Rise of Superheroes final project

SUPERHERO SKETCHPAD

NAME

EMAIL

edX user name

Ekaterina Romanenko

[email protected]

om_shanti

mailto:[email protected]








THE RISE OF SUPERHEROES AND THEIR IMPACT ON POP CULTURE // SUPERHERO SKETCHPAD

TABLE OF CONTENTS

2

The Golden Age of Super-HeroesWEEK 2:

New Genres and The Beginning of the Silver AgeWEEK 3:

Superheroes of the Silver Age and The Age of MarvelWEEK 4:

The Bronze Age to TodayWEEK 5:

The Secret Origin Of Comic BooksWEEK 1:

slides 14-17

slides 18-19

slides 20-22

slides 23-24

slides 25-27

Of How a Music Teacher in a Wheelchair Became a SuperheroThe story

slides 3-13


3

The story

Anton is 33. When he was a child, he lapsed into an unknown disease. He survived, but now not all the neurological connections work properly and some muscles are damaged. Anton can’t walk and barely can stand. He can sit; however, after an hour of sitting he feels intolerable pain.


4

The story

Since he was a child, Anton attended music school. After the illness he discovered he still can use his hands freely and his legs enough for playing a piano. Music was all that was left since Anton hardly could leave his room. He devoted himself to it. Presently he became a piano teacher himself.


5

The story

Anton was raised by his mother, Irina, a scientist. They were not particularly close. Anton has his own apartment left to him by his paternal grandmother, mysterious Olga, about ten years ago, along with a small fortune. It allowed him to move out from his mother’s, buy a decent wheelchair and fill his apartment with devices that help him and make his life relatively comfortable. He lives by himself, with some help of a cleaner, Anastasia, who comes several times a week.


6

The story

Anton doesn’t leave his apartment much. He lives in Moscow, and the streets of the city are highly inconvenient and even dangerous for a wheelchair. His students come to his place for lessons. He loves his job and his students but it’s hard for him since he can’t sit for long.


7

The story

One day Anton goes to the city center for some business. He meets a weird guy who asks him for some help. When the guy touches Anton accidentally, Anton feels like it’s a strong electrical shock. He doesn’t remember how he gets home.


8

The story

Next several days are full of strange discoveries. Anton notices he doesn’t feel so much pain when he’s working. Then, getting from his bed into the wheelchair, he realizes he can stand - first for a minute, then for two and more. Anton starts walking around his apartment. Then he discovers he can feel things he didn’t perceive before. Finally he realizes he sees any ache or illness any person has, however minor.


9

The story

Anton starts to discover the city and struggles with his new knowledge. A lot of people are sick in one way or another, and often they don’t know about it or don’t really do anything. However, Anton can’t help them. He tries several times to tell strangers about their illnesses, and it never ends well. Anton keeps his abilities secret and remains a disabled piano teacher for everybody he knows.


10

The story

Several months later Anton meets the weird guy again. He follows him and discovers an underground facility full of unknown equipment and people with extra abilities. Anton finds out he was born with extra abilities that came into light after the meeting with the weird guy who’s name is Oleg and who helps to uncover those abilities. There are actually a lot of people like him. He also finds out about their secret organization known as The Helpers. Its members keep their abilities secret but use them to help people without them in different ways and aspects of life.


11

The story

Anton becomes a part of The Helpers. He uses his abilities to find sick people in need of an instant help. Mostly he works with one partner, named Igor, who can cure most of illnesses. But he has other partners and team colleagues as well.


12

The story

Thanks to The Helpers, Anton finds out that his mother is actually his maternal aunt. His parents died of an unknown illness, the same that left himself disabled. Irina hated her sister for having extra-abilities and at the same time she was secretly in love with her husband, Anton’s father. She believes their illness was a result of their work for The Helpers because they probably got it during one of the battles. Irina tried to cure them but couldn’t. She gone mad of grief and started using science for revenge.


13

The storyIrina joined another group, The Scientists, who conduct experiments on people in order to find the way to get extra-abilities, including mass experiments resulting in mass poisoning or creating an army of monsters. Mostly they are ordinary humans but brilliant scientists, biologists and chemists. Some of them experimented on themselves and became monsters. Irina had to adopt Anton because Olga insisted so but she hated him for being not her son and for having extra-abilities like his mother. When she finds out Anton discovered his abilities, she becomes his primary enemy.


WEEK 1SUPERHERO’S MYTHIC INSPIRATION

14

WEEK 1

Ilya Muromets, or Ilya of Murom

Male

Kievan Rus’

Generous and simple-minded but also temperamental; has an outstanding physical and spiritual power and integrity, is dedicated to the protection of the Homeland and People

KEY CHARACTERISTICS

RATIONALE

According to legends, Ilya Muromets suffered serious illness in his youth and was unable to walk until the age of 33. He could only lie on a Russian oven, until he was miraculously healed by two pilgrims and later given super-human strength. This was an inspiration for my superhero who was disabled and then became super-abled.


CONTEMPORARY SOCIAL INFLUENCE

15

WEEK 1

DESCRIPTION OF ISSUE:

LINK TO RELEVANT ARTICLE:

My hero’s story addresses several issues, including: • negative attitude towards disabled people • poor life conditions of disabled people, impossibility of regular social life for them • poor health care system in Russia • careless attitude towards one’s health

http://neinvalid.ru/aleksandr-semin-nam-takoy-lager-ne-podhodit/ - children and, more generally, people with disabilities are considered different and not completely ‘normal people’

http://neinvalid.ru/aleksandr-semin-nam-takoy-lager-ne-podhodit/


SUPERHERO’S SUPERPOWERS

16

DESCRIPTION OF PRIMARY SUPERPOWER:

WEEK 1

Anton sees any ache or illness any person has, however minor and unknown to the person herself.


SUPERHERO’S WEAKNESSES

17

DESCRIPTION OF PRIMARY WEAKNESS:

WEEK 1

Anton wants to cure everybody from everything, despite the circumstances and even the person’s will. This often puts him into trouble.


SUPERHERO BIOGRAPHY

18

WEEK 2

Anton

ORIGIN STORY

SUPERPOWERS AND WEAKNESSES

Anton sees any ache or illness any person has, however minor and unknown to the person herself.

Anton wants to cure everybody from everything, despite the circumstances and even the person’s will. This often puts him in trouble.

Anton was a disabled piano teacher when he encountered a guy who revealed Anton’s superpowers. After a while Anton joins an organization called The Helpers to use his abilities for benefit of other people.


SUPERHERO’S ALTER EGO

19

WEEK 2

OCCUPATION

AntonPERSONALITY TRAITS

BACK STORY

Piano teacher

Soft, kind, with a quiet voice. Just and empathic.

When he was a child, Anton suffered an unknown disease. He survived, but now he can’t walk and barely can stand. He can sit but feels much pain.


WEEK 1SUPERVILLAIN’S INSPIRATION

20

WEEK 3

Professor Callaghan

Male

Presumably American

Mad of grief after losing his daughter in a scientific experiment

KEY CHARACTERISTICS

RATIONALE

Professor Callaghan is just one of the numerous mad professors who use science to gain power or seek revenge. I thought my supervillain needs a power other than extra abilities so I picked science.


WEEK 1SUPERVILLAIN’S INSPIRATION

21

WEEK 3

Petunia Dursley

Female

British

Jealous of magic and magical world, is afraid of it and hates it

KEY CHARACTERISTICS

RATIONALE

Harry Potter story is one of my favorite ones so I wasn’t surprised when I discovered that the story I’m writing echoes Harry’s. Petunia doesn’t have magical abilities, she doesn’t understand magic and fears it, and hates her sister for being a magician. This helped me to develop my supervillain's back story.


SUPERVILLAIN’S BIOGRAPHY

22

WEEK 3

ORIGIN STORY

IrinaSUPERPOWERS AND WEAKNESSES

Irina is Anton’s maternal aunt but raised him as a mother. She hated her sister for having extra-abilities and at the same time was secretly in love with her husband, Anton’s father. She believes their illness was a result of their work for The Helpers because they probably got it during one of the battles. Irina tried to cure them but couldn’t. She gone mad of grief and started using science for revenge.

Brilliant biologist

Hates people with extra abilities


WEEK 1THE STORY

2

WEEK 4

BUILD UP

CONFLICT

RESOLUTION

Anton already knows Irina is his aunt but he doesn’t know she’s with The Scientists and he was fighting her in several episodes of this war. Anton with a group of Helpers is sent to destroy one of The Scientists’ laboratories.

During the fight Anton is face to face with Irina. She’s resolute to kill him. Anton, on the one hand, knows he should kill or at least capture her. On the other hand, he still feels she’s his aunt and raised him instead of giving him into the foster system. Besides, he senses her madness and looks for a way to help her.

While Anton hesitates, Irina uses an opportunity to escape.


DIALOGUE DRAFT

3

WEEK 4

Anton

Irina

Anton

Irina

You?!

Of course it’s me.

But why?!

What do you mean, why?

Because you are not normal. Because you are like her. Because there’s a whole bunch of those like you. Because you Helpers are the reason he’s dead.


WEEK 1THE SCENE: PANEL 1

25

WEEK 5

It’s the middle of a fight in the laboratory. Anton and Irina are standing in front of each other. Anton is surprised to see Irina here. ‘You?!’, he exclaims. ‘Of course it’s me’, she answers.


WEEK 5

Anton’s face; he can’t understand and asks ‘But why?!’


WEEK 5

Irina’s face, she looks a little surprised: ‘What do you mean, why?’



WEEK 5

Irina’s face, she’s angry and full of hatred: ‘Because you are not normal. Because you are like her. Because there’s a whole bunch of those like you. Because you Helpers are the reason HE is dead.’

WEEK 1THE SCENE: PANEL 5WEEK 5

Irina throws chemical bombs in Anton. He dashes between them and hides behind a table.


WEEK 5

Anton, hiding, can’t make up his mind. He’s thinking: ‘I have to… but she’s my aunt, my mother’s sister… killed all those people, caused so much damage… well, she raised me… she hates all of us… she’s ill, she needs help, I can feel it, I can help her…’



WEEK 5

While Anton hesitates, Irina steps back in search for more chemicals and devices and discovers this part of the lab is already ruined.


WEEK 5

Anton finally makes a decision and charges to capture Irina. At the same moment she throws something by her feet and disappears in a cloud of smoke.


WEEK 5

Irina is gone, Anton is on the floor, slightly disoriented. Igor comes to him to help him get up. ‘She will return, you know’, he says to Anton. ‘I know’, answers Anton.


WEEK 5

Anton’s face, he looks determined: ‘And I’ll be ready this time’.

Rise of Superheroes final project

Education

rise of superheroes

story anton doesnt

story slides

day anton

anton notices

guy touches anton

silver age week

age of marvel week