Batman is one of the most compelling and enduring characters to come from the Golden Age of Comics, and interest in his story has only increased through countless incarnations since his first appearance in Detective Comics #27 in 1939. Why does this superhero without superpowers fascinate us? What does that fascination say about us? Batman and Psychology explores these and other intriguing questions about the masked vigilante.

Born to a rarified breed of Russian aristocracy, Kraven the Hunter had stalked and killed every animal known to man and considered himself the world's best big-game hunter. It was this confidence that brought him to New York years ago, in an obsessive quest to hunt what he considered the city's greatest prey: Spider-Man. But his target eluded him time and again, mocking him at every turn.

Peter Parker is caught in a complicated web. Working in a cutting-edge laboratory, he's a young scientist who's trying to make a difference. Yet he's constantly burdened by the responsibilities of his second career as the crime-fighting Spider-Man. Wilson Fisk - the so-called Kingpin of Crime - has returned to New York, establishing himself publicly as an altruistic entrepreneur and philanthropist. Spider-Man knows better, but he can't uncover Fisk's scheme, which, if executed, will make the crime lord too big to fail.

Compiled by a veteran writer of the comic series, this collection of essays explores Batman’s motivations and actions, as well as those of his foes. Batman is a creature of the night, more about vengeance than justice, more plagued by doubts than full of self-assurance, and more darkness than light. He has no superpowers, just skill, drive, and a really well-made suit.

Iron Man and Captain America are two core members of the Avengers, the world's greatest superhero team. But when a tragic battle blows a hole in the city of Stamford, killing hundreds of people, the US government demands that all superheroes unmask and register their powers. To Tony Stark - Iron Man - it's a regrettable but necessary step. To Captain America, it's an unbearable assault on civil liberties.

No evildoers have tried to flatten Peter Parker in weeks. His marriage to Mary Jane is stronger than ever, and he's enjoying his job as a high-school science teacher. Life is good. Naturally, that doesn't last. When Peter learns that his old enemy, the Rhino, is on a rampage in Times Square, he suits up as Spider-Man to stop the destructive villain in his tracks. But he's unexpectedly foiled in his attempts by the Black Cat, a former ally and old flame. The Cat informs Peter that the Rhino is just a distraction - the real threat comes from a group of Ancients.

How has the Big Blue Boy Scout stayed so popular for so long? How has he changed with the times, and what essential aspects of him have remained constant? This fascinating biography examines Superman as a cultural phenomenon through 75 years of action-packed adventures, from his early years as a social activist in circus tights to his growth into the internationally renowned demigod he is today.

Fans have long wondered what happened to Ahsoka after she left the Jedi Order near the end of the Clone Wars and before she reappeared as the mysterious Rebel operative Fulcrum in Rebels. Finally her story will begin to be told. Following her experiences with the Jedi and the devastation of Order 66, Ahsoka is unsure she can be part of a larger whole ever again. But her desire to fight the evils of the Empire and protect those who need it will lead her right to Bail Organa - and the Rebel Alliance.

Prepare to be captivated by acclaimed crime writer Candice Fox’s gripping audio thriller, Hunting Game. Featuring an all-star cast including Krysten Ritter, Anthony Mackie, and Tony Goldwyn, you’re about to enter a high-stakes game of cat and mouse. NYPD Detective Esme 'Es' Compran (Krysten Ritter) finds herself torn between her duty and her own desperate circumstances when a child is kidnapped. The victim's father, Jack Dengate (Tony Goldwyn), is a controversial big pharma CEO whose company's price hikes on life-saving drugs have dire consequences for Es' ailing daughter.

What drives the Man Without Fear? Matt Murdock was raised by a single father, an over-the-hill prizefighter with one last chance to make good - a chance that cost him his life. Taunted and tormented by other children, Matt's life was irrevocably altered after he was blinded by radioactive materials while saving the life of an old man. The payoff? An unbreakable will and a keen intelligence, helping focus the super-senses with which he was blessed during the accident. His story is one of love, pain, disappointment, and strength.

When Eddie Brock becomes biologically linked to a bizarre alien symbiote, the two share a common goal. At first, they seek to squash their arch-foe Spider-Man. But after repeated attempts, Venom reaches an uneasy truce with the web-spinner. Brock leaves New York and heads west to San Francisco, the city of his birth, eager to put trouble behind him, but trouble has different ideas. Brock commits himself to becoming a defender of the innocent, but he's a six-foot-three-inch, 260 lb. figure with bulging muscles and fangs like a shark. Venom quickly draws attention.

The Avengers journey into deep space, where they unite the intergalactic races against the Builders - deadly aliens who seek to destroy the known galaxy. While the heroes are gone, Thanos sets his sights on Earth, sending the Black Order to launch the assault. It falls to the other heroes of Earth - the Inhumans, the Black Panther, Namor the Sub-Mariner, Doctor Strange, the X-Men, and more - to defend Attilan, Wakanda, Atlantis, and the rest of the planet. To defeat Thanos, the defending forces will need to deploy a new weapon - one that may be as deadly as the invading force.

In this prequel episode from Philip Pullman's His Dark Materials universe, Lee Scoresby—Texan aeronaut and future friend to Lyra Belacqua—is just 24 years old, and he's recently won his hot-air balloon in a poker game. He finds himself floating North to the windswept Arctic island of Novy Odense, where he and his hare daemon Hester are quickly tangled in a deadly plot involving an oil magnate, a corrupt mayoral candidate, and Lee's longtime nemesis from the Dakota Country, a hired killer with at least twenty murders to his name.

Ketterdam: a bustling hub of international trade where anything can be had for the right price - and no one knows that better than criminal prodigy Kaz Brekker. Kaz is offered a chance at a deadly heist that could make him rich beyond his wildest dreams. But he can't pull it off alone.

Zachary Quinto - best known for his role as the Nimoy-approved Spock in the recent Star Trek reboot and the menacing, power-stealing serial killer, Sylar, in Heroes - brings his well-earned sci-fi credentials and simmering intensity to this audio-exclusive novella from master storyteller John Scalzi. One day, not long from now, it becomes almost impossible to murder anyone - 999 times out of a thousand, anyone who is intentionally killed comes back. How? We don't know.

They don't know who he really is. They never know where he'll show up. But the citizens of Gotham City know they have a protector. With an arsenal of amazing weaponry and a repertoire of incredible acrobatics, he is the legend they call Batman. In a toxic brew of big-city corruption, a bone-white, green-haired, eternally grinning clown is born. His name is the Joker. Charting the origins of the Dark Knight and early battles between the Caped Crusader and the Clown Prince of Crime, Batman depicts the timeless, violent war between criminal and crimefighter, Batman vs. the Joker.

The Joker is dead, but not forgotten. Gotham City is saved, but it is still not safe. By night, its new symbol of hope, Batman, continues his fight to protect the innocent and the powerless. By day, his alter ego, Bruce Wayne, wonders whether there may someday be a future beyond skulking the city’s rooftops or the cavernous halls of his stately manor alongside the ever-dutiful Alfred Pennyworth. But even after death, the Clown Prince of Crime’s imprint can be seen in more than just the pavement.

It’s summer, and Gotham City has cause for celebration. The last vestiges of The Joker’s toxic legacy have finally faded, just in time for the mayor to partner with retail magnate Max Shreck to stage a Fourth of July celebration for the ages. But not everyone is rejoicing. Batman’s eternal vigilance continues as threats from rival gangs and masked criminals escalate by the day. Meanwhile, on the streets, protests grow in opposition to the city’s lavish excesses.

Batman is one of the most compelling and enduring characters to come from the Golden Age of Comics, and interest in his story has only increased through countless incarnations since his first appearance in Detective Comics #27 in 1939. Why does this superhero without superpowers fascinate us? What does that fascination say about us? Batman and Psychology explores these and other intriguing questions about the masked vigilante.

Along with Batman, Spider-Man, and Superman, the Joker stands out as one of the most recognizable comics characters in popular culture. While there has been a great deal of scholarly attention on superheroes, very little has been done to understand supervillains. This is the first academic work to provide a comprehensive study of this villain, illustrating why the Joker appears so relevant to audiences today.

Lying northeast of Massachusetts, just south of Hell, Arkham County is somewhere you find yourself, not somewhere you ever mean to go. Once you do find it though, you'd better get used to living there, as you may be there for however long you have left to live.

Compiled by a veteran writer of the comic series, this collection of essays explores Batman’s motivations and actions, as well as those of his foes. Batman is a creature of the night, more about vengeance than justice, more plagued by doubts than full of self-assurance, and more darkness than light. He has no superpowers, just skill, drive, and a really well-made suit.

The Ultimates - the first government-sponsored cadre of super heroes - was assembled to face threats to humanity too insanely powerful for other operatives to handle. But even the Ultimates are unprepared for a quintet of mysterious visitors who appear in the midst of the team's top-security base of operations, claiming to be emissaries from the future. These "Tomorrow Men" say Earth's civilization are at a crossroads - on the verge of enslavement by a secret, immensely efficient organization known in the future as Tiber.

How has the Big Blue Boy Scout stayed so popular for so long? How has he changed with the times, and what essential aspects of him have remained constant? This fascinating biography examines Superman as a cultural phenomenon through 75 years of action-packed adventures, from his early years as a social activist in circus tights to his growth into the internationally renowned demigod he is today.

What drives the Man Without Fear? Matt Murdock was raised by a single father, an over-the-hill prizefighter with one last chance to make good - a chance that cost him his life. Taunted and tormented by other children, Matt's life was irrevocably altered after he was blinded by radioactive materials while saving the life of an old man. The payoff? An unbreakable will and a keen intelligence, helping focus the super-senses with which he was blessed during the accident. His story is one of love, pain, disappointment, and strength.

Magneto, the X-Men's oldest, deadliest foe, has taken over a top-secret government installation that houses the Sentinels, powerful mutant-hunting robots. The X-Men must fight to keep this deadly technology out of Magneto's hands. But the Acolytes, Magneto's fanatical mutant followers, stand between the X-Men and victory - a victory that’s quickly slipping away - for a more ruthless enemy, the US government, holds the X-Men responsible for the installation's takeover!

A vicious serial killer named Cletus Kasady has had his body chemistry altered by an alien creature. Now, Kasady can transform into Carnage, who, along with his lethal living costume, lives for chaos and random acts of senseless, brutal murder! Carnage has been returned to New York in chains, the subject of a daring attempt to reverse the effects of his metamorphosis. When the interference of a deranged scientist causes the experiment to go horribly wrong, Carnage is set loose upon the city once again!

Beginning with a novella by Spider-Man's co-creator Stan Lee and veteran Marvel writer Peter David retelling the wall-crawler's origin, this exciting anthology has original stories featuring one of the world's most enduring heroes.

Born to a rarified breed of Russian aristocracy, Kraven the Hunter had stalked and killed every animal known to man and considered himself the world's best big-game hunter. It was this confidence that brought him to New York years ago, in an obsessive quest to hunt what he considered the city's greatest prey: Spider-Man. But his target eluded him time and again, mocking him at every turn.

Thanks to a scholarship to the prestigious Gotham Academy, Barbara Gordon, aka Batgirl, gets to experience how some of the city’s wealthiest teens live with fast cars, expensive clothes, and more. But when these advantages and luxuries are not enough, Barbara discovers that the some of them have turned to dabbling in black magic to get their kicks . . . setting off a series of strange events and deaths. Batgirl quickly steps in to investigate, but finding the killer proves to be more difficult than usual.