As every serious comic book reader can tell, superheroes aren't tackling just brutish villains; they're grappling with Big Questions.

In every adventure, Superman, Batman, the X-Men, and other extraordinarily empowered individuals are wrestling with problems of good and evil; ethical questions about violence in a good cause; the metaphysics of personal identity; and the perils of enforcing justice outside the law.

In this brain-tickling book, a host of hip thinkers and graphic arts savants discuss the philosophical implications of superhuman achievers.