Boston Cleek

Professor Jessica Bornstein

ENGL 3060

4/23/15

Analytical Piece To Darkstar

In the novel, The Amazing Adventures Of Kavalier And Clay, Michael Chabon

challenges gender binaries in regards to the romantic relationship between Sammy Clay and

Tracy Bacon. Chabon describes Joe as being held down by invisible chains. Joe does not have

the ability to liberate himself and his family from threats such as the Nazis. Therefore, Joe uses

comic book superheroes to fight problems he cannot. The short story, Darkstar, is related to

and inspired by The amazing Adventures Of Kavalier And Clay because both stories challenge

gender binaries, and the fictional superheroes fight problems the creators fail to resolve in

reality.

Romance is commonly depicted between a man and a woman. However, the most

romantic scene is between two men: Tracy Bacon and Sammy Clay. Bacon brings Sammy

dinner and wine, they eat at the top of the Empire State building, and then “Bacon’s breath was

sour with wine, but one sweet drop of the stuff lingered on his lips as he pressed his mouth

against Sammy’s” (Chabon 352). Chabon challenges the binary that romantic events typically

include heteronormative behavior but two men can be romantic as well.

The short story, Darkstar, was inspired by the scene between Sammy and Bacon and

proceeds to challenge gender binaries. Most superheroes and villains are male. Females are

rarely seen performing deviant acts. Darkstar depicts a female villain, Darkstar, plotting to

destroy the world as well as tormenting students by shocking them with a hand crank generator
and shining lasers in their eyes. The female superhero, Calculon, comes to defeat Darkstar

using her super power that is super intelligence. The scene between two females with super

powers challenges gender roles because the most heroic and action packed scene is not

between two men. There is no romance but the theme of gender binaries is still common

between the two stories.

Joe escapes from the oppression of the Nazis in Prague leaving his family behind.

Although Joe has money and paperwork to bring his family to the U.S., he is unable to do so.

Joe helps create a comic book superhero, The Escapist, and illustrates his fight with the Nazis.

Joe draws the cover of a comic book that shows Escapist punching Adolf Hitler: “Escapist pose

right-legs spread, big right fist arcing across the page to deliver an immortal haymaker”

(Chabon 150). Joe draws this cover because he is unable to defeat Hitler himself. This act

would require multiple armies. Instead Joe uses a fictional character to fight problems he

cannot.

Darkstar was inspired by this scene and the theme of using fictional characters to fight

problems the creator cannot. The female superhero, Calculon, is fighting a professor that has

not passed a student in ten years and defeats the professor from destroying the Earth. Despite

the exaggeration of the situation, the theme of using a fictional superhero to fight for the

creators’ inability to act in reality is apparent. The Escapist fighting for Joe inspired me to

make Calculon fight for small yet real problems in my life. I am not able to control how a

physics professor grades, designs questions, or decides what is fair for the students. However,

Calculon fights those problems for me. The Escapist was described as the savior for Joe and

that inspired me to make Calculon the savior for my physics class.

 The short story, Darkstar, was inspired by and thematically related to The Amazing

Adventures Of Kavalier And Clay because both challenge gender binaries and contain fictional

superheroes that fight for problems in the creators’ life that the creator fails to act upon.

Chabon depicts two men sharing a romantic scene while I show two female superheroes

battling. Both share the fact that gender roles are challenged. The Escapist fights for Joe’s

problems while Calculon fights for mine. Both scenes share the same overlapping theme.
 Works Cited

Chabon, Michael. The Amazing Adventures Of Kavalier And Clay. New York: Random House,

2000. Print. -