“With great power comes great responsibility,” are the great words of Peter Parker’s Uncle Ben.
There are many superheroes in the comic books, from Superman to Batman and everything in between. Some are not as well-known as others, but still just as significant.
We all have our favorite superheroes that we secretly wish we could be, or that we could at least get the opportunity to meet, but superheroes are essential to our lives. They give us hope and something to strive for. Everyone needs a hero.
As a young columnist and photographer, Peter Parker was bit by Norman Osborn’s radioactive spider and transformed into the well-known Spider-Man.
As an amateur journalist myself, my goal is to help people and save lives in my line of work. Even though I haven’t been bitten by a radioactive spider or anything, I feel like we all have a superhero or two that we can relate to.
As children, I’m sure most of us wanted to dress-up and pretend to be specific heroes from movies or video games when we would play with our friends. I know I did. You always wanted to be the hero and defeat the villain and his plot to take over the world. What if I told you that those same kids grew up to be policemen, lawyers, doctors, and some even journalists? Would you believe me?
Think about it.
Policemen and lawyers? For the most part, they want to put the bad guys behind bars and keep the city safe and victimless.
Doctors and nurses? They want to heal people. They want to give life back to those who have been near death or close to it.
Journalists? We want to be behind enemy lines, trying to grab intel and get the right heroes to the scene to help us on the job. That to me sounds a lot like signaling the Bat-sign or calling the Justice League.
This is why superheroes are our ideals and cannot be valued as something minuscule without any impact on our lives. Even though, at times, it would be easier to be the villain and get upset with people in our lives and exact revenge, people for the most part would rather be the hero and be praised for their accomplishments, rather than punished for their actions.
Everyone has the ability to be a superhero. You are given many opportunities in life to be selfless and put others before yourself. The ones who become the heroes are the ones who care more about helping others and making the tougher decisions sometimes, even if it does not benefit you. Parents are very aware of this discipline and that is why we typically call our parents our biggest heroes.
The villains are the ones who have decided to take their own needs into account before others. Typically the villains do not find satisfaction with themselves and look to conquering the world in order to have everything else they could want.
So, before labeling everyone in the world a superhero or a super villain, first ask yourself, "What am I?" Also, find those in your life that are your heroes and think about who you might be a hero to.
