Power Up

Steve Leonard is an award-winning faculty member at the University of Kansas School of Business, where he serves as Senior Assistant Dean and Professor of the Practice. A former senior military strategist and the creative force behind the defense microblog, Doctrine Man!!, he is a career writer and speaker with a passion for developing and mentoring the next generation of thought leaders. He is a senior fellow at the Modern War Institute at West Point; the co-founder of the national security blog, Divergent Options; co-founder of the Military Writers Guild; and a member of the editorial review board of the Arthur D. Simons Center’s Interagency Journal. He is the author, co-author, or editor of several books, including To Boldly Go (Casemate, 2021), Why We Write (2019), Winning Westeros (2019), and Strategy Strikes Back (2018). Jonathan Klug is a professor at the U.S. Army War College, military strategist, and historian. A PhD candidate in Military and Naval History at the University of New Brunswick, he is an award-winning military history instructor and has taught at both the Air Force and Naval Academies. He is co-editor of To Boldly Go (with Steven Leonard, Casemate, 2021). Kelsey Cipolla is a writer, editor, and digital marketing specialist who has covered everything from nonprofits making a global impact to the best place to find tacos in Kansas City. An accomplished author and self-admitted comic book geek, she also contributed to Winning Westeros: How Game of Thrones Explains Modern Military Strategy and To Boldly Go: Leadership, Strategy and Conflict in the 21st Century and Beyond. Kelsey lives in Denver, Colorado, with her husband, dog, cat, and collection of Lord of the Rings Pez dispensers. Jon Niccum is an award-winning journalist, author and screenwriter. He is a longtime entertainment writer and critic for the Kansas City Star. He is the author of The Worst Gig: From Psycho Fans to Stage Riots, Famous Musicians Tell All (Sourcebooks, 2013). Additionally, he has written and/or produced numerous independent features and documentaries, including Big Fur, The Sublime and Beautiful, Jayhawkers, and Rhino. He earned a degree in Film and Media Studies and a Master’s in Journalism from the University of Kansas, where he currently teaches screenwriting.

Foreword by Jon Niccum

Introduction

PART I: GREAT RESPONSIBILITY

1 Boys Will Be Boys by Kayla Hodges

2 Call it, Captain  by Cory S. Hollon

3 The Rise of a Reluctant Leader by Mick Ryan

4 The Unexpected Hero by Kari McEwen

5 The Command of Masks by Ronald J. Granieri

6 Ethical Excellence Through Decisive Dimness by Jeff Drake

PART II: AVENGERS ASSEMBLE!

7 Blood in the Inkwell by Geoff Harkness

8 We Could Be (Super)Heroes by Heather S. Gregg

9 When Being a Superhero Ain’t So Super by Mathew Klickstein

10 Lumberjanes and Team Building the Hardcore Lady-Type Way by Julie M. Still

11 There Was an Idea by Amelia Cohen-Levy

12 The Ordinary, Everyday Superhero by Mike Burke

PART III: GREEN LANTERN’S LIGHT!

13 The River of Truth by Matt Lancaster

14 They Only Lack the Light to Show the Way by Eric Muirhead

15 Could the Sokovia Accords Save the (Real) World? by Theresa Hitchens

16 A Fitting End for His Kind by Jo Brick

17 Injustice for All by James Groves

18 It’s Not Just Black and White by Alyssa Jones

19 Black Vibranium in the Hour of Chaos by Aaron Rahsaan Thomas

PART IV: IT’S CLOBBERIN’ TIME!

20 Who Runs the World? Squirrels! by Kelsey Cipolla

21 Your Cape and Cowl, Mr. Bond? by Mitch Brian

22 Trick or Deceit by Erica Iverson

23 Unbeatable by Dan Ward

24 The Veidt Method by Ian Boley

PART V: TO THE BATCAVE!

25 I’ve Come to Save the World by Kera Rolsen

26 Your Ancestors Called It Magic, But You Call It Science by Jonathan Klug

27 Where Does He Get All Those Wonderful Toys? by Candice E. Frost

28 To the Warrior, Their Arms by Mick Cook

29 We Need to Be Put in Check by Clara Engle

PART VI: KNEEL BEFORE ZOD!

30 The Caped Crusader and the Road to Radicalism by Max Brooks

31 Where Monsters Dwell by Steven Leonard

32 Marvel Zombies by Jon Niccum

33 Strip Mining the Superhero Archetype by Janeen Webb

34 The New Gods by Patrick Sullivan

35 ХАЙЛЬ ГИДРА! by Joshua C. Huminski

Contributors