I love superheroes.
I know they are fictional, but a fictional superhero can inspire us. I know they inspire me. Today, I want to list three lessons that
superheroes teach us. This isn’t an exhaustive
list by any means, but it’s a good start.
#1:
We can do the right thing, no matter how difficult
You may not have ever thought about this before, but the
life of a superhero is hard. A little
while back I referenced the short-lived TV show “Birds of Prey”. In the pilot episode of that show, Helena
Kyle (the daughter of Bruce Wayne and Selina Kyle) is having second thoughts
about spending her nights being a crime fighter. I love her description of the life of a
superhero. She says this to Barbara
Gordon (one of Batman’s proteges): “Doesn’t it ever bother you? We spend all our time trying to save the
city; fighting crime lords and super-villains.
For what? Lousy hours? Non-existent pay? No recognition and traffic tickets?”
Spider-Man is the one who perhaps best illustrates this
point. He selflessly protects the
citizens of New York from evil, and he is rarely ever appreciated for it. The media doesn’t laud Spidey as a hero; it
falsely accuses him of being a public menace.
Therefore, he is generally shunned by the very masses he defends. But he continues to do the right thing, even
though his life is hard.
#2:
We can place the well-being of others ahead of our own
A superhero always chooses to put the needs of others
ahead of himself/herself. If they did anything
else, they would cease to be a superhero.
For example, in an episode of “Batman: The Brave and the
Bold” entitled “The Last Patrol”, Batman’s heroism takes a backseat to a group
of heroes called the Doom Patrol. A
villain wanted to show that when push came to shove, the Doom Patrol would choose
self-preservation over protecting the lives of others. The villain had rigged explosives on two
islands. One was uninhabited, except for
the Doom Patrol. The other was a small
island town which had a population of just 14 people in it. The villain left the choice of which island was
to be destroyed to the Doom Patrol. In
the end, they chose to give their lives in an effort to save those 14
people. At the end of the episode, Batman,
grieving their loss, laments, “Rest well, heroes; rest well.”
Naturally, that’s an extreme example. Giving your life for someone else is, of
course, the ultimate act of putting the needs and well-being of others ahead of
yourself. There are other examples as
well, however. I’m reminded of a scene
from the 2004 film Spider-Man 2. To set
up the context, Peter Parker is in love with Mary Jane Watson. He wants to be with her, but he thought it
best to put Mary Jane’s well-being ahead of his own by not sharing his
Spider-Man identity with her.
In one scene, he pretends to tell Mary Jane his secret identity
on a pay phone. He says, “I’m
Spider-Man. Cool, huh? Now you know why we can’t be together. If my enemies found out about you; if you got
hurt, I could never forgive myself. I wish
I could tell you how I feel about you.”
I always found Peter’s decision to do this incredibly noble, considerate,
and unselfish. Just re-playing this
storyline in my head makes me want to watch Spider-Man 2 again!
#3:
We can have an example that inspires others
I recently saw a fantastic movie called “The Iron Giant”. In it, a boy named Hogarth befriends a
massive 50 foot tall robot (the Iron Giant).
In one scene, Hogarth shows the robot some of his comic books; one of
them being a Superman comic. He tells
the robot something to the effect of, “Superman is a good guy; you are a good
guy, too.” Superman’s example of goodness
and righteousness inspires the robot. I
won’t reveal any spoilers, but, in the end, the Iron Giant performs a heroic
act. As he does, he hears the voice of
the boy in his head, “You can be whoever you want to be.” The giant says, “Superman.”
You say, “That’s only a movie.” OK, but Superman’s example inspires people in
real life, too. A few months ago, I
purchased a Superman hoodie. It has
nothing more than Superman’s famous S insignia on it. I marvel at how many comments this hoodie has
gotten from people. Even from strangers. One time, I was at a grocery store, wearing
the Superman hoodie. A dear elderly lady
comes up to me and says, “Superman! That’s
who we need today.” Well put.
While Superman is the gold standard of superheroes, he
isn’t the only superhero that has an example that inspires others. In my own life, for example, Spider-Man is a superhero
that has inspired me to persevere.
Batman’s influence has positively impacted me. I love Captain America because of his morality
and integrity. You get my point. Even a fictional superhero can inspire us to
be better people.
Kevin
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