Within the past 10 years, comic book superheroes like Batman, Iron-Man, Spider-Man, Thor, Superman, etc. have taken up major places in our box offices. People in my generation can't get enough of them, myself being one of them. We all buy the graphic novels, movies, posters, clothing, etc. I've always wondered why that is and the more I have thought about it the more prevalent it becomes.
When I look at the world today, I see chaos and people who don't know where to turn. We have the police, who are supposed to protect and serve the citizens, some brutalizing and taking advantage of their positions of power. We have mass shootings that occur in places where we should feel comfortable and not have to worry about protecting ourselves. There are rapists that only get sentenced to six months in prison, but will end up only serving three of them because the judge fears that it will ruin his life. We are currently witnessing a presidential race that consists of a businessman with no political background and a woman that, to be frank, wasn't a lot of people's first choice. The world that we live in is a scary place and we have seen a lot more bad than good in recent years. A lot of people need to be able to escape this reality and forget about it for a little while. For a large number of people, that means going to see a movie or transporting themselves into a book, graphic novel or otherwise, and entering another world to get away from the mess of their own.
When looking at the lands of Marvel or DC comics, we see a broad range of superheroes that have taken on the responsibility of protecting the world for different reasons. Spider-Man realized that he couldn’t just protect himself, he had a responsibility to use his powers for the greater good. Peter Parker was just a normal teenager that learned that “with great power, comes great responsibility”. Spider-Man has ended up becoming a role model for millions of people around the world. He is essentially what every role model should be for our young kids. He started off as a sarcastic, nerdy teenager who made mistakes, but became an adult who was able to own up to his mistakes and learn from them. Spider-Man showed us that we all have the potential to become heroes no matter what we’ve gone through in our lives. He shows us that we have a responsibility to stand up for what is right when we have the ability to do so. We cannot stand idly by as the world goes up in smoke.
Then there's Batman. The caped hero lived in a city where the police were corrupt and able to get away with illegal wrongdoing just because that was the way it had always been. The city was corrupt and slowly falling apart. Bruce Wayne took it upon himself to stop the villains and corrupt police officers from destroying the place he called home. Although, Batman is wealthy, he is what a lot of people wish they could be. He is somebody who stands up for what is right when the people who should be doing it, aren’t. He gives the people of Gotham the ability to want justice and reason for the evil to fear something.
As a result of superheroes like Batman and Spider-Man, we can go to the movie theater or buy a graphic novel to escape to a different world where normal people are taking charge and standing up for what’s right. Superheroes have the ability to make us feel safe and protected. They also make us feel like we are able to stand up for ourselves and the people around us as well. These are just some of the many reasons that superheroes have made a huge comeback. They have the ability to remind us that we have greatness inside every single one of us and that it's up to us to stand up for what is right, whether we wear a cape or not.
