Superheroes
I think Superman gets a bum rap. A lot of people seem to think he's overpowered, too self righteous, and unrealistic. And they would be right to a point. Kal El is meant to be an aspirational figure, someone for us to strive toward. I like my heroes like that. He's just the brightest.
Now before I really get into the meat of what I'm trying to say I know I need to address something. Batman is awesome, he's conflicted, he's well written. He's just a man so he should be something to strive for. I agree with all of that, but he's never been a true favorite of mine. Bruce Wayne is too damaged. I have enough of that in my life. I don't want to be one ruled by fear, or using fear too much. So I look elsewhere.
I'm searching for goodness. I love heroes that are inherently good. Even if that means some people think they're boring. I need goodness in my life. I am my own redemption story already. I enjoy one. But they aren't as inspiring as just doing the right thing. That's where my fave heroes come in.
My favorite superheroes in order are, Peter Parker, Kurt Wagner, Clark Kent, Steve Rogers, Oliver Queen, and The Green Lantern Corps. All are aspirational, even if some are more blatantly so. I love heroes that have minimal conflict within themselves. I want to chase goodness. I think all of these do that, especially the first three. So let's hit them and see why they are the totes tops for me.
Peter Parker is goodness. He was a kid who embraced a role he was never seeking. I mean who doesn't recognize with great power comes great responsibility. He's the geeky kid, the one who never blatantly pursues money and fame. He takes care of his aunt. Is just an all around good guy. He never has it easy but he keeps trucking along. I love him for it. He also has one of the stricter moral compasses in the Marvel Universe, especially in the comics. He doesn't kill in a universe where most of the heroes do. I can't get enough of him. My favorite character arc for him was Civil War. The comic version. He starts out on Tony Stark's side because he thinks the order proposed is worth pursuing. He reveals his identity, buys all in, lock stock and barrel. But he has a trial of conscience. He sees how they're imprisoning heroes who don't comply. He can't deal with it, so he flips sides to Cap's and pays a lot of steep prices. He stuck to his morals, even when it's hard to do.
Kurt Wagner belongs to the craziest line of comics ever. The X-Men. The paradoxical demon formed Nightcrawler. Devout Catholic. He's in a league of his own personally. It's hard to explain how incredible this hero truly is. Abandoned at birth, ostracized for life due to his appearance. Yet he's devout, hopeful, a ridiculous sense of humor. He knows he's going to have a hard life. But he's accepted it. It's a lesson for all of us. He's a ray of goodness. The balancing influence to the darker Wolverine. Their relationship is one for the ages. A true friendship. Kurt's role in it has been one of the best things ever for me to read. That and someone who wears his religion on his sleeve without beating people over the head, it's what does it for me.
The final entrant, and the favorite I've hid the most is Clark Kent, Kal El, Superman. I always felt the need to hide how much I liked him. One of my favorite DC comics to read is the Batman Superman team up series from the mid 2000s. They all open with side to side panels of Bruce Wayne and Clark Kent describing their relationship and the other person. It's an interesting dichotomy. I knew that the nerdy thing to do was to love Bruce Wayne and all his dark and brooding awesomeness. But in those pages I never related as well to him as I did to Clark Kent. I had awesome parents who raised me, I'm typically optimistic, I desire a stable relationship. All of those things. I'm not ashamed of a good life. I'm not afraid of doing the right thing even if it costs me. That's what I love about Superman. He's just good. He just does the right thing. Across the Justice League, the comics, Smallville, everything but the DCEU (which I refuse to include for this reason), he's happy, and good. Yes he's beyond super powered. He's out right over powered. That makes his goodness that much better. He's beyond corruptible. That's what's so inspiring. For me at least.
I want to be better than I am. I want to just be good. To be the epitome of goodness. That's truly aspirational to me. Those are the heroes I'm going to always be drawn to. The fact that one has Mary Jane, another Lois Lane doesn't hurt. It made me want and drives me to be better for the from Miss Emma Taylor. I mean who doesn't want to try to be like the guys who have it all together. I know with all the messiness in life I do.
Now before I really get into the meat of what I'm trying to say I know I need to address something. Batman is awesome, he's conflicted, he's well written. He's just a man so he should be something to strive for. I agree with all of that, but he's never been a true favorite of mine. Bruce Wayne is too damaged. I have enough of that in my life. I don't want to be one ruled by fear, or using fear too much. So I look elsewhere.
I'm searching for goodness. I love heroes that are inherently good. Even if that means some people think they're boring. I need goodness in my life. I am my own redemption story already. I enjoy one. But they aren't as inspiring as just doing the right thing. That's where my fave heroes come in.
My favorite superheroes in order are, Peter Parker, Kurt Wagner, Clark Kent, Steve Rogers, Oliver Queen, and The Green Lantern Corps. All are aspirational, even if some are more blatantly so. I love heroes that have minimal conflict within themselves. I want to chase goodness. I think all of these do that, especially the first three. So let's hit them and see why they are the totes tops for me.
Peter Parker is goodness. He was a kid who embraced a role he was never seeking. I mean who doesn't recognize with great power comes great responsibility. He's the geeky kid, the one who never blatantly pursues money and fame. He takes care of his aunt. Is just an all around good guy. He never has it easy but he keeps trucking along. I love him for it. He also has one of the stricter moral compasses in the Marvel Universe, especially in the comics. He doesn't kill in a universe where most of the heroes do. I can't get enough of him. My favorite character arc for him was Civil War. The comic version. He starts out on Tony Stark's side because he thinks the order proposed is worth pursuing. He reveals his identity, buys all in, lock stock and barrel. But he has a trial of conscience. He sees how they're imprisoning heroes who don't comply. He can't deal with it, so he flips sides to Cap's and pays a lot of steep prices. He stuck to his morals, even when it's hard to do.
Kurt Wagner belongs to the craziest line of comics ever. The X-Men. The paradoxical demon formed Nightcrawler. Devout Catholic. He's in a league of his own personally. It's hard to explain how incredible this hero truly is. Abandoned at birth, ostracized for life due to his appearance. Yet he's devout, hopeful, a ridiculous sense of humor. He knows he's going to have a hard life. But he's accepted it. It's a lesson for all of us. He's a ray of goodness. The balancing influence to the darker Wolverine. Their relationship is one for the ages. A true friendship. Kurt's role in it has been one of the best things ever for me to read. That and someone who wears his religion on his sleeve without beating people over the head, it's what does it for me.
The final entrant, and the favorite I've hid the most is Clark Kent, Kal El, Superman. I always felt the need to hide how much I liked him. One of my favorite DC comics to read is the Batman Superman team up series from the mid 2000s. They all open with side to side panels of Bruce Wayne and Clark Kent describing their relationship and the other person. It's an interesting dichotomy. I knew that the nerdy thing to do was to love Bruce Wayne and all his dark and brooding awesomeness. But in those pages I never related as well to him as I did to Clark Kent. I had awesome parents who raised me, I'm typically optimistic, I desire a stable relationship. All of those things. I'm not ashamed of a good life. I'm not afraid of doing the right thing even if it costs me. That's what I love about Superman. He's just good. He just does the right thing. Across the Justice League, the comics, Smallville, everything but the DCEU (which I refuse to include for this reason), he's happy, and good. Yes he's beyond super powered. He's out right over powered. That makes his goodness that much better. He's beyond corruptible. That's what's so inspiring. For me at least.
I want to be better than I am. I want to just be good. To be the epitome of goodness. That's truly aspirational to me. Those are the heroes I'm going to always be drawn to. The fact that one has Mary Jane, another Lois Lane doesn't hurt. It made me want and drives me to be better for the from Miss Emma Taylor. I mean who doesn't want to try to be like the guys who have it all together. I know with all the messiness in life I do.
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