Another important page in the "analysis of the super hero genre" category, this one! People far cleverer than I am have argued that super heroes are the modern equvalent of myths. And people who think they are far cleverer than those people have argued they aren't. The arguments usually revolve around what purpose myths are expected to serve.

It's all pretty pointless, of course, since different myths serve different purposes in different cultures. Do super hero stories provide a means of explaining inexplicable events like, say, the creation of the universe? No, they don't. Do they, as George Lucas has said his professors maintain they should, teach youth how they are expected to behave as they become adults? Well, some do, yes.

Personally, I don't have any problem seeing Superman or Batman as the modern equivalent of a Hercules or Odysseus. Some people just think too much!