By Dr. Michael Robinson – Communication Studies Professor
Flyer from the The Super Hero Squad Show (TV Series 2009–2011) retrieved from IMDB.com
Superheroes, like many other career fields, can truly benefit from strong communication skills. Whether you are a superpowered being gifted with impossible powers or a mysterious crimefighter who has honed your mind and body to perfection, you will not make it in this business if you do not talk.
Superheroes have a wide range of defensive capabilities. Some are truly invulnerable to physical injury. Others are so darned agile that no villain can lay a hand on them or a zap on them from a distance. No matter what you’ve got going in your defensive set, you will benefit from a talent for witty banter.
For example, consider Spider-Man. This guy never stops talking. Peter Parker was verbally bullied all the time during his high school years, particularly by that jerk Flash Thompson. Now Spidey is spinning it back on the villains who confront him. Insults fly and jokes abound as the webhead takes on his enemies. The total effect is to keep the villain frustrated and off-balance. With the proportional speed and strength of a spider, plus his spider-sense, Spider-Man is a notoriously difficult character just to hit, let alone hurt. Trying to pull all this off must be maddening while Spidey manically shares his every thought or non sequitur at the top of his mind and hurls insults at his foes.
Of course, communication skills also come in handy in non-combat situations. Superheroes face constant danger and disaster. The public around them is always about to bear the brunt of those disruptions if they can’t be cleared out of the way. Superheroes can only do this with their commanding presence. The ancillary skill of delivering inspiring speeches is closely related to this superpowered ethos.
Chris Evans in Captain America: The First Avenger (2011) retrieved from IMDB.com
As a combatant, Captain America is certainly no slouch. However, as an orator, he is effectively unmatched among the Marvel Universe. Wrapped in the star-spangled banner, when Cap says “Jump!”, America asks, “How high, sir?” There’s a reason this guy ends up in a leadership position on every team he joins. He talks quickly and effectively. He inspires. He orders. He lays out patriotic speeches encouraging others to stand up and do the right things. You also really get the sense that Cap is speaking from the heart. Its spontaneity gives the impression that Cap shares deeply held beliefs about American values.
Supervillains talk a lot, too. There’s no reason to become an evil criminal mastermind if you’re not going to excessively explain to everyone in earshot that your master plans are perfect and that everyone around you is a fool. While there is a value to letting the baddies get caught up in their monologues, the superhero needs to have a strong talent for counterargument.
Mr. Fantastic is the world’s most intelligent man. That intellect is always put to the test by the villainous Doctor Doom. Doom is prone to speeches. Doom is a king, and as far as he is concerned, that gives him a divine right to make sure you hear every last detail of his plan to rule the world and destroy the Fantastic Four. While Mr. Fantastic’s stretching powers give him some advantages in a fight with Doom, Mr. Fantastic’s keen mind wins the day. With all his science knowledge, Mr. Fantastic can punch holes in any of Doom’s flawed and egocentric reasoning. Reed knows that the value of science is in inquiry and debate. Due to their antagonistic relationship, Mr. Fantastic’s criticism cuts deeply into Victor Von Doom. No matter how much Doom protests, one always has the sense that Mr. Fantastic could, at any moment, say the one thing Doom never thought of and thus win the argument.
