Superheroes on world screens

"Superheroes such as Superman and Spider-Man have spread all over the world. As this edited volume shows, many national cultures have created or reimagined the idea of the superhero, while the realm of superheroes now contains many icons whose histories borrow from local folklore and legends. Consequently, the superhero needs reconsideration, to be regarded as part of both local and global culture as well as examined for the rich meanings that such broad origins and re-workings create. This collection stands out as the first concentrated attempt to think through the meanings and significance of the superhero, not only as a product of culture in the United States, but as a series of local, transnational, and global exchanges in popular media. Through analysis of mainly film, television, and computer screens, contributors offer three challenges to the idea of the "American" superhero: transnational reimagining of superhero culture, emerging local superheroes, and the use of local superheroes to undermine dominant political ideologies. The essays explore the shifting transnational meanings of Doctor Who, Thor, and the Phantom, as these characters are reimagined in world culture. Other chapters chart the rise of local superheroes from India, the Middle East, Thailand, and South Korea. These explorations demonstrate how far superheroes have traveledto inspire audiences worldwide"--

The transplanted superhero: the Phantom franchise and Australian popular culture / Kevin Patrick -- Thor, god of borders: transnationalism, and celestial connections in the superhero film / Vincent M. Gaine -- American superheroes in Japanese hands: superhero genre hybridity as superhero systems collide in Supaidāman / Rayna Denison -- Heroes of Hall H: global media franchises, Doctor Who, and the San Diego Comic-Con as space for the transnational superhero / Lincoln Geraghty -- Blade of the Phantom Master: heroism, gender, national identity, and cultural translation in Japanese-Korean animation / Daniel Martin -- "Tu mera Superman": globalization, cultural exchange, and the Indian superhero / Iain Robert Smith -- Alterity in the genesis of the contemporary British TV superhero / Jochen Ecke and Patrick Gill -- Fighting for truth, justice, and the Islamic way: The 99, global superheroes for the post-9/11 world / Rachel Mizsei-Ward -- The contemporary incarnation of Thai superhero, Insee Daeng: a divided figure in a divided nation / Mary J.Ainslie.