The eternal battle of good versus evil: superheroes have been saving the world for around 100 years. Comics have always been a playground for crazy ideas: men and women who can fly or scale walls, read minds and are virtually invincible – anything is possible and imagination is the only limit!

In its first major comic exhibition, featuring more than 1600 exhibits over 1200 square metres, the NRW-Forum Düsseldorf explores the entire pop culture universe of superheroes – and their arch-rivals, supervillains.

From Batman and the Joker to manga and anime and even politics and propaganda, the exhibition demonstrates the diversity of the genre across a total of eleven themed areas. In addition to numerous comic books, visitors can also marvel at original drawings, sculptures and action toys as well as film clips and media art installations.

People all over the world are fascinated by these superhuman superpowers, by the parallel universes, characters and stories that have so strongly influenced our cultures. Superheroes embody the wishes, dreams and hopes of humanity and are a collective vision created to defend democracy. These characters have not only become part of a universal pop culture, but have also been successfully integrated into our everyday lives – from fancy dress costumes to mindset coaching for business heroes.

(Curator: Alain Bieber, artistic director of NRW-Forum; Dilara Öztürk, project member. Staging: Dilara Öztürk, NRW-Forum Düsseldorf & Lukas Philipp Schulz, Studio Mudio. Wall graphics: Studio Fitz)