1 rich Libsyn https://www.libsyn.com 90 600 Welcome one and all to Professor Metal's Irate Debate and Calamitous Commentary with the Philosophical Chain GangToday's Episode is Superheroes and Persona: Can you have a secret identity crisis?The Philosophers talk about what one's identity is composed ofSean addresses the philosophical concepts of identity as relates to superheroesBruce talks about what defines a superheroRyver interjects why the secret identity is so common in the realm of superheroesSean breaks down the concepts of identity that will be discussedThe Philosophers talk about the combined identity, when a hero is, for one of many reasons, inseparable from their heroic identitySean discusses the somewhat fluid nature of the identity of some super-powered people, such as Mystique.Bruce brings up superheroes who are two people combined into one bodySean compares this to the inverse of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. HydeRyver talks about this in relation to DeadpoolSean talks about the lack of accountability that can occur from using the masks to hide a heroes identityThe Philosophers discuss how this relates to The WatchmenRyver and Sean talk about the meaning and power of masks in historyBruce talks about how this relates to SuperheroesSean talks about the assumed identity of the Red Hood from the Batman mythosSean brings the conversation around to the concept of the Split Persona, the idea that the person behind the mask and the person they are when they are wearing the mask are somewhat different peopleRyver talks about how the identity of someone wearing the mask of Batman has, in a way, become larger and more prevalent than anyone behind it could become on their ownBruce brings up the idea that Bruce Wayne is not the real person in that dynamic, but more a tool and strategy employed by the BatmanRyver points out&amp;nbsp; that Clark Kent plays a very similar role for Superman, just in a different way.Sean points out the disparity in those situationsRyver brings up Spider-Man/Peter Parker as prime example of the Split Personality conceptSean goes into detail about this disparity of identityBruce brings up the Hulk as good example, with no transparency of even memory between the characters of The Hulk and Bruce BannerRyver brings up The Flash as a Split AND group personalitySean moves the conversation into group or Inherited personality, starting with The Dread Pirate RobertsRyver talks about how prevalent this concept is in comic booksBruce expounds on the importance of core origin story, and some factors that may lead to some mantles being passed that occur outside of the storyline itselfRyver talks about the Elseworlds and What If series of comics as a means to retell an existing storySean expands on the points about the Red Sun comics, and how this relates to literatureRyver discusses the Green Lantern as an archetype of the inherited personality concept, and how this allows writers to tell different stories about the same heroSean talks about the seeking out of a person who fits a particular archetype for the Green Lantern, creating similar, though not identical, type of heroRyver explains this point in greater detailSean and Ryver talk about the fairly recent controversial passing of the mantle of Thor, and how this relates to the politics of the comics industryBruce and Sean transition to talking about how these concepts relate to personas that we can identify with, and why the outsider nature of many heroes makes them in some ways more relatableRyver discusses the therapeutic effect of this relationship between reader and comicSean talks about how this relates to both the real world and other mediaThe Philosophers expand on these ideas as it relates to the reader's identitySean closes the main conversation with some interesting questions about why we feel the way we do when characters changeProfessor Metal takes the last word to challenge comic writers to come up with characters that budding young villains can really look up to. 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