Superheroes

No, I'm not talking about the Daft Punk song. I'm talking about the superheroes that we know and love -- the characters that populate our imaginations on the screen, comic book page, and written word. The humans with impossible abilities made possible by extraordinary circumstances. I have been intaking a lot of superhero content recently, such as Invincible, Marvel Comics, and most recently the latest Marvel movie, Thunderbolts*.

Superheroes are really just supposed to be a metaphor for everyday people's lives. They're also known for their superfluous action scenes where the heroes get to express their raw emotions in feats of strength or displays of their magical (or mutant, drug-induced, technological, cosmic, etc.) powers. There's that special word: power. Superheroes are depictions of humans with power -- not political power (though they often go up against other humans with political power), but powers.

Superheroes really aren't anything without their powers. No one would be interested in their stories otherwise; they would just be more action films of "man with gun decides he's going to destroy the root of all evil, as long as his wife and kids are okay" without the powerful abilities. People are inevitably engrossed by superheroes because they satisfy a certain fantasy -- the power fantasy. Superhero stories allow people to put themselves in the shoes of a theoretical person that can shift the direction of humanity with the mere threat of their own existence.

Not to get too cliché, but people often don't realize how much power they truly hold within themselves. After all, that's what most superhero stories boil down to: you're not alone (we're your family) and you have more power than you realize. It's the same message over and over again about triumphing over your own fears to unlock abilities you previously didn't know you had. I find myself rolling my eyes at this story, told constantly over and over again with a new coat of super suits and superpowers.

Yet, I still think these stories compelling and interesting. Why? The power fantasy, of course. Why would anyone else find it interesting otherwise? The ability to so effectively shape reality around oneself with insane intelligence or super strength is an interesting proposition that could change how the entire world works if even one person spontaneously manifested any sort of super ability. It's the timeless story of deities with unlimited power, the ultimate expression of what humans wish they could do. What they wish the world could be like.

You should be your own superhero, whether or not you like the genre. Everyone is a superhero, as long as you let yourself be. Each and every human has the ability to leave a mark on the others around them. You decide how to leave that mark, through kindness, generosity, art, inventions, religion, whatever it is you devote yourself to. Just be careful that you don't delve too much into your alter-ego.