Once Upon a Time: The Super Heroes

A celebratory historical documentary tracing American superheroes from Depression-era origins through their evolution into a defining cultural industry, grounded in interviews and archival material.

The historical saga of American superheroes. Born in the period between the Great Depression and the World War II to combat the hobgoblins of the modern world, these mutant human beings with superhuman powers colonized the funny papers, radio dramas, television and films, to become a truly national industry in the United States: they gave expression to the fears and obsessions of the twentieth century and bolstered American ideals.