Avengers and Philosophy

Series Editor:William Irwin (Wilkes-Barre, PA) is a professor of philosophy at King's College. He originated the philosophy and popular culture genre of books as coeditor of the bestselling Simpsons and Philosophy.Volume Editor:Mark D. White (Staten Island, NY) is a professor in the Department of Political Science, Economics, and Philosophy at the College of Staten Island/CUNY, co-editor of Batman and Philosophy and Green Lantern and Philosophy, and editor of Watchmen and Philosophy and Iron Man and Philosophy.

• Introduction: Earth’s Mightiest Philosophers 1Part One What Would An Avenger Do?1 Superhuman Ethics Class with the Avengers Prime 5Mark D. White2 Shining the Light on the Dark Avengers 18Sarah Donovan and Nick Richardson3 The Avengers: Earth’s Mightiest Family 28Jason Southworth and Ruth TallmanPart Two Who Is An Avenger?4 Superhero Identity: Case Studies in the Avengers 43Stephen M. Nelson5 I Am Made of Ink: She-Hulk and Metacomics 57Roy T. Cook6 The Self-Corruption of Norman Osborn: A Cautionary Tale 71Robert PowellPart Three Should the Avengers Do More Than Avenge?7 Forgivers Assemble! 83Daniel P. Malloy8 Gods, Beasts, and Political Animals: Why the Avengers Assemble 98Tony Spanakos9 Cap’s Kooky Quartet: Is Rehabilitation Possible? 113Andrew TerjesenPart Four Do the Avengers Ever Go Too Far?10 Fighting the Good Fight: Military Ethics and the Kree-Skrull War 131Christopher Robichaud11 Secrets and Lies: Compromising the Avengers’ Values for the Good of the World 142Louis P. Melançon12 The Avengers and S.H.I.E.L.D.: The Problem with Proactive Superheroics 154Arno BogaertsPart Five What Kind of World Do The Avengers Live In?13 Can Kang Kill His Past Self? The Paradox of Time Travel 171Andrew Zimmerman Jones14 “No Other Gods Before Me”: God, Ontology, and Ethics in the Avengers’ Universe 183Adam Barkman15 Love Avengers Style: Can an Android Love a Human? 194Charles Klayman16 The Way of the Arrow: Hawkeye Meets the Taoist Masters 204Mark D. WhiteAooendix: Why Are There Four Volumes of Avengers? 217Contributors: Avengers Academy 221