I’ve
wanted to write a blog where I submit my list of favorite superheroes for a
while now. I was finally able to do so. Incidentally, please don’t get bent out of
shape if I don’t have your favorite hero on my list, or if the hero is higher
or lower than you think they should be.
Once again, this is my list. It’s
based solely on my personal opinion.
Nothing more. For the sake of
length, I’m going to give five today, and the other five in the next blog
installment. Here we go:
#10: Wonder Woman
Contrary
to what some think, there are women superheroes. I could rattle off dozens of female
superheroes, but the most popular is Wonder Woman. She is bright, strong, and capable. Let me underscore how formidable she is in a
battle: in an episode of “Justice League”, while under a spell, she fought
Superman. Not only did she hold her own,
but after coming back into her right mind, she asks Superman, “Did I hurt
you?” “Let’s just say that I’m glad
we’re normally on the same side,” Superman replies.
I
love that one of Wonder Woman’s weapons is what is called the lasso of truth. If you bind someone in this lasso, it forces
them to tell the truth. Isn’t that a
great contraption? Truth is powerful,
and Wonder Woman gets it with her special lasso.
#9: Daredevil
Daredevil
is just such an interesting, unique, and creative hero. By day, he’s Matt Murdock a defense attorney. By night, he’s clad in a mask and calls
himself Daredevil. He’s smart, agile,
and tough. But the most compelling
aspect of this character is that Murdock lost his sight when he was a boy. The same accident that took away his sight
also honed his remaining senses to the point of being considered superhuman. He can, for example, hear if someone’s heart
is beating excessively, from across the room.
He has, as Spider-Man thought to himself when he first met him, a “sixth
sense about everything.”
It
would be far better to watch Daredevil in action than rely on my inadequate
description of him. The guy traverses on
rooftops with no troubles whatsoever. He
holds his own when he fights criminals.
He doesn’t just survive living as a superhero, he thrives.
#8: Iron Man
Tony
Stark, the man inside the suit dubbed Iron Man, is not without his
problems. He is arrogant, showy, and a
womanizer, to name a few. But one also
cannot deny that Stark is a brilliant man.
You can’t create those amazing Iron Man suits that he creates without
being brilliant. Further, when things
get serious, when lives are on the line, Stark is able to put himself in the
background and focus on saving the day.
Sometimes this may involve him making the decision to literally give his
life for others.
For
example, in the film “The Avengers” Captain America spouts these words to Tony,
“The only thing you really fight for is yourself. You’re not the guy to make the sacrifice
play. To lay on a wire and let the other
guy crawl over you.” But, at the film’s
end, Tony proves that he is willing to sacrifice. Just in case you’ve
never seen the movie, I won't reveal the details (by the way, if you haven’t seen this movie, I suggest you do so; it’s one of the
greatest superheroes movies ever made), but Stark’s act of self-sacrifice is
inspiring. In fact, in the chapter
selection this portion of the film is actually entitled “The Sacrifice Play.” No, he doesn’t literally die (he is, after
all, in “Age of Ultron”), but he was certainly ready to do so.
#7: Green Lantern
Imagine
that there was a group of interplanetary warriors who defended the universe
from the threat of evil. That’s the
premise of what is called the Green Lantern Corps. There are thousands of Green Lantern’s that are chosen to fight for every section of the universe.
So
who protects Earth? There have been
several over the years. My favorite is
Hal Jordan. Each Green Lantern wears a
ring that gives them the power to create whatever item they desire from it
(this is called a “construct”) using just their will. What I love about Hal Jordan is he is a hero
even without a fancy ring. In the
animated film: “Green Lantern: First Flight” Hal showcases his valor by
fighting for right, even (temporarily) without his ring.
#6: Huntress
This
one may be a stretch for you, but remember, this is my list. In the short-lived TV show “Birds of Prey”
that ran back in 2002, Helena Kyle is Huntress (played capably by actress
Ashley Scott). Helena is the daughter of
Bruce Wayne and Selina Kyle. This is a
character that was originally introduced in a comic book storyline. Incidentally, there is another version of the Huntress character named Helena Bertinelli, but this isn’t the Huntress that I’m referring to here.
Some
didn’t care for this TV show (it only lasted one season), and while I would
definitely concede that it was far from perfect, I still liked it. I enjoyed the idea that Batman’s daughter was
the one that defended Gotham City - along with allies Barbara Gordon and Dinah
Lance.
While
there were many memorable moments in that season of “Birds of Prey” one of the
highest moments of heroism was in an episode entitled “Prey for the Hunter”. An evil meta-human surfaces (by the way, I
didn’t come up with that term “meta-human”; I think it means someone with more
than human attributes; a superhuman). He
has the ability to mirror the abilities of other meta-humans. He absorbs Helena’s abilities (since she is a
meta-human herself). Helena decides on a
selfless course of action. “There’s only
one way for this to end,” she states to Barbara Gordon. “Like you said, I can’t beat him, but he can’t
beat me, either. We’re going to have to
go down together…If I don’t stop him, he’ll keep on killing, I can’t let him do
that.” The villain is defeated without
it coming to that, but I was so impressed with her willingness to give her own
life like that.
To
be continued!
Kevin
No comments:
Post a Comment