What is a Superhero?

by Robin S. Rosenberg (Editor), Peter Coogan (Editor), Stan Lee (Contributor)

It's easy to name a superhero--Superman, Batman, Thor, Spiderman, the Green Lantern, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Rorschach, Wolverine--but it's not so easy to define what a superhero is. Buffy has superpowers, but she doesn't have a costume. Batman has a costume, but doesn't have superpowers. What is the role of power and superpower? And what are supervillains and why do we need them?

In What is a Superhero?, psychologist Robin Rosenberg and comics scholar Peter Coogan explore this question from a variety of viewpoints, bringing together contributions from nineteen comic book experts--including both scholars in such fields as cultural studies, art, and psychology as well as leading comic book writers and editors. What emerges is a kaleidoscopic portrait of this most popular of pop-culture figures. Writer Jeph Loeb, for instance, sees the desire to make the world a better place as the driving force of the superhero. Jennifer K. Stuller argues that the female superhero inspires women to stand up, be strong, support others, and most important, to believe in themselves. More darkly, A. David Lewis sees the indestructible superhero as the ultimate embodiment of the American "denial of death," while writer Danny Fingeroth sees superheroes as embodying the best aspects of humankind, acting with a nobility of purpose that inspires us. Interestingly, Fingeroth also expands the definition of superhero so that it would include characters like John McClane of the Die Hard movies: "Once they dodge ridiculous quantities of machine gun bullets they're superheroes, cape or no cape."

From summer blockbusters to best-selling graphic novels, the superhero is an integral part of our culture. What is a Superhero? not only illuminates this pop-culture figure, but also sheds much light on the fantasies and beliefs of the American people.

Genres: Nonfiction, Comics, Essays, Comic Book, Graphic Novels, Superheroes, Psychology

200 pages, Hardcover

First published July 1, 2013

About the author

Robin Sue Rosenberg is a clinical psychologist in private practice in Stanford, California, and has taught psychology at Lesley University and Harvard University. She is board certified in clinical psychology by the American Board of Professional Psychology, and has been certified in clinical hypnosis. She is a fellow of the American Academy of Clinical Psychology, is a member of the Academy for Eating Disorders, and is President-Elect of the Santa Clara County Psychological Association.
Rosenberg is mostly known for her textbooks and writings on the psychology of popular culture.

Reviews

[Kamakana · Rating 5 out of 5]

if you like this review, i now have website: www.michaelkamakana.com

021119: popular culture fascinates me, perhaps because i do not experience it originally as popular culture, that is, only as critically informed some years (decades...) later. so i do not know if this is five for anyone else... maybe it is too intellectual, or too familiar...

friend comics illustrator riley rossmo has read/looked at tens of thousands of graphics, mostly of superhero genre, ever since kid, but when my brother and i were able to read word books our mother would not let us read graphics of any sort. so i missed years (decades...) of boy-culture. my knowledge of superman, spider-man, iron man etc is primarily through much recent hollywood movies, tv history, reading comics now as adult... and talking with riley. before i met him, i had read maybe ten, now i have read about 360 graphics, but not many superhero ones...

as always, it is the art i find most interesting in graphics, but as this is critical nonfiction work there is none. collection of essays, some very good some less, from various perspectives, critical and practical. reminds me of lit criticism read at u, but fun in that way, it helps me to understand nostalgia some male friends have for these modern myths though it might not convince me of transcendent values. but then, finding references to this or that other story in given story seems somewhat parlor game, rather than affirming truths intended for readers. what art i think of in superhero work is often generic, but there are some remarkable images i like, and it is intriguing to have essentially ‘sequential’ nature to tell stories...

there are some inspirations to try works i do not know: particularly x-men with philosophical conflict between separatism/suprematism and more tolerant relationships between humans and mutants... yes there are sff books about this, but do they have extensive and exciting pictorial representations? other than the movies, at least...

[Guilherme Smee · Rating 4 out of 5]

Existem muitos livros no estilo deste que querem desenvolver os significados escondidos de o que é um super-herói. Muitos deles são rasos demais e não respondem plenamente à pergunta. Entretanto, este aqui é diferente. Ele vai á fundo na questão "O que é um super-herói?", perguntando a estudiosos de diversas áreas do conhecimento para responderem a esta charada. Ele também inclui uma seção em que a antítese dos super-heróis é investigada: os supervilões. O livro fecha com um seção em que pessoas da indústria dos super-heróis são convidadas a responder essa pergunta através do viés da produção: Stan Lee, Dennis O'Neil, Joe Quesada, J. Michael Straczinsky, Jeph Loeb, entre tantos outros. O resultados de todos esses textos, curtos em sua maioria, é um enorme esforço de entendimento do que são os super-heróis e qual o entendimento das pessoas sobre eles. Isso feito por autoridades que os estudam há anos, como Robin S. Rosenberg e Peter Coogan, organizadores do livro, somados aos acadêmicos e aos profissionais da indústria, acaba tornando este livro a fonte ideal para quem busca conceitos e definições de super-heróis.

[Allison · Rating 3 out of 5]

A very interesting read! Makes you think more in depth on superheroes and what makes them so unique.

[Daniel · Rating 5 out of 5]

This review originally published in Looking For a Good Book. Rated 5.0 of 5

You can hardly turn around today without seeing a movie or television show featuring a superhero and they're often on the covers of magazines and there are novelizations of their stories. And of course there are the comic books and graphic novels from which many of them sprouted. But what is a superhero? Such is the general question asked and addressed in the collection of essays edited by Robin S. Rosenberg & Peter Coogan.

There is a strong collection of writers included here, musing on what makes a superhero and the social issues surrounding a society's reasons for having superheroes. The collection includes essays from those who might understand the genre the best - writers of superhero stories such as: Stan Lee, Dennis O'Neil, Kurt Busiek, Joe Quesada, and a few others.

I was impressed right out of the gate with Peter Coogan's article, "The Hero Defines the Genre, the Genre Defines the Hero." I'd like to quote from the article but the truth is I would simply copy the eight pages and reprint it - the article was packed with thoughtful reflection and commentary. Coogan clearly understands the modern mythology of superheroes.

I did a lot of comic book reading in the 1970's so it's no surprise that talent from that era has a big impact on me. And perhaps it's because of this that I found Denny O'Neil's article, "Superheroes and Power," so meaningful. After all, who should know how to write about superheroes and their power than someone who did it so well? His words can be applied not just to superheroes, but to any character who is worth writing about. I really appreciated his comment:

A writer fails the genre when a story depicts superheroes who are weak or do not use their powers. What makes a character interesting (both superheroes and other types of characters) is what he does to solve problems. You give him a knotty situation and he gets out of it. Well, by definition, superheroes use extraordinary physical means.

While I'm only pointing to two articles, this is one of those rare collections in which there are no duds. Every essay is thoughtful and well articulated. I gained some insight and felt that I left the book smarter than when I started. I like that feeling.

This book contains the following:

Foreword - Michael Uslan
"Introduction: What Is a Superhero?" - Robin Rosenberg & Peter Coogan
Super and Hero: Powers and Mission
Section Introduction
"The Hero Defines the Genre, the Genre Defines the Hero" - Peter Coogan
"We Could Be Heroes" - Will Brooker
"What is a Female Superhero?" - Jennifer Stuller
"Straddling a Boundary: The Superhero and the Incorporation of Difference" - Clare Pitkelthy
"Save the Day" - A. David Lewis
Context, Culture, and the Problem of Definition
Section Introduction
"Superheroes and the Modern(ist) Age" - Alex Boney
"Heroes of the Superculture" - Richard Reynolds
"Superhero by Design" - John Jennings
"The Experience of the Superhero: A Phenomenological Definition" - Dana Anderson
"What is a Superhero? No One Knows—That’s What Makes ‘em Great." - Geoff Klock
Superheroes Need Supervillains
Section introduction
"Why Supervillains?" - Paul Levitz
"Superheroes Need Supervillains" - Frank Verano
"Superheroes Need Superior Villains" - Stanford Carpenter
"Super and Villain: A bad guy with superpowers" - Curtis Deis
"Supervillains Who Need Superheroes (Are the Luckiest Villains in the World)" - Andrew Smith
"Sorting Out Villainy: A Typology of Villains and Their Effects on Superheroes" - Robin Rosenberg
From the Experts: Comic Book Writers Define the Superhero
Section Introduction
"More Than Normal, But Believable" - Stan Lee
"Making the World a Better Place" - Jeph Loeb
"Nobility of Purpose" - Danny Fingeroth
"Superheroes and Power" - Dennis O'Neil
"The Importance of Context: Robin Hood Is Out and Buffy Is In" - Kurt Busiek
"Superheroes Are Made" - Tom DeFalco
"Extraordinary" - Joe Quesada
"The Superprotagonist" - Fred Van Lente
"Superheroes and Supervillains: An Interdependent Relationship" - Ivory Madison

Looking for a good book? The collection of essays, What Is a Superhero? edited by Robin Rosenberg and Peter Coogan is a thoughtful reflection on superheroes - who are our modern mythological figures. The book is highly recommended.

I received a digital copy of this book from the publisher, through Netgalley, in exchange for an honest review.

[Dennis · Rating 5 out of 5]

Made of essays pondering the question, "What is a superhero?," this goes beyond what people might think about. This shows that the genre of superheroes are cultural reflections of what I call a modern mythology, stories that represent social commentaries, ethics, morals, and values. I specially enjoyed the phenomenological philosophy essay, that all of our experiences translate into how meaningful these stories can be. Also, a few wonderful mods to women's studies.

[Magrey Devega · Rating 4 out of 5]

What a super fun read! (Pun intended)

[Alex · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a super interesting read with a lot of perspectives I've never heard from before. It took me a while to read, but it was very much worth the time and energy.

[Fantasy Literature · Rating 4 out of 5]

What is a Superhero?, a collection of 25 essays edited by Robin S. Rosenberg and Peter Coogan, doesn’t aim to present “the” answer to this oft-asked question. Instead, it throws open to the door to an array of answers (some of which are directly contradictory) from people across a wide spectrum of fields: philosophers, psychologists, comic book creators, cultural critics, etc. If, as is almost always the case in any collection, the individual essays vary in quality of insight, depth, and style, taken as a whole, What is a Superhero? makes for an always enjoyable and sometimes insightful or thought-provoking read.

The book is divided into four broad sections: a definition of the superhero centering particularly on the three-legged stool of “mission, powers, and identity,” an examination of the role of “context, culture, and ... Read More: http://www.fantasyliterature.com/revi...

[Valerie · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book certainly offers an interesting perspective, though its various essays, on what a superhero actually is and specifically how we define it. Overall, this book is trying to argue that there is no one right definition, and after reading though these diverse articles, I believe it. Peter Coogan notably claims that there are some traits that superheroes seem to have in common (a mission, superpowers, identity: code name and costume), but not all superheroes have all these traits. There are numerous other ways to define superheroes, however, and all of those definitions certainly affect how we view the overall genre and its importance in today's culture and society.

[Mills College Library]

741.59 W5553 2013