Towards a Space of Inclusion: The Legendary Monster Universe in Charlie Hernandez & The League of Shadows

Outcasts, misfits, weird and supernatural creatures, the legendary monster universe is a space filled with beings that refuse to accommodate to society's norms and expectations. 1They embody differences and operate outside the boundaries of being human (Cohen 12).The legendary monsters in this universe operate as a means to overcome our fears and desires through the stories and tales they inhabit.They are the guardians and holders of those undesired emotions and anxieties waiting to be told and acknowledged to understand our humanity.However, "this 'vacation' to where the wild things are ultimately help us return to our lives of quiet repression" (Asma 443).The legendary monster fulfills its purpose only through a momentary time, and the person must return after this brief encounter with relief of social pressures to the order of things in the Ordinary World-that place that reality and humans inhabit without fantasy, monsters or magic.However, we should ask, what happens when these lines are more blurred and permeable than we understand them?What if their connection to our world, the Ordinary World, is far more flexible and divergent than we imagine as they take part in the lives of people of color?What if our relationship with them is far more symbiotic than one-sided as we engage with them through the myths, legends, and folklore that gives them a presence in our lives?These legendary monsters can break free from their constraints in the legendary monster universe they inhabit and be unwilling to submit to attempts at categorization and localization, attempts at control, and both located at borders (Cohen) and refuse the enforcement of geographical boundaries.They are more nomadic than we expect, moving from one place to another,