ABSTRACT
Science fiction (SF) scholars contend that within twentieth-century US-American SF there exists a move away from patriarchal conceptions of femininity and masculinity and towards a radical, feminist reconceptualization of gender. A widely overlooked, central aspect of this shift takes place within a key subgenre of early SF: the super men narratives. In these texts, male characters are idealized either as superhumans capable of incredible strength and intelligence, or as brave defenders of humankind. Foundational to such works are their conflicting framings of masculinity. Within this subgenre are both narratives that glorify problematic, traditionally masculine interests in power and control and others that begin the process of rethinking masculinity that is so central to subsequent works in the genre. As this chapter illuminates, SF of the 1930s–1950s, far from containing a unified, traditional perspective of manhood, encompasses conflicting views of patriarchal and alternative masculinities. A careful analysis of these super men narratives underscores the role of SF as a conduit for discussions surrounding the state and future of masculinity.
