Epic Literature and Superheroes

Stephen King once said that he wrote The Stand out of his desire to write an epic comparable to Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings. Dune is one of the greatest epics in science fiction literature. I love all of these books and the idea of epic literature in unfamiliar settings.

I have often wondered if there's a place in literature for an epic story about superheroes. I believe the world of comic books have given us plenty of epic storylines, but I'm more interested in a fat novel. Is there a place for a sprawling, original work of epic fiction about superheroes? Something that contains the common elements of epic stories like Dune, LOTR, and The Stand? Something that will stand the test of time, be taught in classrooms, and become part of our collective consciousness?

I would SO like to write something like that.