Presentation on the subject of how to use mythological themes and other archetype systems in character design. Covers the Jewish experience, Greek mythology, historical allegories, and more. Subjects include Superman, the Justice League, Spider-man, Jack Kirby's Marvel work, the X-Men, and also Japanese manga.

1. Themes in Comic
character
design

2. How to use ancient
mythological
themes and other
systems in
character design
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3. Superman
The most iconic
Western comic
book character, is
of course,
Superman.
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4. Superman was created in
1938 by Jerry Siegal and
Joe Schuster, who were
from a Jewish immigrant
family. They used both
the mythology of their
culture and personal
experience to create this
character.
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5. 5
Superman is from the planet Krypton which he left as a baby. This in fact is
very similar to the biblical story of Moses. In the Bible, Moses was a Hebrew
baby sent away in the river and raised by Egyptians and then became a hero
to his people.

6. Also, part of the Jewish and immigrant experience in America concerns assimilation. Many people,
especially during the turn of the century, wanted to be seen as normal Americans so in a sense
they had to somewhat hide their true identities. This is just like Clark Kent (and other
superheroes) who have a “secret identity.”
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7. Villains
Every hero should have a good
villain. And a good villain
should be the opposite of the
hero. This is called a “Foil” in
screenwriting, when rivals have
opposite traits to balance
each other out.
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8. For example, strength
versus intellect. Lex
Luthor is Superman’s
main supervillain, which
works because they are
opposites. Superman has
physical strength and
super powers, while Lex is
a normal human who
uses his brain to fight.
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9. Another example is
Batman who fights the
Joker. Batman represents
order and intelligence,
while the Joker
represents chaos and
emotion. By being so
opposite, they make the
perfect enemies for each
other.
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10. Mythology
When the original
DC characters
formed a team,
they were known
as the Justice
League.
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11. Together, they are actually very similar to the Olympian
Greek gods, and it synchs on a deep level with readers
who feel this team are indeed “godlike.”
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12. Superman corresponds to Zeus, the king of the gods.
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13. Batman corresponds to Hades, the lord of the dark
underworld.
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14. Wonder Woman (whose origin story also directly references
Greek mythology) corresponds to Hera, the feminine queen
nature.
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15. Aquaman corresponds to Poseidon, the god of the seas.
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16. The Flash corresponds to Hermes, the merchant speedster
and trickster.
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17. “Scientific” archetypes
There are other more
modern themes that also
can work when forming a
team of characters. The
Justice League’s younger
counterparts are Young
Justice.
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18. They correspond with
psychologist Sigmund
Freud’s theory of
psychoanalysis. This is
known as a Fruedian
Trio:
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19. Kid Flash is the Id which is
the most primitive and
instinctual part of the mind
acting impulsively. Robin is
the Superego which
contains moral lessons
learned in society. Superboy
is the Ego which is the
center and balance of the
opposing sides of a person’s
personality.
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20. Marvel comics
Meanwhile, Marvel
comics in 1963 also
started creating iconic
character utilizing many
deeper themes. Stan Lee
certainly knew what he
was doing.
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21. With their most famous
character, Spider-man, note
that many of his villains are
based off of different
animals just like he is.
Animals are universally
recognized to have certain
character traits across many
cultures, so this system
often works.
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22. Dr. Octopus, The Rhino, The Lizard, The Scorpion, Morbius
the Living Vampire (Bat), Kraven the (Lion) Hunter, and more.
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23. The “Marvel Age”
officially began
not with the
Avengers, but
with the Fantastic
Four.
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24. Mr. Fantastic, The Invisible Woman, The Thing, and the
Human Torch work well as a team because they correspond
exactly with the classic four elements of ancient Greece:
Water, Air, Earth, Fire
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25. The Fantastic Four were
created by imaginative
Jack Kirby, who along
with Lee was the most
important co-creator of
most of Marvel’s
successful works, and he
very much used the
mythology of gods in his
stories.
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26. In fact, Thor himself is
just directly the same
figure from Norse
mythology! Hercules
became a Marvel hero as
well, along with the villain
Loki, ancient Egyptian
characters, and more.
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27. Real life history: The x-men
Other characters who became
popular later, such as the X-
Men, were based more on real-
life historical allegories which is
also strategy in finding themes.
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28. The X-Men are a metaphor
for discrimination, as
mutants are a fictional
ethnic group who are
oppressed and these stories
teach readers about
tolerance and human rights.
This has parallels to the
American civil rights
movement in the 1950s and
1960s.
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29. Professor X has often
been written to be based
on peaceful civil rights
leader Martin Luther King
Jr., while the main
antagonist Magneto has
been based on militant
Black rights leader
Malcolm X.
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30. Japanese manga
These are examples from
American and Western
comic books, but famous
Japanese manga also use
deeper themes. The
popular pirate series One
Piece actually often
retells stories from
Japanese history.
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31. The villains known as
the Seven Warlords
of the Sea
correspond to…
once again, animals.
(Bat, shark, bear,
flamingo bird, snake)
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32. Naruto might the
most direct, and
also Masashi
Kishimoto has said
that his first Naruto
story was about the
theme of loyalty.
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33. Obviously,
Naruto
utilizes
Japanese and
Asian
mythology:
Shinobi, fox
spirits and
war gods!
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34. × Referencing ancient mythology, from any culture from all over
the world, can delve deep
× References might be about gods, famous stories, or
mythological theories about nature
× Consider making two characters who are rivals and have
opposite traits
× Even something as simple as basing characters off animals will
work well
× Modern psychology and other sciences can also provide
inspiration for characters
× Real-life history is always valid to use for creating story-telling
ideas
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