“Then why,” he asked, “aren’t you afraid of yourselves ?”
Choice.
Beyond the specific superhero character, the use of animals in entertainment is a subject of growing scrutiny and debate regarding welfare and public perception: Welfare and Ethics
In contemporary horror (especially Indigenous-led content like Reservation Dogs and The Outsider ), the "Animal Man" is often a Skinwalker—a witch who wears animal hides to gain their powers. This moves the trope away from European lycanthropy and into a spiritual, terrifying context.
(Lioness in Born Free): Is credited with sparking early global interest in wildlife conservation.
