These are the three major research questions I have narrowed my project to (though will need to be refined), which build off each other:

1. Can understanding a group’s (or individual’s) major folklore / pop culture, such as superheroes in the United States, help us gain valuable insight into political, social, and cultural changes in that group (or individual), particularly changes in regard to leadership perceptions?
2. How has the superhero franchise / phenomenon been affecting and being shaped by cultural Implicit Leadership Theories in the United States, if it has at all?
3. How has recent superhero films such as Wonder Woman (2017) and Black Panther (2018) engaged with, perpetuated, or rejected ILTs about gender roles, race, romanticization of leadership, American exceptionalism, and individual vs. shared leadership?