Tolkien's synthetic myth: Fantasy at the dawn of the global age, and, Comic book cosmopolis: Globalization and the superhero

I. Written at the inception of the global age and despite privileging Western traditions, Tolkien's work displays an emergent global consciousness, one which emphasizes the role of local identity in global affairs and posits allegiance and cultural bridge building as a solution and safeguard against worldwide conflict or subjugation under a totalitarian regime. Also, it is suggested that the work bears some generic resemblance to Menippean satire.; II. Superhero comics, generically predispositioned to manifest cultural dynamics, show special aptitude for engaging contemporary issues relating to postmodernity and globalization. Thus, supervillains have been rewritten as terrorists or depersonified systemic failures while, correspondingly, superheroes have been inscribed with a new cosmopolitan ideal of heroic intervention that foregrounds cooperative networking, emphasizes the importance of local/personal motivation to global action, and privileges negotiation over violent conflict.