Despite their presence in the media for almost 100 years, superheroes have eked out a niche existence in academic discourse. Even if this seems to be breaking up, the perspective is still dominated by an attitude critical of mass culture, whose view necessarily remains closed to the hopeful, orienting, and meaningful aspects of their narratives. However, this opposite side, which is predominantly articulated in the fan discourse, proves to be ideally suited to a pedagogical approach, which is opened up by the present work.