Superheroes and morality

When I was growing up in New York City in the 1960s and 1970s, I read the comics of lots of different superheroes - whatever I could borrow. But I reserved my allowance money for Superman and Batman comics. As I got older I stopped reading comics, although my admiration for superheroes continued into adulthood - I avidly and repeatedly watched their films. Time passed, and I had children; as they began to read I introduced them to comics - Batman and Superman, naturally. In turn, they introduced me to the X-Men, which they heard about their friends. We would read the comics together. Between reading comic books during my childhood and reading them with my children, something happened that altered how I viewed them, something more than becoming an adult - I became a clinical psychologist. In reading the superhero stories with my children, i read the stories not only through adult lenses, but also through psychological lenses. And what I saw was a surprise. As an adul...