I really think Bryan's portfolio theme - superheroes - is an excellent idea. It's obvious from spending time with Bryan in the writing center that creating comic books are a passion of his. It's great that he can take something he's good at and incorporate into another area of study.
I think this is something we can teach at the writing center when students come in for help with their own portfolio ideas. We could ask them, "What are you good at?" and let the response guide us. Maybe a student is good at basketball, or photography, or hiking. There are certainly aspects of any of those activities that could lend itself to the creation of a portfolio. A hiker goes on a journey, a photographer composes a photograph, and basketball players must practice to if they want to win. These are common threads that are applicable to many different disciplines, thus they'd work well as portfolio themes.
But back to Bryan's theme. I think the creation of a new superhero for each aspect of the portfolio is wonderful. Right now in another class, we're reading Saussure for Beginners. It tries to break down a complicated subject into easily digestible chunks by adding illustrations and humor. I think Bryan's portfolio might work along those same lines.
Bryan's portfolio idea is probably the most ambitious of the bunch, but given his artistic background, I'm sure he can pull it off.
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Playing to an individual's strengths is a great approach. This goes along with the comments about ESL students. Everyone has something they love, and something they are good at. It might be circuitry, sports, or math, but whatever it is, if you can tap into it, the students will be much more at ease than if they have nothing they can relate to.
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