21st Century Superhero

Richard J. Gray II is an assistant professor of French at Ashland University in Ashland, Ohio. His fields of study include interdisciplinary approaches to French literary studies, language, film, cultural studies, and women’s studies. He lives in Ashland, Ohio. Betty Kaklamanidou is a lecturer in film history and theory in the film studies department at the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Greece, where she lives.

• Table of ContentsAcknowledgments      IntroductionRICHARD J. GRAY II and BETTY KAKLAMANIDOU      Part 1. GlobalizationExceptional Recognition: The U.S. Global Dilemma in The Incredible Hulk, Iron Man, and AvatarANTHONY PETER SPANAKOS      “You Took My Advice About Theatricality a Bit ... Literally”: Theatricality and Cybernetics of Good and Evil in Batman Begins, The Dark Knight, Spider-Man, and X- MenJOHANNES SCHLEGEL and FRANK HABERMANN      Power, Choice, and September 11 in The Dark KnightCHRISTINE MULLER      Part 2. GenderThe Mythos of Patriarchy in the X- Men FilmsBETTY KAKLAMANIDOU      Vivacious Vixens and Scintillating Super- Hotties: Deconstructing the SuperheroineRICHARD J. GRAY II      Evolving Portrayals of Masculinity in Superhero Films: HancockCHRISTINA ADAMOU      Part 3. GenreGenre and Super- Heroism: Batman in the New MillenniumVINCENT M. GAINE      Super- Intertextuality and 21st Century Individualized Social Advocacy in Spider- Man and Kick- AssJUSTIN S. SCHUMAKER      The Watchmen, Neo- Noir and PastichePHILLIP DAVIS      Smallville: Super Puberty and the Monstrous SuperheroSHAHRIAR FOULADI      Films and Television Programs      Works Cited      About the Contributors      Index

“Excellent”—Library Journal; “a stimulating companion to the genre which now rules the cinema”—Crime Time.