Quinn’s Academic Bio
Quinn is a first-year PhD student in Media Studies at University of Colorado Boulder. Their research centers mainly around superhero media of all types, including films, television, comic books, and amusement park theming. Their current projects include: “Boys Will Be Superheroes: Morals and Masculinity in 2010s Disney” (accepted for presentation at PCA 2026), which explores the way Disney used superhero media (the MCU and Lab Rats) to begin to define their version of masculinity in the 2010s; “Style, Substance, and Sexuality: Young Avengers and Queer Futurity”, which compares the way sexuality is portrayed in two recent Young Avengers series through visual elements; “Tasha Davenport: The Best TV Mom?”, which explores the concept of motherhood within the Disney Channel brand through the lens of Lab Rats; and an untitled project that discusses how the differing implementation of Marvel superhero IP in Disneyland and Universal’s Islands of Adventure reflects the values of the companies that run the parks.
Frequently Asked Questions
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I believe that superheroes can be a source of empowerment for people who need it. Growing up queer was a struggle for me, but I frequently found reassurance in the ways superheroes in the comics I read and movies I watched were able to overcome their struggles. It is important to me to study superheroes not only because of their cultural relevance, but also because of the deep meaning they have to many individuals.
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I’ve always been partial to Nova (Sam Alexander)! The first comic book I ever read was Nova (2013) #27. Sam’s spunk, resilience, and care for his loved ones resonated with me then and still does to this day. (Honorable mentions: Nightwing (Dick Grayson), Wiccan (Billy Kaplan), and Superboy (Jon Kent))
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Lab Rats follows the Davenport family, consisting of Donald, who is the father of Adam, Bree, and Chase, his new wife Tasha, and her son Leo. Adam, Bree, and Chase have superhuman abilities due to being genetically engineered to handle being bionic, which means that they have enhanced nervous systems controlled by a computer chip in the backs of their necks in this context. After being kept in an underground lab for the first fifteen years of their lives, they are allowed to attend high school with Leo after he accidentally discovers them as long as they keep their abilities secret. As the plot develops, more characters are introduced and the lore deepens beyond this initial synopsis.
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Yes! Reach out to me if you are interested on working with me on a project, article, or book chapter.
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I received my bachelor’s degree from Coe College and I majored in creative writing with a minor in anthropology. I got my master’s from the University of Chicago in the social sciences, concentrating in anthropology. I am currently pursuing my doctorate at University of Colorado Boulder in media studies.
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My capstone paper for my minor within my bachelor’s degree is something I’m proud of. It examined the role of memory in the show Cobra Kai through the physical dimension of martial arts and lieu de memoire, or sites of memory. I am also proud of my master’s thesis which examined the way LGBTQ+ representation in Marvel Comics and DC influenced readers’ perception of their empowerment. I conducted group interviews at two comic conventions and distributed a survey to gather my data for this project.
