Uncovering the darker kith and kin of the superhuman protectors that proliferate popular culture, Supehero Gothic considers what they expose about humanity and its possible futures.

Through an examination of the beyond-normal and abhuman bodies of a variety of dark superheroes from Batman to Watchmen, Shang Chi to Blade, this study reveals how their undead and undying status creates not only an inevitable and inescapable connection to the Gothic but one which is dependent upon the very distinct identity positions that they each embody. Bookended by a creative piece charting the birth and search for an identity of an undead superhero, Superhero Gothic explores characters from comics, film, television and video games, including Ghost Rider; the Batman & Dracula trilogy; Marvel Zombies; the Soulsbourne game genre; Moon Knight; The Umbrella Academy and Neil Gaiman's Sandman series.

Tracing the Gothic process through Supers' origin stories, the establishment of identity positions and their varying redemptive arcs, this collection makes the case that the monsterized Others of the late 20th- and early 21st-century are shown to be the last, best, hope of a human, and humane, future.