Tropes and Power in Icon
by Jenna Ronto
Does a character resisting tropes in superhero comics make their character more interesting or are the writers just trying too hard to make them different from the stereotypical superhero? In the comic Icon in the first issue, Icon and Rocket, two African American characters who meet by chance and have contrasting worldviews, are introduced and it is obvious Icon is different from the typical superhero. He resists the hypermasculine trope as seen in characters like Superman, and Luke Cage and Black Panther, who are black superheroes.
Power to superheroes are typically seen as the answer to their problems, but for Icon he seeks justice in a way that is uncommon with superheroes: using their powers only when necessary and believes in the power of wisdom, communication, and using their powers sparingly rather than going into battles ready for violence.
Icon is a character I consider to go against the typical hypermasculine traits other male superheroes are known to have. Icon is centered around an older conservative African American man with powers and a young African American girl who is given a belt by Icon to help him be an example for “people like them”. He wants to help people, but doing so by abiding by the law and police officers. When Icon confronts the officers, he doesn't use his strength right away and tries to use his intelligence and talking through the situation. He just wants justice and doesn't really want to use his powers against anyone. This is the main attribute of Icon that makes him unlike the typical hypermasculine superhero. He also doesn’t have the same energy as other male superheroes I have seen. I see him as a character that would rather sit quietly in his study reading a book and having a 9-5 job with wife and kids, rather than a character that fights bad guys all day and night. A similar trope the character of Icon is commenting on is the trope for Black male characters from the “Sidney Poitier Era”. This was brought up in the documentary White Scripts and Black Supermen where it explains it as “Maintaining your dignity no matter what situation you are in...” Icon is a great example of this because in situations like when he was robbed by the teenagers and when he came to the cops to help, he kept his dignity. Dignity is so important to characters that are hypermasculine, but in a different sense than how Icon sees it. Icon sees dignity more in the sense of giving respect to others and being worthy of respect while hypermasculine superheroes see it as expecting to be respected and giving themselves respect, resulting in being too prideful. He is depicted as a dynamic character that can grow and change and his sidekick, Rocket, aids in helping him realize he needs to do more as well as commenting on the hypermasculinity trope. Her commentary and dramatically different viewpoints help develop Icon’s character, making him realize things he didn’t before. Their relationship is one of tthe elements of the comic that helps resist the hypermasculine black character. The way that he takes her on as a sidekick and how her words moved him showed how he is capable of compassion and willingness to change and admit he was wrong, which is something the hypermasculine trope struggles with.
The juxtaposition of the Icon and his young sidekick Rocket and their dynamic aids in demonstrating how Icon resists the tropes of the typical superhero. In the beginning of the comic, Icon reflects on how Rocket reminds him of his dead wife and how she told him he should be helping people with his powers. After Rocket saw Icon, she knew that she needed him to get that sense of freedom, and other people needed to see them to know that freedom was possible. When they meet for the second time and Rocket suggests Icon should become a superhero and be called Icon, she tells Icon that he needs to be setting an example for others, as his name would suggest.
Icon responds to this by saying being icon actually is defined as a symbol, or something that stands for something else. This revelation helped Icon realize people really need to see him and be a symbol for people that, contrasting the typical reason for superheroes to be fighting for, that people need to be saved. At first Icon tells Rocket to not look for examples and to “pull yourself up by your own boot straps” but Rocket reminds him that it’s easier when you can fly. What Icon doesn't seem to grasp is that because of his superpowers he has had a more privileged life than most of his community. Rocket and Icon grew up so differently, which provides one another with
a new perspective. These interactions help Icon grow as a person and a superhero and resist the toxic traits of the stereotypical male superhero.
Icon has some similarities and differences from well known superheroes. Icon has almost the exact same backstory as Superman, an alien sent to earth as a baby. The writers of Icon knew that backstory worked and people liked it, so they went with it, but Icon is considered to be a ‘Black Superman’ to a lot of fans because of how similar they are. The main difference I think is Icon’s reliance on wisdom rather than powers. This reliance makes him different from a lot of superheroes, and that’s one of his strengths, but also his weakness alongside his trust in the law. Icon is interesting because he is an ancient alien who seems like he remembers his past and it's not like Superman where he doesn't remember his alien past and is raised as a normal human. Another aspect of Icon that makes him different from most other superheroes is his skin color, as superheroes have been typically depicted as white. When considering Icon compared to other black superheroes, his lack of aggression is what sticks out the most. Icon avoids the tropes that were commonly attributed to black male superheroes. Icon is ripped, bulletproof, and incredibly powerful, but his first instinct isn't to start punching. Common tropse for black superheroes are to be either acting as a superhero for monetary gains like Luke Cage or to be overly aggressive, and Icon blatantly avoids both of those tropes. Icon's world view at the beginning of the comic doesn't leave him much to be angry about, he does not see institutional racism and systems of oppression as the root of evil in the world, but rather personal failings. He’s also an upper class Conservative, and a lawyer, in contrast to other African American superheroes who were usually depicted as ex-cons or street level criminals before becoming heroes. Although, as mentioned in the letter at the end of the first issue of Icon, it’s questioned whether or not he is truly African American since he is an alien. Icon’s only real motive is to bring hope to “people like him” and something that should be noticed is this motive is brought on by his sidekick, a teenage girl.
In conclusion, Icon resists many tropes common to superheroes and black superheroes specifically, such as hypermasculinity, his hesitance of using his powers, his motive for being a superhero, and lack of aggression. This resistance to these tropes seem blatant and almost as if tthe writers were trying to make him the opposite of the typical superhero in an attempt to diversify the comic and Icon’s character. At the same time though, his backstory is almost exactly the same as Superman’s backstory, which I believe was used because Superman is a popular character and the writers wanted to have something that was familiar to the readers, which I don’t see as a problem. I do think it was important that the attempt to diversify superhero comics was made, and there were certainly mistakes. Icon shows how important it is to have diversity not only in the characters, but the people writing the characters and stories. Superheroes resisting character tropes in comics can make a character more interesting and diversify the comic, but the writers have to keep in mind how blatantly they resist these tropes as they know these tropes work and it can seem like they are just fighting what already works.
Bukač, Zlatko. “Hypermasculinity and Infantilization of BLACK Superheroes: Analysis of Luke
Cage and RAGE Origin Stories.” Reci, Beograd, vol. 11, no. 1, 2019, pp. 69–81.,
doi:10.5937/reci1912069b.
Pellitteri, M. (2011), ‘Alan Moore, Watchmen and some notes on the ideology of superhero
comics’, Studies in Comics 2: 1, pp. 81–91, doi: 10.1386/stic.2.1.81_1
Gayles. J. (2012), California Newsreel, ‘White Scripts and Black Supermen’.
Power to superheroes are typically seen as the answer to their problems, but for Icon he seeks justice in a way that is uncommon with superheroes: using their powers only when necessary and believes in the power of wisdom, communication, and using their powers sparingly rather than going into battles ready for violence.
Icon is a character I consider to go against the typical hypermasculine traits other male superheroes are known to have. Icon is centered around an older conservative African American man with powers and a young African American girl who is given a belt by Icon to help him be an example for “people like them”. He wants to help people, but doing so by abiding by the law and police officers. When Icon confronts the officers, he doesn't use his strength right away and tries to use his intelligence and talking through the situation. He just wants justice and doesn't really want to use his powers against anyone. This is the main attribute of Icon that makes him unlike the typical hypermasculine superhero. He also doesn’t have the same energy as other male superheroes I have seen. I see him as a character that would rather sit quietly in his study reading a book and having a 9-5 job with wife and kids, rather than a character that fights bad guys all day and night. A similar trope the character of Icon is commenting on is the trope for Black male characters from the “Sidney Poitier Era”. This was brought up in the documentary White Scripts and Black Supermen where it explains it as “Maintaining your dignity no matter what situation you are in...” Icon is a great example of this because in situations like when he was robbed by the teenagers and when he came to the cops to help, he kept his dignity. Dignity is so important to characters that are hypermasculine, but in a different sense than how Icon sees it. Icon sees dignity more in the sense of giving respect to others and being worthy of respect while hypermasculine superheroes see it as expecting to be respected and giving themselves respect, resulting in being too prideful. He is depicted as a dynamic character that can grow and change and his sidekick, Rocket, aids in helping him realize he needs to do more as well as commenting on the hypermasculinity trope. Her commentary and dramatically different viewpoints help develop Icon’s character, making him realize things he didn’t before. Their relationship is one of tthe elements of the comic that helps resist the hypermasculine black character. The way that he takes her on as a sidekick and how her words moved him showed how he is capable of compassion and willingness to change and admit he was wrong, which is something the hypermasculine trope struggles with.
The juxtaposition of the Icon and his young sidekick Rocket and their dynamic aids in demonstrating how Icon resists the tropes of the typical superhero. In the beginning of the comic, Icon reflects on how Rocket reminds him of his dead wife and how she told him he should be helping people with his powers. After Rocket saw Icon, she knew that she needed him to get that sense of freedom, and other people needed to see them to know that freedom was possible. When they meet for the second time and Rocket suggests Icon should become a superhero and be called Icon, she tells Icon that he needs to be setting an example for others, as his name would suggest.
Icon responds to this by saying being icon actually is defined as a symbol, or something that stands for something else. This revelation helped Icon realize people really need to see him and be a symbol for people that, contrasting the typical reason for superheroes to be fighting for, that people need to be saved. At first Icon tells Rocket to not look for examples and to “pull yourself up by your own boot straps” but Rocket reminds him that it’s easier when you can fly. What Icon doesn't seem to grasp is that because of his superpowers he has had a more privileged life than most of his community. Rocket and Icon grew up so differently, which provides one another with
a new perspective. These interactions help Icon grow as a person and a superhero and resist the toxic traits of the stereotypical male superhero.
Icon has some similarities and differences from well known superheroes. Icon has almost the exact same backstory as Superman, an alien sent to earth as a baby. The writers of Icon knew that backstory worked and people liked it, so they went with it, but Icon is considered to be a ‘Black Superman’ to a lot of fans because of how similar they are. The main difference I think is Icon’s reliance on wisdom rather than powers. This reliance makes him different from a lot of superheroes, and that’s one of his strengths, but also his weakness alongside his trust in the law. Icon is interesting because he is an ancient alien who seems like he remembers his past and it's not like Superman where he doesn't remember his alien past and is raised as a normal human. Another aspect of Icon that makes him different from most other superheroes is his skin color, as superheroes have been typically depicted as white. When considering Icon compared to other black superheroes, his lack of aggression is what sticks out the most. Icon avoids the tropes that were commonly attributed to black male superheroes. Icon is ripped, bulletproof, and incredibly powerful, but his first instinct isn't to start punching. Common tropse for black superheroes are to be either acting as a superhero for monetary gains like Luke Cage or to be overly aggressive, and Icon blatantly avoids both of those tropes. Icon's world view at the beginning of the comic doesn't leave him much to be angry about, he does not see institutional racism and systems of oppression as the root of evil in the world, but rather personal failings. He’s also an upper class Conservative, and a lawyer, in contrast to other African American superheroes who were usually depicted as ex-cons or street level criminals before becoming heroes. Although, as mentioned in the letter at the end of the first issue of Icon, it’s questioned whether or not he is truly African American since he is an alien. Icon’s only real motive is to bring hope to “people like him” and something that should be noticed is this motive is brought on by his sidekick, a teenage girl.
In conclusion, Icon resists many tropes common to superheroes and black superheroes specifically, such as hypermasculinity, his hesitance of using his powers, his motive for being a superhero, and lack of aggression. This resistance to these tropes seem blatant and almost as if tthe writers were trying to make him the opposite of the typical superhero in an attempt to diversify the comic and Icon’s character. At the same time though, his backstory is almost exactly the same as Superman’s backstory, which I believe was used because Superman is a popular character and the writers wanted to have something that was familiar to the readers, which I don’t see as a problem. I do think it was important that the attempt to diversify superhero comics was made, and there were certainly mistakes. Icon shows how important it is to have diversity not only in the characters, but the people writing the characters and stories. Superheroes resisting character tropes in comics can make a character more interesting and diversify the comic, but the writers have to keep in mind how blatantly they resist these tropes as they know these tropes work and it can seem like they are just fighting what already works.
Bukač, Zlatko. “Hypermasculinity and Infantilization of BLACK Superheroes: Analysis of Luke
Cage and RAGE Origin Stories.” Reci, Beograd, vol. 11, no. 1, 2019, pp. 69–81.,
doi:10.5937/reci1912069b.
Pellitteri, M. (2011), ‘Alan Moore, Watchmen and some notes on the ideology of superhero
comics’, Studies in Comics 2: 1, pp. 81–91, doi: 10.1386/stic.2.1.81_1
Gayles. J. (2012), California Newsreel, ‘White Scripts and Black Supermen’.