You and a partner will be reading a comic that reveals the stories of a modern mythological figure or figures. Though these characters have existed for decades their stories are shaped by the time period they are written in and who is writing and illustrating them. Your goal will be to read this text, examining it through the lenses of Modern American culture. At the conclusion of the text you will write an essay that answers the following prompt: 

 

After reading (the comic you were assigned), write an essay that discusses how modern American culture has influenced the presentation of culture in your text. 

 

 

Your Essay will follow the traditional format with an:

Introduction with a thesis

Body Paragraphs

Conclusion 

 

My recommendations for what to include in your essay:

Elements of the Essay	Points Possible
Introduction  Examines the importance of Superheroes in modern culture	/10
Thesis What are you going to prove about how modern culture influenced the comic. Ex. Focusing on gender, politics, material nature of society, nature of evil in modern times, science, and a multitude of other options.	/5
Body Paragraphs Outlining examples that prove your thesis and developing what this says about American culture	/20
Conclusion  (Whether you believe the portrayal of Modern American Culture is accurate or not)	/10
Grammar You have edited your essay for errors	/5
Total	/50

 

Asbury, Rhea

Barrow, Ryan

Carreras, Nichole

Cather, Chloe

Champagne, Holly

Cleary, Jasmine

Cochran, Lauren

Esbin, Taylor

Gilliland, Kaitlyn

Gray, Austin

Henderson, Ryan

Houston, Kindall

Hutchinson, Ashley

Jones, Emily

Laird, Carly

Lambert, Destiny

Marshall, Hayden

Murray, Kyle

Nickle, Andrea

Palmer, Erin

Plourde, Tatiana

Ricci, Ashley

Sparks, Kerstie

Speck, Keegan

Tortora, Austin

Young, Alyssa

 

 

Overview of Available Comics

 

Batman: Court of Owls

 

After a series of brutal murders rocks Gotham City, Batman begins to realize that perhaps these crimes go far deeper than appearances suggest. As the Caped Crusader begins to unravel this deadly mystery, he discovers a conspiracy going back to his youth and beyond to the origins of the city he's sworn to protect. Could the Court of Owls, once thought to be nothing more than an urban legend, be behind the crime and corruption? Or is Bruce Wayne losing his grip on sanity and falling prey to the pressures of his war on crime? 

 

Batman: The Dark Knight - Knight of Terrors

 

As a part of the acclaimed DC Comics - The New 52 event of September 2011, the Dark Knight continues his crusade as defender of Gotham City, taking on his greatest foes during a breakout at Arkham Asylum. But when his enemies gain powers and abilities far beyond their normal capacities, the Caped Crusader's crusade may finally be at an end!

 

Batman and Robin: Born to Kill

 

Unlike other Robins, Damian Wayne (yes he is Batman or Bruce Wayne's son from Ra's Al Ghul's daughter) was trained his entire life to be an assassin, and that training fostered brutal methods. As Damian's violent tendencies threaten to end Batman and Robin's partnership, a mysterious killer from Bruce Wayne's past comes to Gotham, looking to end Batman's life. 

 

Batgirl: The Darkest Reflection

 

Barbara has recovered from her crippling at the hands of the Joker. A miraculous surgery and hard-won recovery has brought her back to Gotham's streets as Batgirl. The nightmare-inducing brute known as Mirror is destroying the lives of Gotham City citizens seemingly at random. Will Barbara be able to survive her explosive confrontation with this new villain, as well as facing dark secrets from her past?

 

Catwoman: The Game

 

Meet Selina Kyle, also known as Catwoman. She's addicted to the night. Addicted to shiny objects. Addicted to Batman. Most of all, Catwoman is addicted to danger. She can't help herself, and the truth is–she doesn't want to. She's good at being bad, and very bad at being good.  But this time, Selina steals from the wrong man, and now he's got her. He wants his stuff back, he wants answers and he wants blood. Writer Judd Winick begins a new chapter for CATWOMAN–hopefully she makes it out alive!

 

Superman: What Price Tomorrow?

 

Metropolis fears him. The Daily Planet agrees. This new volume of SUPERMAN finds our hero with a startling new status quo. As Superman finds ways to dodge the scrutiny placed upon him by the public and media, he must stop a monstrous threat to Metropolis - one that he somehow is the cause of! The next chapter in the legendary history of the Man of Steel is built here!

 

Superman: Action Comics - Superman and the Men of Steel

 

Five years ago, before the super heroes took to the skies and changed life on Earth forever, one young hero dared to clean up Metropolis. Wielding incredible powers he's only begun to explore...haunted by a past that remains a complete mystery...armed with a Kansas farmboy's unshakeable sense of right and wrong...disrupting the corrupt and protecting the powerless...a juggernaut of justice in jeans and a T-shirt.

 

Superboy: Incubation 

 

As a part of the acclaimed DC Comics—The New 52 event of September 2011, this new volume of Superboy takes us to the labs of Project N.O.W.H.E.R.E., where the scientists thought he was just an experiment - and a failed one at that! But with the combination of Kryptonian and human DNA, the Clone turns out to be more than just set of data when his stunning powers was revealed.

 

Supergirl: Last Daughter of Krypton 

 

Meet Supergirl. She's got the unpredictable behavior of a teenager, the same powers as Superman - and none of his affection for the people of Earth. Crash landing on a strange new planet, Supergirl must come to grips with Krypton's destruction with her cousin Superman and learn about her own recent past. But an ingenious new foe wants that same information - and will do anything to get it.

 

Justice League: Origin

 

In a world where inexperienced superheroes operate under a cloud of suspicion from the public, loner vigilante Batman has stumbled upon a dark evil that threatens to destroy the earth as we know it. Now, faced with a threat far beyond anything he can handle on his own, the Dark Knight must trust an alien, a scarlet speedster, an accidental teenage hero, a space cop, an Amazon Princess and an undersea monarch. Will this combination of Superman, The Flash, Cyborg, Green Lantern, Wonder Woman and Aquaman be able to put aside their differences and come together to save the world? Or will they destroy each other first?

 

Wonder Woman: Blood

 

Hippolyta, queen of the Amazons, has kept a secret from her daughter all her life–and when Wonder Woman learns who her father is, her life will shatter like brittle clay. The only one more shocked than Diana by this revelation? Bloodthirsty Hera–so why is her sinister daughter, Strife, so eager for the truth to be told? 

 

Aquaman: The Trench 

 

In the waters that cover the Earth, Aquaman and his bride Mera, reign supreme. Yet on the surface world he is out of his element - dismissed and disrespected by humanity, just as they do the oceans he rules. They may not like him, but they need him as a face off against a long buried terror from the depths of the ocean confronts land-dwellers!

 

Green Lantern Corps: Fearsome

 

When a new menace, The Keepers, begins to march across the space sectors and devouring not only their natural resources but their entire populations, it is up to The Corps, severely outnumbered, to stop them. The Corps soon find one of their own held by the ruthless Keepers and must figure out a way to save their comrade and defeat the Keepers without the Green Lantern's most powerful weapon, their power rings.

 

Stormwatch: The Dark Side

 

Stormwatch returns, but this time to the DC Universe! Jack Hawksmoor, Midnighter, Apollo, The Engineer and Martian Manhunter comprise a dangerous super human police force whose existence is kept secret from the world. Collected here, this covert team of sci-fi Super Heroes must not only battle the Earth's moon, but find a way to hide its monstrous metamorphosis from the rest of the Earth!

 

Deathstroke: Legacy 

 

Slade Wilson once ranked as the world’s greatest mercenary. But when his reputation starts to slip, and when a mysterious briefcase enters the equation, the man known as Deathstroke decides to carve a bloody, gory swatch across the DCU in a quest to show the world what exactly makes him the best.

 

 

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