Spider-Man Psychology: Untangling Webs (Popular Culture Psychology)
Why didn't Peter Parker stop the burglar who killed Uncle Ben?
- Are Spider-Man's foes inherently evil, or are they victims of circumstances beyond their control?
- What do the many web-slinging superheroes across the Spider-Verse tell us about the choices we make in the world(s) we inhabit?
- And who really wants to date a superhero, anyway? Especially an underdog like Spider-Man . . .
Spider-Man has been ranked among the best-selling superhero characters since the 1960s, often as the best-selling superhero of all time. Much of his popularity lies in his humanity and his status as the poster boy for neurotic superheroes. The blockbuster motion pictures have demonstrated that Spider-Man projects can succeed in a big way, but it also left audiences fired up with ideas about this superhero and desire for more Spidey.
In Spider-Man Psychology: Untangling Webs, Travis Langley (author of the acclaimed Batman and Psychology) is back with co-editor Alex Langley and their team of expert contributors to plumb the psychological depths of our favorite friendly neighborhood Spider-Man. Drawing examples from comic book stories, motion pictures (including the animated blockbuster Into the Spider-Verse), and a few well-known video games or TV cartoons, Spider-Man Psychology uses these examples to help readers better understand real human nature.
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Book details
- Series edited by
- Travis Langley, Alex Langley
- Imprint
- Turner Publishing Company
- Published
- Formats
- Hardcover, Paperback
- Series
- Popular Culture Psychology
- Subjects
- Psychology › Applied Psychology
Psychology › Developmental › Adolescent - Topics
- superhero psychology · comic book characters · adolescence · identity · trauma and grief · power and responsibility · morality
- ISBN-13
- 9781684429349 (Hardcover)9781684429332 (Paperback)
About the author
TRAVIS LANGLEY, PhD, is a professor of psychology at Henderson State University and the author and editor of fourteen books on the psychology of heroism and the power of story.
Langley has served as a child abuse investigator and courtroom expert, and has been covered by The New York Times, the LA Times, the Saturday Evening Post, CNN, and MTV, among hundreds of other outlets. He has also appeared in documentaries including AMC Visionaries: Robert Kirkman’s Secret History of Comics, Superheroes Decoded, Necessary Evil: Super-Villains of DC Comics, Legends of the Knight, and Batman & Bill.
When he’s not writing, Langley speaks at events throughout the world and writes the Psychology Today blog "Beyond Heroes and Villains." His work continues to explore the best and worst of human nature.