Ablenationalists Assemble

Superheroes are often disabled, either literally or metaphorically. Their exceptional powers and abilities may be balanced by weakness in order to engender audience sympathy identification, provide a source of narrative obstacles. Although superhero stories not necessarily about disability, they have become one the most accessible popular formats which disability is consistently salient trope integral part machinery. The article argues that use current narratives, exemplified Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU), best understood through theoretical lens prosthesis ablenationalism. In MCU, core function heroes with yearning for normality desire productive members community. interlinked narratives MCU effectively depict many its protagonists as supercrips, framing intrinsically linked heroic struggle fit non-disabled society.