Marvel, DC and US Security : The Superhero Genre and Foreign Policy in the Twenty-first Century

Schmid, Julian

Edinburgh University Press（2025/10発売）

• 製本 Hardcover:ハードカバー版／ページ数 248 p.
• 言語 ENG
• 商品コード 9781399526067

Full Description

This book considers how the long-standing superhero genre has been reinvigorated in the twenty-first century as an interlocutor of security and surveillance discourses following the events of '9/11'. While superheroes have a long cultural history, Schmid argues that their contemporary representations in Hollywood films and TV shows create and deepen specific discourses on security, terrorism and violence. He shows how the Marvel Cinematic Universe and the DC Extended Universe, in particular, are important artefacts that can help us to understand how these discourses are popularised and ultimately normalised.

The book offers a rich account of the emergence of superheroes against the backdrop of America's history since its founding in 1776 and their rise to popularity through comic books since the 1930s. Analysing the connections between superheroes, foreign policy and security from '9/11' to the present, it demonstrates the significance of superheroes for the construction of heroism and security in contemporary times.

Contents

Acknowledgements

Introduction: Superheroes, Security and Foreign Policy

Part I: Origin Stories

1. The Myth of America: From the Nation's Founding to Post-modernity

2. The Emergence of Superheroes: From World War II to '9/11'

Part II: Security after '9/11'

3. The Bush Presidency: '9/11', Crisis and the 'War on Terror'

4. Obama I: New Directions, Old Feuds

5. Obama II: A House Divided against Itself (again)

6. The Trump Presidency: The Road to Total Crisis

Part III: The Forever Crisis

7: Into the 2020s: January 6, 2021 and the Broken Nation

Conclusion: The Multiverse of International Relations

Bibliography