Asperger's Syndrome as superhero symptom

So, back to the Asperger's thing again:  in Bones, interestingly, it's the woman scientist who's autistic-like.  Which would make immediate sense, since scientists are perceived as cold, rational decision makers.  However, in Leverage, the super-thief is a woman and autistic-like, as befits her cold, rational choice of a career.

Not all heros, or superheroes, are Asperger syndrome characters, of course, but it's interesting to see this condition, or the stereotype of this condition, move to the forefront.  In the past, the cold, emotionless hero (think Bogart, or Gary Cooper) were exemplars of masculinity.  Jimmy Stewart achieved masculine hero status for remaining cool, but had the brilliant ability to portray a manic quality hidden underneath his masculine exterior.

The cold rational scientist should be the mad scientist, but we all know how to recognize the mad scientist: by his maniacal laugh.  Too much emotion, too much hysteria too close to the surface.

And, speaking of hysteria:  having the cold emotionless thief or scientist as woman adds added punch to the hero role (the former masculine role model).  Leverage is cool that way, since the computer geek is an  African-American, a change from the usual stereotype.

The Autistic Superhero

So, we've all noticed the increase in autistic-like characters on TV recently: the anthropologist from Bones, Abed from Community, Sheldon Cooper from The Big Bang Theory, Bob Melnikov from ReGenesis, and any cyborg from the Terminator series. (We could also consider Spock from Star Trek as a precursor to the emotionless, rational hero.)

What to make of this? how about the need for the rugged individualist to cooperate in a team setting? (source) Or the difficulty of a rugged individualist cooperating in a team setting? See

The Myth of the American Superhero

(source).

just a thought