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Index
Popular Culture and Philosophy
Title Page
Men in Bright Tights and Wild Fights, Often at Great Heights, and, of Course, ...
Part One - The Image of the Superhero
Chapter 1 - The Real Truth about Superman: And the Rest of Us, Too
Preparation for a Surprise
The One Question I Could Not Answer
The Need to Belong
The Great Paradox
Chapter 2 - Heroes and Superheroes
Defining a Hero and a Superhero
How to Be a Hero
Fear and the Superhero Stories
The Example of the Superhero
Chapter 3 - The Crimson Viper versus the Maniacal Morphing Meme
What the Problem Seems to Be
What the Problem Is
The One Constant Is Change
The Scheme of the Meme
What We Want and What We Get
Chapter 4 - Superhero Revisionism in Watchmen and The Dark Knight Returns
Crime-Fighters and Vigilantes
Truth, Justice, and the American Way
A Whole New World
Look On My Works, Ye Mighty
Rethinking the Superhero Concept
Who Watches the Watchmen?
Part Two - The Existential World of the Superhero
Chapter 5 - God, the Devil, and Matt Murdock
The Man and His Faith
Faith and Fear
Daredevil’s Faith as a Source of Strength
The Catholic in Spandex
The Vigilante Man of Faith: Hero or Tragic Figure?
Chapter 6 - The Power and the Glory
From Olympus to Galactus
A Doomed Pursuit of Power and Glory
Galactus: The Power and the Glory
Power and Glory: Tests of Virtue
Chapter 7 - Myth, Morality, and the Women of the X-Men
The Demand for Diversity
The Perfect Storm
The Shape-Shifting Mystique
Phoenix Rising: Jean Grey
X2, Superhero Myth, Philosophy, and the World
Chapter 8 - Barbara Gordon and Moral Perfectionism
From Librarian to Batgirl to Oracle
Where I Don’t Want to Be
I Can Become Something More
There Is What Could Be
Of Like Minds
Chapter 9 - Batman and Friends: Aristotle and the Dark Knight’s Inner Circle
From Aristotle to the Bat-Cave
Batman and Robin
The Bat, Harvey Dent, and Two-Face
The Cop and the Vigilante
Batman and Catwoman
The Butler and the Man of the Manor
The Elusiveness of a Complete Friendship
Chapter 10 - The Fantastic Four as a Family: The Strongest Bond of All
The First Family
Forming Family Bonds
A Partnership for Living Well
The Family During Turmoil
The Ethos of Teamwork
Chapter 11 - Comic-Book Wisdom
Where Has All the Wisdom Gone?
The Wisdom of Captain Marvel
Skepticism and Cynicism about Wisdom
What Wisdom Requires
Our Problems with Wisdom
Part Three - Superheroes and Moral Duty
Chapter 12 - Why Are Superheroes Good? Comics and the Ring of Gyges
Refining the Question
A Genetic Fallacy and Something Too Simple
The Problem with Origins
Superheroes and the Ring of Gyges
Chapter 13 - Why Should Superheroes Be Good? Spider-Man, the X-Men, and ...
Plato and the Question of Why We Should Be Good
Kierkegaard and the Concept of the “Double Danger”
Spider-Man’s Struggles
The X-Men and the Double Danger
Why Are the X-Men Good?
Finding a Strong Basis for the Good
Chapter 14 - With Great Power Comes Great Responsibility: On the Moral Duties ...
With Great Power Comes—What?
Start Stitchin’ That Costume, Bub. Duty Calls
Aw, C’mon! Do I Have to Save the Day?
I’m a Lover, Not a Fighter!
I Fought the Law and the Law Won
But It’s Just a White Lie!
Chapter 15 - Why Be a Superhero? Why Be Moral?
The Problem for Spider-Man
Phony Answers
Reasons to Be Moral
In It for the Long Run
Superheroes, Duty, and the Biggest of Big Pictures
Swinging from One Idea to Another
Chapter 16 - Superman and Kingdom Come: The Surprise of Philosophical Theology
The Background of Kingdom Come
Hope, Obligation, and the Big Picture
Gloom, Doom, and Morality
Worldviews, Values, and Superheroes
A Theological Basis for Super-Heroics
Hope and the Human Challenge
Part Four - Identity and Superhero Metaphysics
Chapter 17 - Questions of Identity: Is the Hulk the Same Person as Bruce Banner?
The Hulk’s Bodily Identity
The Mental Realm of the Hulk
A Causal Account of the Hulk’s Identity
Is There No Way to Tell?
The Hulk’s Relational Identity
What Should We Conclude?
Chapter 18 - Identity Crisis: Time Travel and Metaphysics in the DC Multiverse
The DC Comics Multiverse
Crisis on Infinite Earths: The Story Unfolds
Time Travel and Wishful Thinking
More Things in Heaven and Earth?
A Multiversity?
Does Anything Change, or Not?
Identity in Crisis?
Endurantist Past-Changing?
Chapter 19 - What’s Behind the Mask? The Secret of Secret Identities
Dual Identities
Keeping Secrets
Superman’s Interesting Motivation
Switching Identities
Wow! It Could Be the Greatest Gathering of Minds in Comic-Book History! Hold on ...
Index
Copyright Page
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