Benedict Posma Theophilus. B0319015. The Hero With a Different Face: Minority Heroism in the Graphic Novel X-Men: God Loves, Man Kills. English Department Program, Faculty of Cultural Sciences, Universitas Sebelas Maret Surakarta.
This thesis aims to find out the kind of heroism that X-Men: God Loves, Man Kills portrays in its story, how the graphic novel portrays it, and the differences it might have from the heroism of heroes who aren’t a part of a minority group like the X-Men and mutants in general. This research explores how the story and construction of the visual elements (speech bubbles and panels) conveys the differences between how characters that are part of a minority group are treated as opposed to those who aren’t. Data in the form of panels are screenshot and analyzed using Charles Sanders Peirce’s semiotics theory. The research reveals that through its story and visual elements, the graphic novel portrays a kind of tortured heroism that endures in the midst of suffering from characters who are forced to tackle very real obstacles like prejudice, isolation, and identity struggles all while coming to terms that the multiple identities they have often intersect and create new and unique experiences of oppression for them; things that aren’t experienced by superhero characters who are part of a majority group.
