPERVILLAIN’S INSPIRATION INSTRUCTIONS
Upload an image of your supervillain’s inspiration by selecting Insert > Photo > Select from file and placing the image over the picture icon below (you can delete that if you want or just cover it up. Then, insert text for the characteristics of your villain’s inspiration and your rationale for choosing him/her.
KEY CHARACTERISTICS NAME Nemesis GENDER
Feminine NATIONALITY Greek PERSONALITY TRAITS She is implacable justice, who arrives for everyone, be they gods or mortals
RATIONALE As we choose a character who is a troubled girl, selfish, an arrogant that does not measure their own actions, we needed a counterparty that embodies the inevitable, a karmic action which no one can escape. A force of nature that brings a heavy hand of justice. For the avatar of our nemesis we selected the Nemesis itself.
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Daughter of the goddess Nix, the personification of night, Nemesis is a dark goddess who represents the divine justice, but for others authors she is the revenge itself. An unstoppable and righteous act, the one which is intended to distribute the equilibrium to all of existence. The goddess was also known as The Inevitable, or even "that one that does not run away" or "that one which there is no escape.“ In the Greek tragedies Nemesis appears like avenger for crime and punishing of the hubris (hybris, arrogance, want to rise above their condition). As such, it resembles the Furies. Your ErĂnis epithet ("implacable"), and can relate it to the goddesses Demeter and Rhea. Nemesis was in charge to slaughter the disproportion, punishing the excess of happiness or the pride of kings. The justice she inflicted was based on the concept of the Hellenic spirit, the well should be offset by the evil in equal measure. Originally, she inflicts pain or gives happiness according what was right by her own judgment. She was described as owner of a beauty compared only to the goddess Aphrodite, which attracted the desire even of Zeus. The relationship between Nemesis and Zeus would have generated Helen of Sparta and Pollux.
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WEEK 3 YOUR SUPERVILLAIN’S BIOGRAPHY INSTRUCTIONS
Now you will create your supervillain’s biography. Highlight the SUPERVILLAIN NAME and replace it with your character’s original name. Then, go to Insert > Photo > Picture from file to add the digital sketch of your superhero. Last, insert text to define your villain’s SUPERPOWERS AND WEAKNESSES and to write his/her ORIGIN STORY.
The Headsman SUPERPOWERS AND WEAKNESSES Mind control in hive; intangibility, flight, body imprisonment, he can only act at night
ORIGIN STORY A fairy tale told by superheroes parents to their children. A bogeyman who hunts the superpowered beings when they fail with the common man. For some it´s an urban legend and nothing more, for others just a reminder for an ethical conduct for superheroes, but very few actually believe in the existence of the Headsman.
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But it is real. A super power being who is above all superheroes or villains, just to judge their acts and punish them. Its real origin is unknown, some stories portray as an evil magical being, others just like an alien, others show as the vengeance incarnated to punish the gods who walk on Earth, but the truth is lost in time. How a powerful being can be seen as a fairy tale? It has certain powers that allow this condition. Its mind control powers are able to control crowds, even small cities, all citizens become puppets in its justice plan. The hero or villain judged has a worse fate, it is trapped in the body of the Headsman itself, becoming the new host of the entity, while its mind is living its mistake in a constant cycle until the moment the Headsman considers necessary for absolution. When night falls all acts will be judged by the Headsman.
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THE RISE OF SUPERHEROES AND THEIR IMPACT ON POP CULTURE // SUPERHERO SKETCHPAD
WEEK 3 SCRATCH PAGES INSTRUCTIONS
At the end of each week we will include a few “scratch pages” for you to record anything else you’d like to add as you develop your superhero. Feel free to delete these pages or add more by copying and pasting them.
Detail of the pin of the Headman's Cloak
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THE RISE OF SUPERHEROES AND THEIR IMPACT ON POP CULTURE // SUPERHERO SKETCHPAD
WEEK 3 SCRATCH PAGES INSTRUCTIONS
At the end of each week we will include a few “scratch pages” for you to record anything else you’d like to add as you develop your superhero. Feel free to delete these pages or add more by copying and pasting them.
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THE RISE OF SUPERHEROES AND THEIR IMPACT ON POP CULTURE // SUPERHERO SKETCHPAD
WEEK 14 CONSTRUCT YOUR STORY INSTRUCTIONS Write your build up, conflict, and resolution below by inserting text for each of the three categories.
BUILD UP Hardcandy always wanted to be a superhero, much more by the glamor than by altruism. Consequently she has no responsibility for her actions to the point that when she accidentally kills a whole family she is not even judged. She was never trained nor had a figure in whom look up to. Her father abandoned her in the womb while their mother became depressed and absent. Hardcandy believes that nothing will happen to her and lives a life of adventures with her new friends. The Headsman at this point, a force of vengeance, begins to act. He starts a hunt as a sadistic animal, CONFLICT breaking the heroine a piece at a time, until you get to completely destroy her, thus achieving his goal, execute Hardcandy for his crimes.
CONFLICT Hardcandy want to run away from her responsibilities and consequences of her deeds. But the Headsman is relentless, so he will hunt her using her loved ones like puppets as a punishment, controlling their minds and making them fight on your behalf. A metaphor for the ingress of the adult life of a reckless and arrogant girl which fears to face the relevance of her own actions. She manages to escape when the night is over, everything returns to normal. The girl believes is saved. Even comments what happened to her peer group, but they think she had some kind of hallucination. She lies to herself, not accepting that she is in real danger. 30
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HardCandy returns to home to stay with her mother. But when the night falls the Headsman returns and this time he takes control of the heroine's mother's mind forcing her to flee once more. He hunts her through the night until she gets tired of the whole situation and tries to fight everyone but she realizes that couldn´t ever fight against her mother and gives up, leaving herself to be captured by Headsman. A metaphor for entering the adult life of a reckless and arrogant girl which fears facing the relevance of own actions.
RESOLUTION Headsman is a force of nature that can not be beaten, only temporarily avoided and therefore does not matter how powerful the Hardcandy is, at the end she will be judged by him. When he finally catches her, she will become the new hostess of the Headsman giving conditional to the old one, her father, the Argonaut, who had been captured by Headsman for killing an entire universe on behalf of the Earth. 31
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WEEK 4 YOUR SUPERVILLAIN’S BIOGRAPHY INSTRUCTIONS Write dialogue for your SCENE in the space provided below. You should replace the headings with the names of your characters. If you want your scene to begin with the Supervillian you may do so. You do not need to draw anything for this activity (that will come in Week 5!). You may add more lines if you’d like to write a longer scene. Simply continue your scene on the Scratch Pages.
HARDCANDY (falling into a dumpster) - ARGH!!!
HARDCANDY (just her haed out of the dumpster and with a banana peel over her head) - My congratulations, Cindy. Fall during a pursuit of a supervillain just like a real amateur... And right at the fucking dumpster, this could only have happened with me. Thankfully there wasn´t time for anybody instagrammed.
HARDCANDY (out of the dumpster) - Well, it is better to come back. The guys may be in danger.
HEADSMAN (voice off, an ethereal voice) - Cynthia Howard, also known as HardCandy.
HARDCANDY (surprised) - What...? 32
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HEADSMAN
(voice off)
- Mary Howard's daughter with the self-proclaimed hero Argonaut.
HARDCANDY (looking for the owner of the voice) - What ...? Who's there? What you want?
HEADSMAN - The killer of John Van der Smith, Alan Van der Smith and Diana Van der Smith.
HARDCANDY (scared) - No, I ... it was not ... I didn't wanted ...´ HARDCANDY (screaming) - Who's there, dammit? What you want? HEADSMAN (making a ghostly appearance) - I am the one who will bring to you the judgment over the innocent blood that you shed. I am your Headsman.
HARDCANDY (whispering) - Oh, shit!
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THE RISE OF SUPERHEROES AND THEIR IMPACT ON POP CULTURE // SUPERHERO SKETCHPAD
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