The superhero is a much-maligned figure in contemporary culture.
In what follows, I draw upon Plato’s idea of the auxiliary class and
Joseph Campbell’s monomyth to read the superhero as a modern
version of the auxiliary class. Focusing on the superhero archetype
that is found in the MCU or Marvel Cinematic Universe movies, I
argue that the superhero-auxiliary is underpinned by an ethos that
privileges values like public service, teamwork, social cohesion,
and self-sacrifice. The significance of this reading lies in showing
how the MCU re-mythologizes Plato’s auxiliary class for
contemporary culture. As a corollary to that, I hope that the
reading will ameliorate some of the negative reception that has
plagued the superhero archetype in literary and media discourses.