The Routledge Companion to Superhero Studies

Introduction: Approaching Superhero Studies as a Field Lorna Piatti-Farnell and Carl Wilson PART I Creating and Selling the Superhero 1. Creators and the Creative Processes Behind Comics Forrest Helvie 2. The Flash and the Ages of Superheroes: Racing Through History John Darowski 3. The Creation of Superheroes and Supervillains Through Alchemy, Science Accidents, and Violent Scientific Delights Lilia Walsh and Anna-Sophie Jürgens 4. Experimentation and Containment: The Metafictional Superhero Orion Ussner Kidder 5. What The Kids Want: Superheroes and Shared Universes Sean Casey 6. Out of the Multiversal Closet: Alternate Realities, Reboots, and Transmedia Coming Outs Charles Joseph 7. Punch-Ups on Parade: Celebrating and Marketing Queerness in Marvel and DC’s Pride Month Anthologies Anna F. Peppard 8. Super Powers and Secret Wars: The Cultural Value of Superhero Action Figures Jason Bainbridge 9. From Zero to the Hero’s Journey: The Masters of the Universe Franchise across Audiovisual Transmedia Fernando Gabriel Pagnoni Berns, Eduardo Veteri and Jorge Traversa 10. How Externally Licensed Intellectual Property Dictated Changes in Marvel UK’s Publishing Output of the 1970s-1990s Rob McLaughlin PART II Adapting the Superhero 11. Batman and the Body on Screen John Quinn 12. The Umbrella Academy: Re-imagining the Subversive Superhero Family, from Panel Scenes to Netflix Screens Ashleigh Prosser and Lorna Piatti-Farnell 13. Princesses vs Power: The Animated Depictions of Original and Rebooted She-Ra Valerie Estelle Frankel 14. The Divided Fourth Phase of Marvel Licensed Video Games (2013-) Carl Wilson 15. Financial Kryptonite: The Foiled Attempts to Bring Superheroes to the Stage Jarrod DePrado 16. Life and Death in Gotham City: Batman: The Audio Adventures’ Aural History of the Superhero Genre Dru Jeffries 17. Rehearing the Superhero in the 21st century: Superman, Wonder Woman, and Music Janet K. Halfyard 18. Cosplay Capers: The Twinned Genealogies, Cultural Imaginaries, and Affects of Superhero Cosplay Paul Mountfort 19. Renegotiating Canonicity: Fanboy, Parody, and Mark Garvey’s Union Jack (2019) Cathrine Avery 20. Winter Soldiers: National Identity and Responsibility in Captain America Fanfiction Sarah Regier PART III National Superheroes and Translations 21. Flying British Superheroes of World War II and Beyond: The Historical Turn in Britain’s Aviation War in Popular Culture Lisa J. Hackett, Jo Coghlan, Huw Nolan, and Chris Comerford 22. Canadian Superheroes and the Struggle for National Representation Anthony Enns 23. Modern Czech Superheroes: Miracle and the Spring Man as the Defenders of the Nation Michaela Weiss 24. Look! Up in the Sky! It's a Bird! It's a Plane. No, it's Super-French! Chris Reyns-Chikuma 25. Rat-Man: An Italian Superhero Parody Marco Favaro 26. Superhero Toys, Nostalgia, and the Assassination of Abe Shinzo Sophia Staite 27. The Tokusatsu Heroes and Magical Girls of Senki Zesshō Symphogear Leo Chu 28. Chinese Translations of American Superhero Films and Television Series Dingkun Wang PART IV Superhero Identities 29. With Great Power, Comes an Armored Corset: Clothing as Empowerment for Female Superheroes Yael Rachel Novich 30. What it Means to be Free: Disability, Neurodivergence, and the Super ‘Freak’ Gwyneth Peaty 31. The Legal Aspects of the Ownership of a Superhero Identity Liam Sunner 32. Companions, Apprentices, Enemies: The Many Roles of the Sidekick Philippe Rioux 33. Morality and Familial Relationships in the Marvel Cinematic Universe Angelique Nairn 34. When the Gods Walk Among Us: Superheroes as Dangerous Divinities Matthew Brake 35. Not Like the Others: Catwoman as Transgressive Hero Cathleen Allyn Conway 36. Supervillains are the Real Heroes Mark Hibbett 37. The Cult of Marvel’s Loki(s), and their (Queer) Redemption Karl Johnson 38. The Power in Seeing Yourself in Another: X-Men, Audiences, and Queer Rights through X-Men ’97 Patrick      Munnelly, Tania Cook and Kaela Joseph PART V Evolving Superhero Debates and Concerns 39. Swamp Thing: EcoGothic Monster or Environmental Champion? Teresa Fitzpatrick 40. Animal Man: The Countercultural Superhero of the Anthropocene Chris Hall 41. Wakanda and Technology in the Anthropocene: Black Panther’s Lesson on What a Sustainable Coexistence Looks Like Siobhain Lash 42. Green Lantern, Structural Racism, and N.K. Jemisin’s Far Sector Chris Roman 43. The Shield or the Skull: The Civil-Military Gap, the Militarized Superhero, and Veteran Stereotypes in American Myth and Memory Christina Knopf 44. Trauma in Superhero Films: The Case of Tim Burton’s Batman (1989) and Batman Returns (1992) Sean Travers 45. The Phoenix and Dark Phoenix Sagas: Moral Ambiguity, Disagreement, and the Superhero Mission Justin F. Martin  46. The Unbelievable Gwenpool and the Limits of Empathy Devon Keyes 47. Legacy, Memory, and Fatherhood in All-Star Superman (2005) Owen Farrington

Biography

Lorna Piatti-Farnell (PhD) is the Academic Dean at SAE Creative Media Institute in Auckland, New Zealand. She is the Founder and Director of the Australasian Horror Studies Network and sole editor of the "Routledge Advances in Popular Culture Studies" book series.

Carl Wilson is a freelance scholar and author based in the UK.

"The Routledge Companion to Superhero Studies offers a distinct contribution to current superhero literature by capturing the social, cultural, and political impact of these ‘metaphorically charged figures’ as they transform across diverse transnational and multimedia forms. Simultaneously, this anthology foregrounds the significance of Superhero Studies, revealing just how insightful and influential the discipline has become for the humanities and beyond."
Wendy Haslem, University of Melbourne

"This new book offers a significant, engaging, and richly layered examination of the superhero, both as a cultural icon and field within popular culture studies. It reveals how superheroes mirror and shape societal anxieties, values, and identities. Drawing on wide-ranging cultural, political and philosophical frameworks, the collection offers rigorous analysis and insightful commentary.  A vital —and thoroughly enjoyable—contribution to contemporary scholarship on popular culture."
Donna Lee Brien, Central Queensland University

"A true celebration of the academic study of superheroes in media, this Companion not only provides an accessible guide to the ever-expanding field of superhero studies, but it also beautifully captures how the sheer breadth of interdisciplinary analysis into the evolution and significance of superheroes allows us to unite in examining our connection to these modern myths."
Barbra Dillon, Fanbase Press Editor-in-Chief