Mostly masked double existences with incredible muscles and powers, who know no fear and cannot be killed: these are superheroes. They have been around for a long time: Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, Black Widow, the Fantastic Four, Cat Woman, Spiderman, Green Lantern, Hulk, and the X-Men. Superman, for instance, first appeared in 1938. Since then, they have captivated their fans in print and in cinemas. But why does "this stuff" mean so much to some people? What is the fascination with superheroes? Dietmar Dath sees them as magnifying glasses of popular art that exaggerate and distort affects, emotions, and fantasies until they appear to be facts - and in fact, they are, according to Dath, "just those that happen in the mind." Dath, who as a child spent a large part of his pocket money on superhero comics, prays.