The figure of the superhero has always been regarded as an iconic representative of American society. Since the birth of the first superhero, it has been shaped by the most important historical, political, and social events, which were echoed in different comic issues. In principle, in the superhero genre, there has never been a place for aging superheroes, for they stand as a symbol of power and protection for the nation. Indeed, their mythical portrayal of young and strong broad-chested men with superpowers cannot be shattered showing them fragile or disabled. The aim of this article is to delve into the complex paradigm of the passage of time in comics and to analyze one of the most famous superheroes of all times, Superman, in terms of his archetypical representation across time. From the perspective of cultural and literary gerontology, the different issues of Action Comics will be examined, as well as an alternative graphic novel Kingdom Come (2008) by Mark Waid and Alex Ross, where Superman appears as an aged man. Although it breaks the standards of the genre, in the end it does not succeed to challenge the many stereotypes embedded in society in regard to aging, associated with physical, cognitive, and emotional decline. Furthermore, this article will show how a symbolic use of the monomythical representation of a superhero may penetrate into other cultural expressions to instill a more positive and realistic portrayal of aging.

中文翻译：

---

大众文化和当代社会中的超级英雄的代表和代理

超级英雄的身影一直被视为美国社会的标志性代表。自从第一个超级英雄诞生以来，它就受到了最重要的历史，政治和社会事件的影响，这些事件在不同的漫画问题中得到了回响。原则上，在超级英雄类型中，从来没有过老化超级英雄的地方，因为它们是国家权力和保护的象征。的确，他们神话般地描绘了拥有超级大国的年轻而结实的胸襟男人的力量，无法显示他们脆弱或残废。本文的目的是研究漫画中时间流逝的复杂范式，并根据其在整个时间上的原型表现来分析有史以来最著名的超级英雄之一。从文化和文学老年学的角度来看，我们将研究动作漫画，以及马克·怀德和亚历克斯·罗斯的另一本图画小说《王国来》（2008年），其中超人将以年迈的男人的身份出现。尽管它打破了流派的标准，但最终并没有成功挑战社会中嵌入的许多关于衰老的陈规定型观念，这些陈规定型观念与身体，认知和情绪下降有关。此外，本文还将展示超级英雄的神话传说表示的符号用法如何渗透到其他文化表现形式中，以灌输对衰老更为积极和现实的刻画。