History Main / Capepunk

* WhatMeasureIsASuper

* The VideoGame/{{Infamous}} series dealt with the prejudices and responsibilities which come from getting superpowers in real life. Most people react to the condition by going a little bit nuts while others try to hide their abilities. Cole attempts to help as many people as possible but has an extra-motivation for doing so [[spoiler: since everyone blames him for the destruction of Empire City]].
** VideoGame/InfamousSecondSon continues this trend as we watch Delsin become a superhero primarily because he hates the establishment but also to drum up support against the DUP. As long as the public thinks he's doing good, it's harder for the DUP to label him a bio-terrorist.

* The ''WesternAnimation/Justice League'' Cadmus arc dealt with the United States government trying to develop countermeasures against the Justice League going rogue. What made this arc so effective was it drew from the extensive history of both ''Batman: The Animated Series'' and ''Superman: The Animated Series'' plus the show's own past to illustrate ''why'' the Justice League would be so terrifying to quote-unquote normal people.

Capepunk stories tend to be either {{Deconstruction}} or {{Reconstruction}} in nature, analyzing what makes the characters tick as well as how they relate to the setting as a whole. Much effort will be put into justifying why people have a variety of powers, are allowed by law enforcement to run willy-nilly, or don't change the world overnight.

* ''ComicBook/{{Invincible}}'' thrives on providing a sense of continuity and world-building for someone entering into a superhuman world for the first time.

* Mark Miller's ''ComicBook/{{Wanted}}'' dealt with supervillains living in the quote-unquote "real world." Which was something they created by removing superheroes from the world. It doubles as a TheReasonYouSuck speech to the reader, pointing out superheroes make the world better.

Capepunk, a term coined by blogger Creator/CTPhipps, is a term which refers to the increasing prevalence of prose super-hero fiction which deals with superheroism in "realistic" manner. This is nothing new, given that Franchise/SpiderMan has been dealing with the everyday problems of a normal as a superhero being since the 1960s. However, the genre has taken off in recent years with the rise of self-published and independent fiction. To be Capepunk, your story can't just be about superheroes. It has to be about why they put on the cape and whether or not putting it on is worthwhile.

* Part of what made the ''ComicBook/{{Ultimates}}'' so successful were they were an attempt to deal with how society and the government would handle the existence of superheroes. They work for the government, are treated as celebrities, and were deeply divided on ideological lines. [[{{Understatement}} It didn't work out in the end.]] Indeed, most of the Ultimate line had a more grounded 21st century experience.

* Creator/JohnRidley's Literature/SoledadORoarke books ''Those Who Walk In Darkness'' and ''What Fire Cannot Burn'' have a atypical CrapsackWorld take on superheroes. Specifically, they postulate humanity will turn on them with FantasticRacism and ruthless brutality the first time they fail big.

* Creator/JohnRidley's books ''Those Who Walk In Darkness'' and ''What Fire Cannot Burn'' have a atypical CrapsackWorld take on superheroes. Specifically, they postulate humanity will turn on them with FantasticRacism and ruthless brutality the first time they fail big.

{{Capepunk}}, a term coined by blogger Creator/CTPhipps, is a term which refers to the increasing prevalence of prose super-hero fiction which deals with superheroism in "realistic" manner. This is nothing new, given Spiderman has been dealing with the every-day problems of a normal as a superhero being since the 1960s. However, the genre has taken off in recent years with the rise of self-published and independent fiction. To be CapePunk, you can't just be about superheroes. You have to be about why they put on the cape and whether or not putting it on is worthwhile.

Capepunk stories tend to be either {{Deconstruction}} or {{Reconstruction}} in nature, analyzing what makes the characters tick as well as how they relate to the setting as a whole. Much effort will be put into justifying why people have a variety of powers, are allowed by law enforcement to run willy-nilly, or don't change the world overnight.

* There's too many comics which try and give a "realistic" view of what superheroes are like and authentic world-building so this will just list some of the standout examples.

* The ''Film/TheDarkKnightSaga'' does as good a job as any movie maker could do in order to ground Batman into someone who might conceivably exist in the world world, spending large amounts of time justifying how Batman relates to both Bruce Wayne's psychology as well as the city as a whole.

* Peter Clines's ''Literature/ExHeroes'' is about how the world has been overrun by zombies but a small band of superheroes protects L.A.'s survivors in a place called the Mount. Much attention is given to how the superheroes are selfless people but this can be aliennating to normal humans.

[[/index]]

* ''ComicBook/Invincible'' thrives on providing a sense of continuity and world-building for someone entering into a superhuman world for the first time.

[[AC:Film]]

{{Capepunk}}, a term coined by blogger Creator/CTPhipps, is a term which refers to the increasing prevalance of prose super-hero fiction which deals with superheroism in "realistic" manner. This is nothing new, given Spiderman has been dealing with the every-day problems of a normal as a superhero being since the 1960s. However, the genre has taken off in recent years with the rise of self-published and independent fiction.

* Predating ''Literature/SoonIWillBeInvincible'' by decades is George R.R. Martin's ''Literature/WildCards'' series which, very often, made its superheroes out to be anything but.

* On the other end of the idealism scale is Marion Harmon's {{Reconstruction}} ''Literature/WearingTheCape'' which sets out to make superheroes as realistic as possible yet still ''awesome.''