The aim of the thesis is to examine how comic books have simultaneously reflected and helped shape American social, cultural and political reality over the years. Special attention is devoted to the politics of representation. In particular, the thesis analyzes how superhero comics approach issues, such as gender, race and disability. Until relatively recently, the comic book industry used to be dominated by white male superheroes, but that is slowly changing. The two largest publishing companies, Marvel and DC Comics, are currently laying emphasis on racial and gender diversity in comics. The thesis therefore focuses on the importance of representation and investigates what this new trend of culturally diverse superheroes says about the American society.