Comics Studies Conference 4: Batman vs. Iron Man: Can a Person Truly Become Either?

Date: Saturday, October 15
2:00 pm – 3:00 pm

Location: 1B03

Speakers: Andrea Letamendi, Dennis O’Neil, E. Paul Zehr, Robin Rosenberg, Travis Langley

Description:
They’re rich, smart, strong, and they have the most wonderful toys. They’re leaders among superheroes even though they have no superpowers and they intimidate other heroes. Batman and Iron Man belong to that very small group of superheroes who have a veneer of reality. Both superheroes are defined by their human frailty combined with extreme training and use of technological enhancements. Comics legend Dennis O’Neil (Batman, Iron Man) and kinesiologist E. Paul Zehr (Becoming Batman, Inventing Iron Man) join psychologists Travis Langley (Batman in His Belfry), Andrea Letamendi (UCLA), and Robin Rosenberg (The Psychology of Superheroes) plus retired NYPD sergeant Mike Bruen in examining what it takes both physically and mentally to create a superhero without benefit of cosmic rays, magic rings, mutant genes, or otherworldly origins.

Track:
Comics