Game: If Not a Superhero...

[dave]

The trailer for Iron Man 2 played in my movie theater last night. And I got to thinking, "You know, I might go see this even if it weren't a superhero movie. I mean, get rid of the superpowers and super-suits, and it still might be a fairly compelling corporate intrigue thriller like Disclosure or Boiler Room..."

Which gave me this idea for a new BtB game --
If Not a Superhero...

Take a superhero movie, television show, or comic series. It has to be obviously superheroic, something drenched in the genre conventions of capes, do-gooding, superpowers, and archvillains. Then rule out the superhero genre -- strip out all of those conventions, and what remains? What genre is left in the tatters?

(Incidentally: "adolescent male power fantasy" doesn't count. And you know why, you snobs.)

For instance, take The Dark Knight.



When you get rid of the secret identities, the mega-heroics, and so forth, what remains?
A cop movie, maybe (like Die Hard or even The Departed)
A meditation on anarchy (like Fight Club or Brazil), perhaps.
An urban morality play, too?

Run the subgenres to which this movie belongs if not a superhero. Then, present your own superhero movie, show, or book, and let's look at what story is below its surface--

-- If Not a Superhero!