Daredevil Psychology: The Devil You Know

by Travis Langley (Editor), Stan Lee (Foreword by)

Overview

An in-depth analysis of the psychology behind the popular character Daredevil.

In the early 1960s, Stan Lee and company revitalized the comic book market by imbuing new characters and their stories with human, emotional depth lacking in other superheroes. Among those creations was the character Daredevil. Now this superhero is the subject of 20 essays that explore different facets of his psychology, including:

• The risk-taking behavior that earned Daredevil his name
• The pathology of stalking, obsession, and mental manipulation
• The process of “othering” in regards to disability
• The question of justice versus revenge—with asides related to the assassin Elektra

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781454930112
Publisher:	Sterling
Publication date:	06/05/2018
Series:	Popular Culture Psychology Series , #9
Pages:	272
Product dimensions:	5.90(w) x 8.90(h) x 0.70(d)

About the Author

Travis Langley, PhD, is a psychology professor at Henderson State University, the author of Batman and Psychology (Wiley), and the volume editor of The Walking Dead Psychology, Star Wars Psychology, Game of Thrones Psychology, and the rest of the works contained in the Popular Culture Psychology series published by Sterling. He speaks regularly on media and heroism at universities, conferences, and popular-culture conventions including San Diego Comic-Con, New York Comic Con, and others throughout the world. Necessary Evil: Super-Villains of DC Comics and other films have featured him as an expert interviewee, and the documentary Legends of the Knight spotlighted how he uses fiction to teach real psychology. Psychology Today carries his blog “Beyond Heroes and Villains,” and he is one of the 10 most popular psychologists on Twitter with over 100,000 followers: @superherologist.
 

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments: Partners & Associates Travis Langley vii

Foreword: The Devil You Know Stan Lee xii

Introduction: The Devil You Don't Travis Langley 1

I Summons 6

1 Learning to See the Hero You Are: Posttraumatic Growth After Physical Injury Janina Scarlet Travis Adams 9

2 The Truth About the Dare: Who Seeks Thrills and Chills? Travis Langley Christine Hanefalk 18

3 More Than a Montage: Development of a Super Identity Jeremy Johnson Lisa Johnson Erin Currie 30

4 Interview with Marvel's Daredevil Executive Producer Steven S. DeKnight: Running the Show in Hell's Kitchen Travis Langley Jenna Busch 40

II Advocates 50

5 Sympathy for the Devil: Moral Convictions, Emotions, and Struggles Eric D. Wesselmann Jordan P. LaBouff 53

6 Nelson & Murdock: It's All in the Family Larisa A. Garski Justine Mastin 64

7 The Heroes and Villians of Hell's Kitchen Jenna Busch Janina Scarlet 80

III Details 90

8 Focus: When the Blind Hero Sees Better Travis Langley 93

9 How the Blind See Jim Davies 101

10 Daredevil's Super-Integrated Sensory System Craig Pohlman 113

IV Others 122

11 Mother Superior, Feeling Inferior: Post-Partum Depression and the Mother He Didn't Know Rebecca M. Langley 125

12 Elektra: Portrait of the Assassin as a Young Woman Larisa A. Garski Jennifer L. Yen 138

13 The Path to Punisher: How Motivations Make the Man Colt J. Blunt 152

14 Making Relationships Work Mara Wood Jeffrey Henderson 163

V Bargains 172

15 What Lurks in Shadow: Jung's Notion of the Devil and Evil in Daredevil Laura Vecchiolla 175

16 Why Being Blind to the Devil Inside Stunts Emotional Growth William Sharp 187

17 Whose Mind is It Anyway? Defending Conscious Will in a Purple Man's World J. Scott Jordan 199

18 Happiness in Hell's Kitchen Mara Wood 212

Final Word: Balance Travis Langley 226

About the Editor 229

About the Contributors 230

References 237

Index 256