New York is a city of superheroes. Of course, here follows my usual disclaimer that superheroes are metaphorical archetypes, and so by “superhero,” I don’t mean people with supernatural powers in tights and capes.  I mean regular people demonstrating heroic attributes:  bravery, generosity, compassion, selflessness or often some combination of …

Most of what I treasure about the superhero genre are the symbolic meanings and mythological wisdom embedded within it.  And while I love comic books and comic-related material, there’s definitely no mistaking them for anything resembling realism.  This goes even for something as dark and somber as Christopher Nolan’s Dark Knight film …

The primary message of Spider-Man the character, of course, has always been that “with great power comes great responsibility.” It’s a beautiful aphorism but the problem is that many people feel that it has little relevance for them because the last thing they feel like is powerful.

The power of the superhero genre in comic books and movies – and the reason I love them - is not in their literal portrayal of super powers that people could actually have but in the exaggerated symbolism that lends a cathartic potency to mundane truths.

Serious fans of fantasy, children's and classic literature really should read Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, if they haven't already, as it is part of that wellspring from which all modern fantasy comes from.

More than any other character in the Marvel universe, Captain America (aka Steve Rogers) didn’t become a hero. He always was one. This is the key when it comes to changing our own lives and that of society.

Though not usually consciously recognized as such by the majority of the media-consuming community, pop culture is myth in modern guise.The writings in this column, Hero Worship, will help you to see and recognize pop culture as modern mythology and to be able to use it - as all original myth intended - to awaken the hero within.

The Batman movies are powerful because they suggest a more realistic and productive way to deal with our negative emotions, especially fear and anger. We do not deny them, oppress them or run from them, but neither do we indulge in them and let them slowly eat us up from the inside.

Many gifted and talented people often find themselves struggling with intense feelings of alienation at one time or another. Kal-El, also known as Clark Kent or Superman, would empathize.

By working with these characters, their stories and their struggles, we cross a symbolic bridge into our own unconscious and subconscious and wrestle with the demons and villains that lie therein.