The Myth of the American Superhero

From the Superman of comic books to Hollywood's big-screen action stars, Americans have long enjoyed a love affair with the "superhero." In this engaging volume John Shelton Lawrence and Robert Jewett explore the historical and spiritual roots of the superhero myth and its deleterious effect on America's democratic vision.

Arguing that the superhero is the antidemocratic counterpart of the classical "monomyth" described by Joseph Campbell, the authors show that the American version of the m...