Blog: Doctor Doom At The Superhero Project

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I spent most of the weekend in sunny EASTBOURNE, where I was attending the 10th Superhero Project conference. This was my THIRD visit - I don't go every year because I'm largely self-funding for this sort of thing, so can't afford to go to all the conferences I'd like to, but this time it was about SUPER-VILLAINS so it seemed rude not to.

Technically I wasn't presenting this time, as we'd arranged that I'd do a version of Data and Doctor Doom for the delegates. To be honest my VISION was to do this as a KEYNOTE SPEECH, but when the timetable was announced I found that I'd been advertised as just me, as part of a party celebrating the 10th anniversary. This made me rather nervous - as much as I personally think the show is Quite Good, it's not exactly a "party". I had visions of me performing in a corner while people wandered around chatting and eating CANAPES so asked if they'd rather I just do some of the songs like a GIG, but everyone seemed keen to do the actual show, so that's how it was set.

While I was worrying about this the conference itself was GRATE. The big themes were around the idea that superhero narratives are all about maintaining the status quo, and that therefore it's villains who take on the usually heroic role of trying to bring about change. It was gratifying to hear people saying this sort of thing as I wrote a chapter about exactly that last year for The Routledge Companion to Superhero Studies so it was nice to know I was on the right track, not least because the EDITOR of said volume was also there!

My spot was on the Saturday night, due to take place after the conference dinner which, as they always do, ran a bit late due to the restaurant having to serve approx 35 meals all at the same time. I WOLFED down my afters so I could get back to the hotel a bit early and be able to get the room all set up while I waited for people to arrive, then when they'd all got sat and had a drink I tried something NEW!

For LO! a few weeks ago the excellent Dr M Nguyen sent me a variety of DOCTOR DOOM MASKS what he had 3D printed especially for me, and so I put one of those on, put the hood of my Doom Cloak over the top, then turned to the audience and said "SILENCE DOLTS!" Cor! It was a GRATE way to get started, and I only regret that I wasn't able to keep the voice going for very long or indeed to keep the mask on for the whole thing, as it did rather make an impression!


(NOTE: I forgot to ask for someone to take a picture during the show, so this is me relaxing at home with the mask on)

I then launched into the show, which was slightly abridged for time - I took out a couple of songs and some of the autobiographical bits, but that all seemed to go OK, and what remained got honestly more laughs than EVER before. It turns out that performing for an audience STEEPED in superhero storytelling means that they got pretty much ALL of the jokes - who could have guessed?

I had an absolutely LOVELY time, especially after spending the past week or so PANICKING about whether I'd remember it and whether anyone would actually be bothered, and got to spend the rest of the evening and some of the final day saying "thank you" to people who'd come. I also got to hear it REFERENCED in a couple of papers the next day (e.g. "this character is thus like Spider-man... but better") which was highly gratifying.

It was also highly KNACKERING and my BRANE is still recovering from the influx of FACTS. Conferences, they are GRATE!

posted 7/9/2026 by MJ Hibbett

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