It’s a bird! It’s a plane! It’s a complete guide to over 50 years of superheroes on screen! This expanded and updated edition of the 2004 award-winning encyclopedia covers important developments in the popular genre; adds new shows such as Heroes and Zoom; includes the latest films featuring icons like Superman, Spiderman and Batman; and covers even more types of superheroes. Each entry includes a detailed history, cast and credits, episode and film descriptions, critical commentaries, and data on arch-villains, gadgets, comic-book origins and super powers, while placing each production into its historical context. Appendices list common superhero conventions and clichés; incarnations; memorable ad lines; and the best, worst, and most influential productions from 1951 to 2008.

John Kenneth Muir is an American literary critic and award-winning author. As of 2022, he has written 30 reference books in the fields of film and television, with a particular focus on the horror and science fiction genres.

John Kenneth Muir

Format: hardcover (7 x 10)
Pages: 704
Bibliographic Info: 71 photos, appendices, notes, bibliography, index
Copyright Date: 2008
pISBN: 978-0-7864-3755-9
eISBN: 978-0-7864-9209-1
Imprint: McFarland

Acknowledgments      vi
Superheroes Re-Booted: A Preface to the Second Edition      1
“Thank God You’re Here!” An Introduction      3

PART I: A HISTORY OF FILM AND TELEVISION SUPERHEROES      9
PART II: THE ENCYCLOPEDIA      33
PART III: CONCLUSION      653

THE APPENDICES      655
Appendix A: Conventions and Clichés      655
Appendix B: Incarnations      666
Appendix C: Memorable Ad-Lines      669
Appendix D: The Best, Worst and Most Influential      671
Notes      675
Bibliography      681
Index      685

• New York Public Library Outstanding Reference Book
• A Library Journal Starred Review
• “valuable…useful…recommended”—Choice
• “coverage is extensive…a good addition to the pop-culture collection”—Booklist
• “amazing”—The New York Public Library
• “over-the-top, first-stop-in-pop-culture reference maven McFarland has unearthed another killer-kryptonite jewel…bounteous reference cornucopia…Muir knows the landscape like Aquaman knows Atlantis. If you can swing it, get two copies…you’ll need them both. Rock on, Muir and McFarland!”—Library Journal
• “a delight…recommended”—ARBA
• “fascinating and fun…will appeal to both enthusiasts of the superhero genre as well as serious students of popular culture…full of interesting facts and offbeat trivia”—Against the Grain
• “riveting…sheer quantity of information, much of it difficult or impossible to find elsewhere…a browser’s delight”—School Library Journal
• “unique…commendable…straightforward…well-researched…a good ready reference tool…valuable”—Reference Reviews
• “a work of impressive dimensions and enthusiastically recommended”—Midwest Book Review
• “entertaining data…must-have”—Animation Magazine
• “excellent commentary on the newer breed of super heroes…detail is mind-boggling. Muir is a good researcher and writer”—Classic Images
• “detailed”—Communication Booknotes Quarterly
• “cool…everything you need to know…all you could possibly wish to have at your fingertips”—Music Revue Magazine
• “for years I have been wanting a book on superhero movies, and this 600+ page brick goes one better by including TV shows, too…covers them all. Even the obscure…the book’s introduction is a terrific history of the genre, with Muir demonstrating he knows his stuff”—Hitch
• “Muir is well-grounded in the lore…well-chosen b/w photos throughout”—The Zone
• “filled with great anecdotal and historical information, the entries are illustrated with a smattering of photographs and add flavor and zest to the text…unique…a good resource…buy this book”—Penguin Comics
• “ultimate superheroes reference…highly detailed”—Burlington County Times
• “astonishing detail, every fact, story synopsis and concept behind each project…the ultimate lowdown on the film and video appearances”—Collectors’ Corner.