Evil in the Spotlight: Identifying Supervillains as Gothic Protagonists in Superhero Films

Aradhyam, Shravya (2025) Evil in the Spotlight: Identifying Supervillains as Gothic Protagonists in Superhero Films. Doctoral thesis, University of East Anglia.

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Abstract

The aim of this thesis is to analyse the figure of the supervillain, particularly with respect to the narrative of the superhero on film. The thesis identifies three different supervillains who, over the course of their respective narratives, took over the narrative that has been ascribed to the superhero. This phenomenon is established as having occurred in the past in Gothic literature. Thus, using the Gothic mode as the theoretical framework, the three supervillains are analysed for their role in narratives that feature them as antagonists, and ones that feature them as protagonists.

The thesis contains a narrative analysis of three supervillains, Thanos, the Joker and Harley Quinn. By examining their multiple appearances, and thus understood as mobile signifiers, a live-action film that serves as an origin story forms the main text of analysis in each chapter. Finding elements of the Gothic in these contemporary supervillains, this thesis performs three tasks. One, it shows the continued flexibility of the superhero genre – that despite being presented in a format different from how it was initially introduced, the genre was able to take liberties with characters and typify them into multiple pre-existing tropes. Second, the thesis revels in the continued relevance of Gothic literature, a genre that finds home in multiple popular discourses. Finally, the thesis identifies the gendered nature of the superhero narrative to be at odds when analysing the figure of Harley Quinn, and thus a Female Gothic plot is activated to analyse Quinn’s solo narrative.

The focus of this thesis is on how supervillains have appropriated the narratives of their respective films. This study opens doors to multiple variations of similar analyses and to a greater understanding of the superhero genre and its flexibility.

Item Type:	Thesis (Doctoral)
Faculty \ School:	Faculty of Arts and Humanities > School of Media, Language and Communication Studies
Depositing User:	Chris White
Date Deposited:	15 Oct 2026 10:34
Last Modified:	15 Oct 2026 10:34
URI:	https://ueaeprints.uea.ac.uk/id/eprint/104785
DOI:

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