I am pretty sure that everyone, boy or girl, wishes this at some point in their life, usually as children, but I don't think I have ever wanted it more than right now.
When I was a kid the ability to fly seemed like the best thing ever. How cool would it be if you could fly like a bird? Too cool. What a rush it would be to zoom around the sky as fast as you could, go wherever you wanted when you wanted, and maybe even stop some bad guys in the process. It also seemed awesome to have super strength. It would be so cool to break through walls, or pick up basically anthing you wanted to. I guess growing up I thought it would be cool to have the powers of Superman. It always seemed that Superman could do anything, overcoming every kind of obstacle (allbeit a villian or even kryptonite) to save the day.
Now that I am somewhat of an adult, my desire for super powers has changed, but not all that much. Recently it seems that everywhere I look all I see is people hurting in some fashion; just broken and hurting people getting beat up by the struggles of everyday life. A lot of people are looking to find a way out of the pain, and I wish I was some kind of superhero that could help them. It seems that there are so many people who go un-noticed, people who get cast aside, and I wonder who helps them. I just want to be able to put things right in the world, the way things are 'supposed to be'. I don't even know what this power would look like; it might not have a physical representation like flight or strength at all. Most days I wish I could just swoop in an just remove pain from the hearts of people, like one would pull a splinter out of your skin. Everything within me knows that something is not right, and that there has to be some way to set things for the better.
As I began thinking about the whole superhero thing more, I began to question why it was that I wanted to have these powers in the first place, and what the whole idea behind comic books is anyway. Of course I did no research on this topic, I just have a theory which is based entirely on a hunch, so this is of course completely valid. I believe the appeal of comic books, or graphic novels, is that they represent an ideal world. It is not that they paint a perfect picture full of sunshine, rainbows, and fuzzy bunnies. It is also not the superhero aspect of it, because we all know that is not real. This ideal world is not one without problems, but full of characters who combat and conquer them. What's great about these characters is that under the masks, under the tights, they are people just like you and me. Sure they have above average abilities, but they are people with real problems, and yet they rise above those problems and help others. These graphic novels provide a glimpse of hope, a hope that people are good and can help each other. That pain, and injustice, and evil can be beaten...
We all have heroes. Not just the ones in comic books, but real flesh and blood people. A lot of times our heroes are dead people. People that took a stand, and now that we can look back on their lives, we want to imitate them. But we also have present day heroes. Sometimes these people are celebrities, but I would say the true heroes are the people who make an impact in our everyday lives and make changes in our communities. One of the hardest and most painful things in life is realizing the humanity and brokenness of our heroes. We often begin to see our heroes behind a mask of the ideal, thinking they can do nothing wrong. When we see them for how they truly are, broken and fallen human beings just like us, something dies on the inside. Naturally questions and doubts begin to rise when this rug is pulled out from beneath our feet. It is hard to come to grips with a world, that you thought just might be possible, ceasing to exist. Losing a hero is basically losing stability in life. And maybe that is the worst part about it: there seems to be no control, only un-tamable chaos. "If so-and-so can fall, how can I make it?"
Now that I am somewhat of an adult, my desire for super powers has changed, but not all that much. Recently it seems that everywhere I look all I see is people hurting in some fashion; just broken and hurting people getting beat up by the struggles of everyday life. A lot of people are looking to find a way out of the pain, and I wish I was some kind of superhero that could help them. It seems that there are so many people who go un-noticed, people who get cast aside, and I wonder who helps them. I just want to be able to put things right in the world, the way things are 'supposed to be'. I don't even know what this power would look like; it might not have a physical representation like flight or strength at all. Most days I wish I could just swoop in an just remove pain from the hearts of people, like one would pull a splinter out of your skin. Everything within me knows that something is not right, and that there has to be some way to set things for the better.
As I began thinking about the whole superhero thing more, I began to question why it was that I wanted to have these powers in the first place, and what the whole idea behind comic books is anyway. Of course I did no research on this topic, I just have a theory which is based entirely on a hunch, so this is of course completely valid. I believe the appeal of comic books, or graphic novels, is that they represent an ideal world. It is not that they paint a perfect picture full of sunshine, rainbows, and fuzzy bunnies. It is also not the superhero aspect of it, because we all know that is not real. This ideal world is not one without problems, but full of characters who combat and conquer them. What's great about these characters is that under the masks, under the tights, they are people just like you and me. Sure they have above average abilities, but they are people with real problems, and yet they rise above those problems and help others. These graphic novels provide a glimpse of hope, a hope that people are good and can help each other. That pain, and injustice, and evil can be beaten...
We all have heroes. Not just the ones in comic books, but real flesh and blood people. A lot of times our heroes are dead people. People that took a stand, and now that we can look back on their lives, we want to imitate them. But we also have present day heroes. Sometimes these people are celebrities, but I would say the true heroes are the people who make an impact in our everyday lives and make changes in our communities. One of the hardest and most painful things in life is realizing the humanity and brokenness of our heroes. We often begin to see our heroes behind a mask of the ideal, thinking they can do nothing wrong. When we see them for how they truly are, broken and fallen human beings just like us, something dies on the inside. Naturally questions and doubts begin to rise when this rug is pulled out from beneath our feet. It is hard to come to grips with a world, that you thought just might be possible, ceasing to exist. Losing a hero is basically losing stability in life. And maybe that is the worst part about it: there seems to be no control, only un-tamable chaos. "If so-and-so can fall, how can I make it?"
Maybe the hardest part (for me at least) is knowing that the same power that raised the dead, healed the sick, gave sight to the blind, and controlled nature lives in me--and yet so many times I feel completely powerless. I guess the real reason I want superpowers is because I fear being powerless, being useless. I hate standing by watching people hurt, especially people I care deeply about, and feeling unable to do anything. I feel that there has got to be something I can do to help, someway to make things right, but I have no idea what it is.
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