The Uncanny Organization Man: Superhero Myths and Contemporary Management Discourse

Mythology, as a concept, is commonly thought to refer to a system of stories of ancient gods or similar archaic religious phenomena, a template adhered to even in more modern mythologies, such as the powerful Cthulhu Mythos (Iä! Iä! Cthulhu fhtagnl). However, we can in popular culture find elaborate mythological systems not strictly tied to religious structures, and more akin to the often less studied hero-myth tradition. One specific such, which we’ll argue has an influence on contemporary management discourse, is that of superhero comics. Starting from the first issue of Action Comics (June 1938), superhero comics have been at the forefront of analyzing the prevailing cultural unconscious, and no other form of cultural expression can measure up to comics in sheer popular culture referencing value. Even if we restrict ourselves to the two main Western mythologies — DC and Marvel — the collected storylines in these ‘universes’ (as comic book mythologies are nowadays commonly known) contain an almost limitless amount of potential for story-telling and iconic referencing, and one which is oft-used across cultural forms — including the form we know as management.