Orphans and heroes : an investigation into the motivation of popular superheroes

Abstract

Despite the growing popularity of superhero movies with modem audiences, relatively little in the field of psychology has been applied to. superheroes to understand the motivation it would take for a person with superhuman powers to become a superhero. This paper documents the origins and the underlying "dead parents" factor between four major superheroes: Superman, Batman, Spider-Man, and Wolverine. Utilizing psychological research on motivation and revenge, the paper then applies these concepts to the heroes and the violent loss of their parents while taking into consideration the needs of the writers and the historical zeitgeist surrounding each character's creation.