Superheroes and Philosophy: Truth, Justice, and the Socratic Way

300 Pages·2005·1.6 MB·english

by  Tom Morris

TV AND FILM ⁄ PHILOSOPHY $17.95 POPULAR CULTURE AND PHILOSOPHY SERIES EDITOR: WILLIAM IRWIN
Popular Culture and Philosophy
tthhiiss llooookkss lliikkee aa jjoobb ffoorr.. .. .. AArriissttoottllee!!
“Great Caesar’s Ghost!! A team of Brainiacs!
Superheroes and Philosophy is Kryptonite for those
supervillains who diss the heroes as lightweights!
Riddle me this, Batman: How are Gotham City and “Finally--someone’s treating
Metropolis like ancient Athens and modern Paris? comic books with the gravity
Read this sensational book and find out!” they deserve. If, as Socrates
--J.L.A. Garcia, author of The Heart of Racism said, the unexamined life is not
worth living, then make your life
mean something by reading
“The life of the mind meets the life of the
Superheroes and Philosophy.”
eye! The muscles, the luscious flesh, the
dark yet vibrant colors, the sadness mixed --Kevin Smith, filmmaker
Clerks and Chasing Amy
with exaltation, the traumatized heroes--
it’s all here, with a philosophical spark.”
--David O’Connor, University of Notre Dame
“A thorough examination of the
messages and ideas that lie behind
the colorful costumes and stylized
“You’ll believe that a
insignias of contemporary comic-
philosopher can fly!”
book superheroes.”
--Tim Chappell, author of
The Inescapable Self --Tom Brevoort, Marvel Editor
and comic-book know-it-all
“With comic-book heroes now more popular than
ever, Superheroes and Philosophy could not be “Unmasked! Superheroes in
the ivory tower!
more timely. Read this book and find out what
Astonishing revelations!”
philosophical puzzles lurk beneath the surface of
--Scott MacDonald,
the stories that continue to shape the imagination
Cornell University
of large numbers of Americans.”
--Thomas S. Hibbs, author of Virtue’s Splendor
M
o
r
Tom Morrisis the former Notre Dame philosophy professor whose classes became ris
a campus legend, and whose nationwide speaking engagements have electrified the Truth,
a
n
boardrooms of corporate America. His best-selling popular philosophy books include d
M
If Aristotle Ran General Motors andPhilosophy for Dummies. Filmmaker and comics o Justice,
r
aficionado Matt Morrisis a survivor of Harvard and UNC–Chapel Hill. r
is and the
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Superheroes 1/4/10 6:30 PM Page i
Superheroes and Philosophy
Superheroes 1/4/10 6:30 PM Page ii
Popular Culture and Philosophy™
Series Editor: William Irwin
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The Lord of the Rings and VOLUME 13
Philosophy: One Book to Rule Superheroes and Philosophy:
Them All (2003) Truth, Justice, and the Socratic
Edited by Gregory Bassham and Way (2005)
Eric Bronson Edited by Tom Morris and Matt
Morris
VOLUME 6
Baseball and Philosophy:
Thinking Outside the Batter’s Box
IN PREPARATION:
(2004)
Edited by Eric Bronson The Atkins Diet and Philosophy
(2005)
VOLUME 7 Edited by Lisa Heldke, Kerri
The Sopranos and Philosophy:
Mommer, and Cynthia Pineo
I Kill Therefore I Am (2004)
Edited by Richard Greene and The Chronicles of Narnia and
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You Mean My Whole Fallacy Is Hip Hop and Philosophy: Rhyme
Wrong? (2004) 2 Reason (2005)
Edited by Mark T. Conard and Edited by Derrick Darby and
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Superheroes 1/4/10 6:30 PM Page iii
Superheroes
and Philosophy
Truth, Justice, and the
Socratic Way
Edited by
TOM MORRIS
and
MATT MORRIS
OPEN COURT
Chicago and LaSalle, Illinois
Superheroes 1/4/10 6:30 PM Page iv
Volume 13 in the series, Popular Culture and Philosophy™
Front cover art: conceived and drawn by Craig Rousseau, colored by
J.D. Smith.
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Copyright ©2005 by Carus Publishing Company
First printing 2005
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced,
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Open Court Publishing Company, a division of Carus Publishing
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Printed and bound in the United States of America.
r design: Joan Sommers Design
Library of Congr ess Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Superheroes and philosophy / edited by Tom Morris and Matt Morris.
p. cm.—(Popular culture and philosophy ; v. 13)
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN-13: 978-0-8126-9573-1 (alk. paper)
ISBN-10: 0-8126-9573-9 (alk. paper)
1. Comic books, strips, etc.—Moral and ethical aspects.
2. Heroes in literature. I. Morris, Thomas V. II. Morris, Matt,
1983- III. Series.
PN6712.S86 2005
741.5'09—dc22
2005005935
Superheroes 1/4/10 6:30 PM Page v
Contents
Men in Bright Tights and Wild Fights, Often at Great Heights,
and, of Course, Some Amazing Women, Too! ix
Part One
The Image of the Superhero
1
1. The Real Truth about Superman: And the Rest
of Us, Too
MARK WAID 3
2. Heroes and Superheroes
JEPH LOEB and TOM MORRIS 11
3. The Crimson Viper versus the Maniacal Morphing Meme
DENNIS O’NEIL 21
4. Superhero Revisionism in Watchmen and The Dark
Knight Returns
AEON J. SKOBLE 29
Part Two
The Existential World of the Superhero
43
5. God, the Devil, and Matt Murdock
TOM MORRIS 45
6. The Power and the Glory
CHARLES TALIAFERRO and CRAIG LINDAHL-URBEN 62
7. Myth, Morality, and the Women of the X-Men
REBECCA HOUSEL 75
8. Barbara Gordon and Moral Perfectionism
JAMES B. SOUTH 89
v
Superheroes 1/4/10 6:30 PM Page vi
vi Contents
9. Batman and Friends: Aristotle and The Dark Knight’s
Inner Circle
MATT MORRIS 102
10. The Fantastic Four as a Family: The Strongest Bond of All
CHRIS RYALL and SCOTT TIPTON 118
11. Comic-Book Wisdom
MICHAEL THAU 130
Part Three
Superheroes and Moral Duty
145
12. Why Are Superheroes Good? Comics and the Ring
of Gyges
JEFF BRENZEL 147
13. Why Should Superheroes Be Good? Spider-Man,
the X-Men, and Kierkegaard’s Double Danger
C. STEPHEN EVANS 161
14. With Great Power Comes Great Responsibility:
On the Moral Duties of the Super-Powerful and
Super-Heroic
CHRISTOPHER ROBICHAUD 177
15. Why Be a Superhero? Why Be Moral?
C. STEPHEN LAYMAN 194
16. Superman and Kingdom Come: The Surprise of
Philosophical Theology
FELIX TALLON and JERRY WALLS 207
Part Four
Identity and Superhero Metaphysics
221
17. Questions of Identity: Is the Hulk the Same Person as
Bruce Banner?
KEVIN KINGHORN 223
18. Identity Crisis: Time Travel and Metaphysics in the DC
Multiverse
RICHARD HANLEY 237
Superheroes 1/4/10 6:30 PM Page vii
Contents vii
19. What’s Behind the Mask? The Secret of Secret Identities
TOM MORRIS 250
Wow! It Could Be the Greatest Gathering of Minds in
Comic-Book History! Hold on to Your Hats and Get Ready
for the Bios of Your Life!
267
Index 275
Superheroes 1/4/10 6:30 PM Page viii
Superheroes 1/4/10 6:30 PM Page ix
Men in Bright Tights and Wild
Fights, Often at Great Heights,
and, of Course, Some Amazing
Women, Too!
Look! Up on the screen! Or, over there, in the bookstore! It’s a
superhero! It’s—lots and lots of superheroes! Holy Pop Culture!
What’s going on?
The whole country is learning the secret that’s been kept
alive for years by a core group of comic-book fans—the classic
superhero stories, as they continue to be produced by some of
the best writers and artists alive, can be wildly fun, suspenseful,
exciting, and even profoundly thought-provoking. Like Plato
and Aristotle, Superman and Batman are here to stay. So are
Spider-Man, Daredevil, the Fantastic Four, and the Uncanny X-
Men, among many other mythic heroes in tights.
One of the most striking pop culture developments of the
present day is the strong resurgence of the costumed super-
hero as an entertainment and cultural icon. A recent, nationally
syndicated newspaper article on this turn of events began with
the sweeping sentence, “It’s become a comic-book world.” The
global reference is appropriate. Not many fictional characters
in history have attained anything like the international recog-
nition of Superman and Batman. These two titans of the
comics have inspired radio, television, film, and musical depic-
tions since their first appearances in the late 1930s. You can
see someone wearing a Superman or Batman T-shirt in almost
any part of the world, and under some of the most extraordi-
nary circumstances. Now, many of their junior colleagues are
being featured on the big screen, and some of them are
becoming huge film and merchandising franchises themselves.
The first Spider-Man movie surprised the film community with
the single largest U.S. opening weekend gross revenues in his-
tory. And Spider-Man 2 topped even that in worldwide box
office receipts. Over the next few years, this trend is predicted
ix