For the first time ever, the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History and edX offers the opportunity to go into the collection and see why superheroes are a dominant cultural force in today’s world. Encompassing the evolution of superheroes from folklore and myth, across all cultures and religions, at last, fans, students and seekers of knowledge have the opportunity to all their answers.

With an effort of just 1-2 hours per week for 5 weeks, this course shall explore superheroes from when they first arose in 1938 and experienced what we refer to as their “Golden Age” during World War II to finally how the comic books became “cool” and the basis for blockbuster movies, hit TV series, top-selling video games, and acclaimed animation, while also impacting fashion and style- and even the moral and ethical codes of children- around the globe.