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Abstract

ABSTRACTSuperman, Batman, Wonder Woman, The Fantastic 4, Spider-Man, X-Men, Black Panther (1966, and its filmic adaptation), all the superheroes are American. All? No, there are some since 1938 in France as original French creations and as the translations of the American Superheroes. But who heard about Fantax, Santanax, Misterx? Except for some thousands fans, these x illustrate, even if unwittingly, unknown heroes. The only French known and famous super-heroes in France, and a bit beyond its borders, are Asté rix and Superdupont, that is, parodies of superheroes. In this article, I explain why French superheroes never succeeded in adapting within the Franco-European comics world. I. There are many factors that would explain that absence and they are also intertwined: from the most obvious such as the censorship through the July-1949-Law to protect youth, to factors much less talked about like the absence of BD creators of Jewish origin, the negative connotations of the word ‘superman’ (ubermensch), explicit and tacit anti-americanism, the decline of the French power including in the cultural subfield (cultural geopolitics) and the French cultural policies that were, for too long, elitist, and included the disregard of BD and comics and even more of the genre superhero.…