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Superheroes. They’ve been a part of our lives since we were children. If you’re a millennial, you played the videogames. If you’re in Generation X and Y, you traded the collectible toys and cards. If you’re a Boomer, chances are you’ve come across the vintage comic books. The concept of ordinary people with extraordinary gifts have been around since World War II. From iconic characters like the X-Men (of which mutants became a metaphor for minority groups) and Black Panther (first black superhero through the Civil Rights period), they have redefined the narrative of the human experience in groundbreaking fashion.

Today, with Marvel’s Captain Marvel dropping last month, DC’s Shazam dropping over this past weekend, and perhaps the most anticipated film of the year, Avengers: Endgame, releasing on the last weekend of this month, there’s never been a better time to be a superhero fan. Joining us to converse on the phenomenon of the superhero genre is Dr. Liam Burke, Senior Lecturer of Cinema and Screen Studies at Swinburne University of Technology.