We Need Another Hero

This chapter unmasks the reasons for the seeming incompatibility between Australia and the superhero. Drawing on over one hundred interviews with superhero creators and fans the most frequently cited reasons for Australia’s superhero drought will be organized and analyzed under three inter-related headings: National Identity, Cultural Cringe, and Market Differentiation. This chapter will also consider how the recent emergence of local superhero writers and artists working for international publishers like Marvel and DC Comics can provide a corrective to outdated depictions of Australia. The analysis will conclude with an examination of how the Australian superhero TV show Cleverman surmounts many of the long-standing hurdles to Australian superheroes through a careful integration of superhero conventions and Indigenous mythology, suggesting a future direction for Australian superheroes.