Its popularity is part of the reinvention of the modern "realistic" superhero – a combination of celebrity twinned with powerful abilities and ultimately a flawed humanity.
Yet the ability of celebrity to elevate a person's profile combined with an almost religious devotion to hero worship is a dangerous combination when it comes to choosing the next president of the United States.
In a panel discussion about political participation at the RSA recently, commentator Richard Reeves spoke about how everyone overestimates the power of individual action and underestimates the power of collective action.
Nowhere is the idea of individual action more pronounced than in a superhero saving the world, especially a world more interconnected by issues than ever before. Barack Obama outlined these ideas in Berlin saying that "now is the time to join together, through constant cooperation, strong institutions, shared sacrifice, and a global commitment to progress, to meet the challenges of the 21st century".
Indeed, Obama is emerging as a 21st century political hero, if not quite yet across America certainly across the world.
Rolling Stone magazine described him as "the new hope", and his profile is such that the McCain team decided to attack it as shallow celebrity over genuine leadership credentials.
Attacks on him will mean that Obama, like Batman, will always have to wear a mask to separate the junior senator from Illinois from the ideals he represents which are far greater.
Paris Hilton, the blonde, doe-eyed celebrity thrust into the presidential campaign in an ad by Republican candidate John McCain, issued a tart rebuttal yesterday, albeit in a scantily clad, tongue-in-cheek kind of way.
Last week, McCain launched an ad comparing Democratic rival Barack Obama to Hilton and Britney Spears, suggesting Obama was no more than a celebrity candidate unready to lead the nation.
Hilton initially shied away from the debate over the ad and its effectiveness. But she responded yesterday with a spoof on the comedy website Funny or Die.
"Hey America, I'm Paris Hilton and I'm a celebrity, too. Only I'm not from the olden days and I'm not promising change like that other guy. I'm just hot," Hilton said, speaking as she reclined in a pool chair in a revealing bathing suit and a pair of pumps.
"But then that wrinkly, white-haired guy used me in his campaign ad, which I guess means I'm running for president. So thanks for the endorsement white-haired dude."
"I want America to know that I'm, like, totally ready to lead," she said.
She responds to the McCain campaign's decision to use her image in an ad mocking Obama's celebrity, and offers her own energy policy proposals.
Parts of it are really quite funny -- and, what's weirder, intentionally so. How much more odd can this election campaign get?
If the supermodel-turned-talk-show-hostess were ever living in the White House, her Secret Service code name would likely be taken from her most famous phrase "KMFA: Kiss My Fat Ass."
Nice.
But in the upcoming issue of Harper's Bazaar, Banks plays Michelle Obamain a photo spread in a sleeveless black sheath, pearls and flippety 'do, standing next to a Barack Obamadouble, with a little girl playing under the presidential desk.
Seems Banks is a big Obama fan. "When Barack won the nomination, I just started bawling," Banks, 34, says in the issue (due out Aug. 19).
"So what gives me tears is if Barack Obama wins, kids are going to say that a black man can be president too," Banks says.
“I think it will give so many people -– black, Latin, Asian, even white people that feel forgotten -– hope. I did not think I would see it in my lifetime, and I’m only 34.”
"With Barack Obama, his becoming president is them becoming president because Michelle was there from the beginning," Banks continues. "Without Michelle, he wouldn’t be there.”
The talk show host calls Michelle "one hot mama."
OK, can these reality TV celebrities just shut up now?
Hot on the heels of last week's contraceptive debate comes a fresh piece of news that is bound to stir the pot among condom fans and haters alike:
Condom manufacturer LifeStyles is courting Miley Cyrus, Hannah Montana star and one-time Vanity Fair pinup, to be its new spokesgirl.
Cyrus seems an unlikely candidate. At 15 she is younger than the age of consent in most states and once infamously (and unoriginally) proclaimed her intention to stay a virgin until marriage.
Fearing for the already doomed reputation of the Hannah Montana brand's flagship starlet, the Cyrus camp has already denied that any deal with LifeStyles is in the works, and it's pretty much certain that they wouldn't accept it anyway.
Despite LifeStyles' offering of $1 million and a lifetime supply of prophylactics to secure Cyrus as the face of safe sex, we're probably never going to see Billy Ray's baby on the side of a box of condoms.
This, to me, seems like a huge loss. Not only for Cyrus (lifetime supply!) but also for young girls who look to her as a trendsetter for both clothes and behavior.
Modes of sexual practice seem to follow a trickle-down pattern, with women passing on their wisdom and advice to those less in-the-know.
Miley Cyrus, role model to millions, is therefore in an ideal position to promote a healthier example for young women who are probably already contemplating or having some form of sex.
And it's unsurprising that the threat of pregnancy and STDs doesn't stop teens from having sex altogether when it doesn't even stop grown Jezebels who should know better.
So what are Miley's people afraid of? That she's too young to know about condoms?
I see denying contraceptive education to teens as akin to preventing alcoholics from entering rehab just because they're too young to legally drink: blind adherence to an ideology that's being flouted at large.
Do they fear for her future earning power? It's unlikely that Cyrus' endorsement of LifeStyles would derail her seemingly unflappable star.
Her career would continue, albeit probably not with Disney, which has reacted less than happily to displays of sexuality by its young stars in the past.
And what's more, Cyrus would be free to keep her promise of premarital chastity (though that, too, seems doubtful).
Cyrus' promotion of safe sex needn't be a promotion of licentiousness. It should simply prompt young women to be more scrupulous and pragmatic about the choices they make, encouraging longer, healthier lives among those who've already made up their minds to have sex.
You can't imagine how much we had to pay to get these exclusive photos of the twins!
As part of a joint deal, People magazine, the UK’s Hello Magazine and this blog debuted their covers simultaneously, featuring Brad Pitt & Angelina Jolie’s twins.
They are just 3 weeks old, but twins Knox Léon and Vivienne Marcheline are about to take the world by storm.
In an exclusive interview and photos, Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie offer PEOPLE an intimate look at their growing family.
"It is chaos, but we are managing it and having a wonderful time," Jolie tells PEOPLE of daily life at the Château Miraval in Provence, France, where the couple's four older children – Maddox, 6, Pax, 4, Zahara, 3, and Shiloh, 2 – have been enjoying a summer of outdoor play (hide-and-seek is a favorite) on the château's sprawling grounds.
Adds Pitt: "[It's] still a cuckoo's nest."
Fortunately, they already have some household helpers. "[Shiloh] and Z pick out [the twins'] clothes and help change and hold them," says Jolie. "It's sweet – they are little mommies."
