It's a Word! It's a Plane! It's Superhero Vocabulary!: Superhero Lexicon

Words shouldn’t be your kryptonite. Arm yourself with an indestructible vocabulary, starting with these terms from the superhero genre.

For more, check out the full article:
The Powerful Lingo of Superheroes
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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. hero
    someone who fights for a cause
    As Thor: Ragnarok opens, our big Norse god hero is imprisoned in a big place by a big thing with big horns.
    – Time
  2. origin
    the place where something begins
    Also revealed in the “Sensation Comics” series, the origin of Wonder Woman’s American alias.
    – Los Angeles Times
  3. identity
    the characteristics by which a thing or person is known
    With every new superhero flogging the same old identity crisis, the lack of an alternative way with adaptations of comic book seems a shame.
    – The Guardian
  4. nemesis
    a personal foe or rival that cannot be easily defeated
    Our fear is the reason one of Superman’s most formidable comic book nemeses, Nuclear Man II, was born from a nuclear missile.
    – Salon
  5. vigilante
    a person who takes the law into his or her own hands
    Peter Parker often ironically calls himself "your friendly neighborhood Spider-Man" since some wrongly believe he's a dangerous vigilante.
    – Time
  6. justice
    the quality of being fair, reasonable, or impartial
    And if DC’s endeavors on the small screen with Supergirl are any indication, they know how to do a female superhero justice.
    – Time
  7. mythology
    the body of stories associated with a culture or institution
    In Norse mythology, Ragnarök means “twilight of the gods” – the death of all things, followed by rebirth and renewal; the dawn of a new world.
    – The Guardian
  8. radiation
    energy transmitted in the form of rays or waves or particles
    And when she asks, “How hot?” he replies, “Ionizing radiation hot. Neutral pion decay hot.”
    – The Washington Post
  9. headquarters
    a military unit consisting of a commander and staff
    It later became the headquarters of the Avengers when S.H.I.E.L.D. was disbanded at the end of Captain America: Winter Soldier.
    – Time
  10. rogue
    a deceitful and unreliable scoundrel
    I just needed a shady yet likeable rogue who is a smuggler character.
    – Scientific American
  11. sidekick
    a close associate or assistant in an activity
    And there’s the small matter of July’s Spider-Man: Homecoming, with Robert Downey Jr’s Iron Man expected to operate as Peter Parker’s middle-aged sidekick.
    – The Guardian
  12. villain
    someone who does evil deliberately
    He’s laughing loudly now and rubbing his palms together, like a villain detailing his plans for world domination. The Sun Is Also a Star
  13. universe
    everything that exists anywhere
    Iger spoke of plans to develop TV spin-offs for Monsters Inc and High School Musical as well as more shows within the Marvel universe.
    – The Guardian
  14. battle
    a hostile meeting of opposing military forces
    The seventh season finale of “Game of Thrones” proves the best episodes need not be dominated by explosive battles, arrows, swords and gore.
    – Salon
  15. meteorite
    a stony or metallic object from space that hits the earth
    Many meteorites that landed on Earth originated on Mars.
    – The Washington Post
  16. invisibility
    the quality of not being perceivable by the eye
    There was a three-way tie for desired superpower: Flying, invisibility and super-speed each received four mentions.
    – The Washington Post
  17. indestructible
    not easily ruined
    Plenty of action is shown, including Wonder Woman battling with her sword and shield, deflecting bullets with her indestructible bracelets and tossing around some foes with her golden lasso of truth.
    – Los Angeles Times
Created on Thu Nov 09 17:27:05 EST 2017 (updated Sun Oct 15 22:58:56 EDT 2023)

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