He has thrilled millions for 75 years, with a legacy that transcends national, cultural, and generational borders, but is there more to the Man of Steel than just your average mythic superhero in a cape? The 20 chapters in this book present a fascinating exploration of some of the deeper philosophical questions raised by Superman, the Last Son of Krypton and the newest hero in the Blackwell Philosophy and Pop Culture arsenal.
Moral judgment : the power that makes Superman human / Mark D. White -- Action comics! Superman and practical reason / Brian Feltham -- Can the man of tomorrow be the journalist of today? / Jason Southworth and Ruth Tallman -- Could Superman have joined the Third Reich? The importance and shortcomings of moral upbringing / Robert Sharp -- Clark Kent is Superman! The ethics of secrecy / Daniel P. Malloy -- Superman and justice / Christopher Robichaud -- Is Superman an American icon? / Andrew Terjesen -- Rediscovering Nietzsche's Übermensch in Superman as a heroic ideal / Arno Bogaerts -- Superman or last man : the ethics of superpower / David Gadon -- Superman : from anti-Christ to Christ-type / Adam Barkman -- Superman must be destroyed! Lex Luthor as existentialist anti-hero / Sarah K. Donovan and Nicholas Richardson -- Superman's revelation : the problem of violence in Kingdom come / David Hatfield -- A world without a Clark Kent? / Randall M. Jensen -- The weight of the world : how much is Superman morally responsible for? / Audrey L. Anton -- Superman and man : what a Kryptonian can teach us about humanity / Leonard Finkelman -- Can the man of steel fee our pain? Sympathy and Superman / Andrew Terjesen -- World's finest philosophers : Superman and Batman on human nature / Carsten Fogh Nielsen -- "It's a bird, it's a plane, it's ... Clark Kent?" : Superman and the problem of identity / Nicolas Michaud -- Superman family resemblance / Dennis Knepp -- Why Superman should not be able to read minds / Mahesh Ananth.