WHY SUPERHEROES?
noun
- 1.a benevolent fictional character with superhuman powers, such as Superman.
A fun idea. but that's all, right? No real use in life.
Superman can't save you in an airplane crash. Batman can't stop crime. Wonder Woman can't end war.
Iron Man can't invent new technology.
We-ell ... they can't, not directly We want those things, we have to do them ourselves. What superheroes can do is inspire us.
It doesn't matter how hard you try, you'll never run as fast as The Flash. Work out as much as you will, you'll never be as strong as Superman. You'll never fly or even leap as high as Spider-man.
BUT.
Try and run, work out, train well ~ try to leap and of course you'll never do those things ... but you will try harder, run a little faster, be a little stronger, leap a little higher and farther.
Study as hard and deeply as you want, you'll never be as smart as Tony Stark or Banner You won't invent armored suits, time travel or quantum displacement. But you'll be a little smarter, know a little more ~ and maybe make a small breakthrough that will lead somebody to another breakthrough and another ... You might even discover a minor moon or asteroid or a new star or evidence that leads to a rogue planet.
Study criminal science, forensics, chemistry, psychology ~ everything that Sherlock Holmes or Batman know, you won't be able to deduce answers, solve mysteries or apply logic like those fictional detectives But you'll know a little more,
Work for peace with love and truth and reason. You won't end war or hate or bigotry. But your attitude may help you resolve a small dispute. Your reason may impress someone else. You may create a small ripple that may spread. It may have results down the line that you won't ever realize.
Take all the daring saves and incredible escapes. Nobody is going to fall out of an exploding plane, save people and battle bad guys on the way down, survive certain death from colliding debris numberless times. But you might fight a little harder, persevere a little more. hold on a little longer, take a desperate chance. And such things may make a difference.
Even the ones who do impossible things: that no amount of training or study or will can achieve: Harry Potter, Doctor Strange, Green Lantern ... Magic or superscience that doesn't exist... can still inspire us to try harder, persevere longer, believe in ourselves.
Never feel guilty for loving superheroes, on film or in comics. They are as useful as any myth.
