Martin, J. F. (2025, May). The Primacy and Potential of Superhero Narratives: Insights from   Developmental Psychology.  Paper presented at the Art of Storytelling: Archetypes in Focus Conference for the London Arts Based Research Center, Oxford University [I Presented Online].

• Relevant publication(s): Black Panther (2021), Comics and Citizenship (2023), Superheroes and Children’s Moral Understanding (2023), and Social Superheroes (2024)

Drawing on Social Cognitive Domain Theory and Christian philosophy, the chapter explores the centrality of Daredevil’s understanding of and response to the distinction between the letter and spirit of the law.

Explores the theme of choice in the Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. television series, particularly regarding the choices characters make against the backdrop of time travel and alternate realities. Draws on sociological and psychological explanations of key events in seasons four and five to elucidate the important role assumptions about the world and our place in it play in the moral decisions the characters make.

Given the dearth of research on superheroes and supervillains, questions concerning the extent and nature of (apparent) normative and contextual features that influence people’s understanding of these characters are open ones. Are evaluations of certain acts committed by superheroes and supervillains more prone to certain localized cultural norms and understandings than others? What about attributions of certain traits?

Constructivist analyses of Black Panther, Luke Cage, and Bishop help reveal some of the ways superheroes, despite their consistent motivations and frequent predictability (e.g., in terms of the motivations of many of their villains, use of violence, etc.), are both socially responsive to and adaptive within their differing social contexts. They are embedded in varied social interactions and relationships–an embeddedness that has implications for both pedagogy and scholarship.

By trying to understand the nature of the decisions made by such a complex and multifaceted character (the X-Man Bishop)—one who, despite occupying various positions within and outside of the law across dystopian and non-dystopian social arrangements, consistently fights to alter them in the face of injustice—we may come to a slightly better understanding of ourselves.

Insofar public corruption, crime, and institutional distrust inform many Harlemites’ understanding of Harlem and their place in it, Luke Cage’s superhero mission needs to be understood as coterminous with Harlemites’ experiences, behaviors, and beliefs concerning these matters.

Martin, J. F., & Strong, M. T. (2023, August). Dimensions and decisions: Time travel, alternate realities, and moral judgments. Paper presented at the one-hundred eighteenth annual meeting of the American Sociological Association [Sociology of Cultures Roundtables; I did not attend], Philadelphia, P.A.

• Relevant publication(s): Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. and Moral Judgments (In Progress)

Van der Ven suggests the role of subjective interpretations should be accounted for when thinking about how people may experience morally laden situations and the conflicting moral interpretations that may  result….Applied to TWD, it is possible for individuals who vary in their assumptions or beliefs about the post-zombie world to interpret the same morally laden act differently.

Martin, J. (2019, November). Superheroes, society, and…social studies?: Superhero narratives and their potential to facilitate socio-moral discourse.  Paper presented at the forty-fifth annual meeting of the Association for Moral Education, Seattle, WA.

• Relevant publication(s): Black Panther and Civics (2021), Comics and Citizenship (2023), and Luke Cage and Civil Discourse (In Progress)

Martin, J., & Kapoor, H. (2021, May). It’s worse if Superman does it: Perceptions of moral transgressions committed by superheroes and supervillains. Paper presented at the third biennial Heroism Science Conference, Online.

• Relevant publication(s): U.S. and Indian Adults’ Moral Evaluations of Superheroes and Supervillains (2024)

...by analyzing Batman narratives through the lens of…the existence of distinct domains of social concepts and the importance of coordination to navigate situations with competing concepts or considerations…and centering Gotham as the primary unit of analysis, opportunities for reflecting on the relationship between understandings of God and understandings of the social world may become apparent.

Unlike his American superhero counterparts (such as Iron Man, Captain America, and Spider-Man) who can operate solely as protectors and sometimes avengers of their e solely as protectors and sometimes avengers of their city, the country, or the world without also being responsible for addressing the various perspectives of its inhabitants, T'Challa does not have that luxury.

Children may be drawn to superheroes not just because of their powers, but also because of the behaviour they promote. Therefore, a way to learn more about a child or student may be to learn about which superheroes they identify with and why.