• About
  • Cats Dig Hemingway
  • Guest Bookings
  • John King’s Publications
  • Literary Memes
  • Podcast Episode Guide
  • Store!
  • The Rogue’s Guide to Shakespeare on Film
  • Videos
  • Writing Craft Discussions

The Drunken Odyssey

~ A Podcast About the Writing Life

The Drunken Odyssey

Category Archives: James Bond

Episode 90: St. Patrick’s Day Roundtable!

16 Sunday Mar 2014

Posted by thedrunkenodyssey in Drinking, Episode, James Bond, Zombies

≈ 40 Comments

Tags

Finnegan's Wake, In Defense of Green Beer, James Joyce, James King, Jared Silvia, Matthew Peters, St. Patrick's Day, Tattoos, Teege Braune, Tilly, William Butler Yeats

Episode 90 of The Drunken Odyssey, your favorite podcast about creative writing and literature is available on iTunes, or right click here to download.

On this week’s show, my friends Teege Braune of In Boozo Veritas fame, Matt Peters, Jared Silvia, and my brother James King join me for a wooly discussion of St. Patrick’s Day. Much was consumed.

DSC_0029

Jared and James watch Teege do his miraculous pouring technique.

DSC_0048

The foot of good cheer.

DSC_0074

How can it be possible Teege is only a quarter Irish?

DSC_0091

Creamy toasty goodness.

DSC_0123

Eventually, the peer pressure was too great for sweet Matthew.

DSC_0110

My red face was sunburn. The angle of my head, weariness.

Episode 90 of The Drunken Odyssey, your favorite podcast about creative writing and literature is available on iTunes, or right click here to download.

Heroes Never Rust #2: Why is Batman a Superhero but James Bond isn’t?

15 Thursday Aug 2013

Posted by thedrunkenodyssey in Comic Books, Heroes Never Rust, James Bond

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

Batman, comic books, Heroes Never Rust, James Bond

Heroes Never Rust #2 by Sean Ironman

Why is Batman a Superhero but James Bond isn’t?

One of the inaccuracies about superheroes I’ve found is that all comic book heroes are superheroes. Since the sixties, superhero comics have been the most popular genre in the comics industry. People forget comic books are not just superheroes, and superheroes are not just comic books. Today, I’m not interested in going down what created this issue or trying to get non-comic readers interested. One of the issues with people equating comic books with superheroes is that the definition of superheroes gets blurred. What is a superhero? It sounds like a question with an easy answer at first, but it’s much more complex than it looks.

batman_robin_batmobile_01

JamesBond

The initial answer many people think of is that a superhero has superpowers. Flight. Telekinesis. Super-strength. Telepathy. Teleportation. Healing factor. Duplication. Even power negation. But a quick look at the superhero canon refutes that idea. One of the most popular superheroes of all time is Batman, who has no superhero powers. Then, we have Iron Man, Hawkeye, Steel, Huntress, etc. These are heroes that are highly trained and have access to some pretty cool toys, but they don’t have powers. So what makes them superheroes? Are they even superheroes?

While I do think some characters that people refer to as superheroes are not superheroes (Just the other day, I overheard someone refer to Nick Fury as a superhero), I do believe Batman and Iron Man are superheroes. Some people might say, well Iron Man has a powerful, high-tech suit, and Batman has the Batcave filled with cool gadgets. But if Batman is a superhero, then why isn’t a character like James Bond?

bondCar
Like Batman, James Bond has cool gadgets, fights crime, and is an orphan. His parents died in a mountain climbing accident in the French Alps instead of being gunned down in an alley in Gotham City, but it would’ve still been traumatic. Actually, I’d say James Bond is saner than Batman, that’s one difference. But most superheroes are sane, so regardless of whether they’re insane or not, a character can still be a superhero.

batmobile
I’ve heard some people argue that characters like Batman and Iron Man are superheroes because they are super smart. I don’t buy it. Being smarter than the average person doesn’t make a person a superhero. Although, now that I think about it, most superheroes seem to be very intelligent. But that’s not why they’re superheroes. Is a Princeton graduate or an MIT graduate a superhero? They’re incredibly smart, and nothing against those schools, but being smart doesn’t make someone a superhero. Plus, why do you think someone like Batman is smart? Could it be that because of his family’s money and connections that he was able to attend great schools and get great tutors? The same with Iron Man. Superheroes are superheroes regardless of whether they’re in the upper class or middle class.

Now, one could argue, and the pessimist in me does, that superheroes aren’t real. Tell that to Superheroes Anonymous, who cleaned Times Square and helped the homeless, or Phoenix Jones. Superheroes are as real as anything else.

Well, how do Batman and James Bond go about fighting crime and saving people? Batman protects Gotham. James Bond protects the British Empire. Both protect the world. But this is where they start to differ. Batman works on his own accord. James Bond works for the British government. Both have their crossovers. Batman helps out the Justice League and the police. James Bond goes off on his own, like in Quantum of Solace. But when Batman helps out another organization, he does so because a villain threatens people. When James Bond went AWOL in Quantum of Solace, he was seeking revenge.

I don’t believe there’s a firm definition of a superhero, not one that encompasses every superhero. (The versatility of the superhero concept is something I’ll be exploring from time to time with this blog.) But something that shows up again and again, is the idea that a superhero, in order to protect those he or she swore to protect, must have no oversight. They can’t work under someone else’s thumb. A superhero does what they feel is right, not just for them, usually it’s worse, but for others. The “super” in Superman doesn’t refer to the external traits of the character—It refers to the internal. A superhero rises above their basic instincts to help society as a whole, not just individuals. A superhero doesn’t just save their family. In a way, they don’t just save lives, but inspire. Back in the Golden Age of comics, Superman took on corrupt landlords. He even killed back then. Superheroes do what’s right regardless of their own feeling and whatever organization they’re associated with.

I wonder if it’s possible for a character to be a superhero and only do work for the government or for another group. Is the Superman that takes on Batman in The Dark Knight Returns a superhero? No, I wouldn’t say. He’s a government stooge in that story. Captain America fought for the U.S. in World War II, but I tend to think of him as a Super Soldier in that time, and a superhero when he joined the Avengers in the ’60s, an Avengers that unlike the movie version didn’t work for an organization. Just a few years ago, Captain America fought against superheroes getting registered and becoming part of the government in Marvel’s Civil War.

Are all superheroes, like the comics scene, punk? I think they exist to do what normal people can’t. They’ll fight against anyone and everyone for what’s right. What do you think? What makes a superhero a superhero?

___________

Sean Ironman

Sean Ironman is an MFA candidate at the University of Central Florida, where he also serves as Managing Editor of The Florida Review and as President of the Graduate Writers’ Association. His art has appeared online at River Teeth. His writing can be read in Breakers: An Anthology of Comics and Redivider.

Online, shop here:

If you must, shop Amazon and help the show.

Audible.com

Blogs

Not forgotten

Categories

  • 21st Century Bronte
  • A Word from the King
  • Aesthetic Drift
  • animation
  • Anime
  • Art
  • Autobiography
  • AWP
  • Biography
  • Blog Post
  • Bloomsday
  • Buddhism
  • Buzzed Books
  • Cheryl Strayed
  • Children's Literature
  • Christmas
  • Christmas literature
  • Comedy
  • Comic Books
  • Comics Are Trying to Break Your Heart
  • Craft of Fiction Writing
  • Creative Nonfiction
  • David Foster Wallace
  • David James Poissant
  • David Lynch
  • David Sedaris
  • Disney
  • Dispatches from the Funkstown Clarion
  • Doctor Who
  • Drinking
  • Dungeons and Dragons
  • Editing
  • Education
  • Episode
  • Erotic Literature
  • Essay
  • Fan Fiction
  • Fantasy
  • Film
  • Flash Fiction
  • Florida Literature
  • Francesca Lia Block
  • Functionally Literate
  • Ghost writing
  • Graphic Novels
  • Gutter Space
  • Help me!
  • Heroes Never Rust
  • History
  • Horror
  • Humor
  • Hunter S. Thompson
  • In Boozo Veritas
  • Irish Literature
  • Jack Kerouac
  • James Bond
  • James Joyce
  • Jazz
  • Journalism
  • Kerouac House
  • Kung Fu
  • Like a Geek God
  • Literary Magazines
  • Literary Prizes
  • Literary rizes
  • Literature of Florida
  • Litlando
  • Live Show
  • Loading the Canon
  • Loose Lips Reading Series
  • Lost Chords & Serenades Divine
  • Magic Realism
  • Mailbag
  • manga
  • McMillan's Codex
  • Memoir
  • Miami Book Fair
  • Michael Caine
  • Military Literature
  • Mixtape
  • Music
  • New York City
  • O, Miami
  • Old Poem Revue
  • On Top of It
  • Pensive Prowler
  • Philosophy
  • Photography
  • Poetry
  • politics
  • Postmodernism
  • Publishing
  • Recommendation
  • Repeal Day
  • Science Fiction
  • Screenwriting
  • Sexuality
  • Shakespeare
  • Shakespearing
  • Sozzled Scribbler
  • Sports
  • Star Wars
  • Television
  • The Bible
  • The Curator of Schlock
  • The Global Barfly's Companion
  • The Lists
  • The Perfect Life
  • The Pink Fire Revue
  • The Rogue's Guide to Shakespeare on Film
  • Theater
  • There Will Be Words
  • translation
  • Travel Writing
  • Vanessa Blakeslee
  • Versify
  • Video Games
  • Violence
  • Virginia Woolf
  • War
  • Word From the King
  • Young Adult
  • Your Next Beach Read
  • Zombies

Recent Posts

  • Comics Are Trying to Break Your Heart #118: Swamps & Things
  • Episode 467: Ciara Shuttleworth!
  • The Curator of Schlock #349: Greyhound
  • Aesthetic Drift #29: Chewing on the Words of Miami’s Incarcerated
  • Lost Chords & Serenades Divine #20: Strange Lights Over Garth Mountain (2020)

Archives

  • April 2021
  • March 2021
  • February 2021
  • January 2021
  • December 2020
  • November 2020
  • October 2020
  • September 2020
  • August 2020
  • July 2020
  • June 2020
  • May 2020
  • April 2020
  • March 2020
  • February 2020
  • January 2020
  • December 2019
  • November 2019
  • October 2019
  • September 2019
  • August 2019
  • July 2019
  • June 2019
  • May 2019
  • April 2019
  • March 2019
  • February 2019
  • January 2019
  • December 2018
  • November 2018
  • October 2018
  • September 2018
  • August 2018
  • July 2018
  • June 2018
  • May 2018
  • April 2018
  • March 2018
  • February 2018
  • January 2018
  • December 2017
  • November 2017
  • October 2017
  • September 2017
  • August 2017
  • July 2017
  • June 2017
  • May 2017
  • April 2017
  • March 2017
  • February 2017
  • January 2017
  • December 2016
  • November 2016
  • October 2016
  • September 2016
  • August 2016
  • July 2016
  • June 2016
  • May 2016
  • April 2016
  • March 2016
  • February 2016
  • January 2016
  • December 2015
  • November 2015
  • October 2015
  • September 2015
  • August 2015
  • July 2015
  • June 2015
  • May 2015
  • April 2015
  • March 2015
  • February 2015
  • January 2015
  • December 2014
  • November 2014
  • October 2014
  • September 2014
  • August 2014
  • July 2014
  • June 2014
  • May 2014
  • April 2014
  • March 2014
  • February 2014
  • January 2014
  • December 2013
  • November 2013
  • October 2013
  • September 2013
  • August 2013
  • July 2013
  • June 2013
  • May 2013
  • April 2013
  • March 2013
  • February 2013
  • January 2013
  • December 2012
  • November 2012
  • October 2012
  • September 2012
  • August 2012
  • July 2012
  • June 2012
  • May 2012

Meta

  • Register
  • Log in
  • Entries feed
  • Comments feed
  • WordPress.com

Blog at WordPress.com.

Cancel

 
Loading Comments...
Comment
    ×