Do The Gods Wear Capes? Spirituality, Fantasy, and Superheroes

Ben Saunders shows that Superhero comics address deep emotional needs. From their earliest days, Superheroes have engaged with some of the most profound spiritual questions that a human being can face: What does it mean to be good? Why is there evil? Why can't I have what I want? How should I live, knowing that I must die? The book suggests these fantasies of power and romance are attempts to wrestle and negotiate with some fundamentally spiritual issues: the problem of evil, the inescapability of human imperfection, and the stark fact of mortality. Saunders argues that the best Superhero comics are not only significant aesthetic achievements - expressions of a misunderstood and under-appreciated art-form as distinctly American as Jazz or Rock & Roll - but that their aesthetic significance derives at least in part from their unique handling of these religious and spiritual themes. With chapters on Superman, Wonder Woman, Spider-Man, and Iron-Man, he considers these characters as artistic projections of our most primitive desires, and our highest aspirations.

Acknowledgements \ INTRODUCTION: The Power of Love \ 1. SUPERMAN: Truth, Justice, and All That Stuff \ 2. WONDER WOMAN: Bondage and Liberation \ 3. SPIDER-MAN: Heroic Failure and Spiritual Triumph \ 4. IRON MAN: Techno-Faith \ CODA: Modern Gods \ APPENDIX: Methods and Problems in Superhero Studies \ Notes \ Index