Document Type
Article
Abstract
This essay examines Joker through the lens of the “supercrip,” a term disability theorists use to discuss disabled characters who because of, or in spite of, their disability, are perceived as possessing extraordinary talent. In the case of Mass Effect, the player and Commander Shepard are seen as normates, defined in opposition to Joker and the supercrip. The supercrip character allows the able-bodied to view disability as something other than physical suffering. This essay argues that Joker is a character designed for the able-bodied player; he compensates for his disability through humor and his unmatched ability to fly the Normandy. The Normandy acts as Joker’s prosthesis. As a supercrip character, his prosthesis is a sign of empowerment and super-ability, rather than a reminder of his disability. However, the beings that inhabit the Mass Effect universe are all deeply reliant upon new technology, redefining the normate body as one that includes prosthesis, even while it defines Joker as Other. In Mass Effect 2, Joker’s disability is all but cured. This paper examines how a cure for his disability allows Joker to take on the more traditional role of the hero figure that would not be possible for a disabled character.
Repository Citation
Joyal, Amanda. "Mass Effect’s Joker, the Supercrip, and the Normate Body." Reconstruction: Studies in Contemporary Culture vol. 12, no. 2, 2012, pp. 1–16. https://digitalcommons.odu.edu/reconstruction/vol12/iss2/7