With so many superhero movies lately, such as the laughable Green Hornet that turned into a half-action, half-satire comic-book-hero film adaptation, the unbelievably abysmal Ghost Rider: Spirits of Vengeance, one of the more rushed blockbuster productions in recent memory, but miraculously turned out pretty well and earning strong reviews, a whole lot of money, and of course, the inevitable plans for a sequel X-Men: First Class, the dorky film that doesn’t bother to disguise it’s comic book roots, doesn’t even try to modernize Green Lantern, a very good re-invention of a difficult to handle superhero Thor, the masterfully done “if you don’t walk out of this film screaming HELLL YEAAAA!!, then you are not normal” newest version of The Incredible Hulk, the movie that would please the fanboys and satisfy the critics Iron Man 2, the like its titular hero, which modestly embraced silliness, creating a charming B-movie experience Captain America: The First Avenger, the “never been another movie made of its caliber” and masterfully done superhero-studded The Avengers, now taking you to the next level is a rebooted The Amazing Spiderman (which I recently just finished watching just now) and soon another reincarnation of the Batman, The Dark Knight Rises (wow! what a long list it has been and that’s just a few of them), we are now getting used to seeing fictional people with special abilities.
But wouldn’t it be cooler to see real life people with amazing superhero-like abilities to actually exist in real life. Becoming a real life superhero is truly the greatest deed a man can wish for.
“We are here to create a new breed of super soldiers”
If it was only possible to manufacture or fabricate superheroes that could “fight the bad guys and save the day”. Though the dialog above was said by one of the villains in the Captain America movie, good guys like Steve Rogers may rise even from any side or ends (whatever) of the spectrum.
“With great power comes great responsibility.”
The famous line in Spiderman, but they’ve changed the dialog a bit in the newest offering of the movie. Well I don’t feel that way and I bet you don’t either! With great power comes AWESOMENESS! Humility usually steps out of the way and the awesomeness will definitely go to your head. That should not be denied at all. It’s but normal to feel outstanding after finding about your new abilities. You’re the man!
“All these souls, lost and alone, I can save them! I can cure them!”
That was what Dr. Kurt Conners (The Lizard) said in the movie The Amazing Spiderman. The one-armed scientist is obsessed with “cross-species genetics,” combining human and animal DNA to regrow tissue; in his case, an entire arm. Connors has no qualms about playing God. “I long to fix myself,” he says. “Imagine a world without deformities, without weakness. Why be human at all when we can be so much more?”
The doctor’s intention was noble, and it was very personal for him because of his disability. He just wanted to share his findings to the world as well. But things go awfully wrong as he got seemingly possessed by the awesomeness of his new-found capabilities.
That’s what often happens on real life. It gets to our heads.
Some comic and graphic artists depicting heroes may in real life be fantasizing about becoming a hero themselves, or at least wish there were heroes.
Every nation wants to have their own caped crusader valiantly fighting for freedom and upholding justice. Trying to find unique and new ways to vanquish the evil.
If the US has Abe Lincoln fighting against vampires, the Philippines now has Andres Bonifacio (atapang atao) figthing “aswangs”.
“So is this what you want out of your life? This gives you sense of fulfillment? I spend all night, writing about the corruption in this town, and you do nothing.”
That was a line in the Green Hornet movie which could have been written more seriously and be on the same map as a Christopher Nolan’s Batman film; but instead, it went on the road to be a comedic film. Come to think of it, if you’re mindset is to become a superhero, aren’t you supposed to be deadly serious about it?
Jose Rizal, our national hero, fought the Spaniards thru his writing. His pen was mightier than Andres Bonifacio’s “itak.” There are indeed several ways to fight a revolution.
How can you become a hero if you take things too lightly and lacks the full determination to go against the “evils” of society?
I too often write about fighting corruption, especially in government, and try to practice what I preach whenever given the opportunity…but it has always brought me trouble which I would sometimes regret once in a while. Still I am proud of myself that I was able to resist the temptation of becoming one of the people which morals have very little favorable qualities to be desired.
“Secrets have a cost. They’re not free. Not now, not ever”
But even if the calling is there to become a serious crime-fighter, unfortunately it isn’t enough in the real world. You need the resources, the skills and the influences as well.
It’s expensive to fight the legal battles. Getting a lawyer, even if its pro-bono or from the Public Attorney’s Office (PAO), filing the necessary documents at the authorized government agencies, going to court hearings, etc., requires you to sacrifice a lot of your time, effort and financial resources to accomplish.
Also, just as Peter gains confidence (and arrogance) from his new powers, he neglects his family and schoolwork. You would experience the same thing.
When Uncle Ben is killed by a gunman Peter could have stopped the perpetrator but he was too selfishly burdened by hatred towards the store-owner who mistreated him earlier. A price some of us pay as our views are sometimes dimmed by the larger obscurities we often neglect to look into our own personal demons.
Then, there’s resistance and counter-attack from the other party.
“Look at you. The mighty Thor! With all your strength! And what good does it do you now? Do you hear me, brother? There’s nothing you can do!”
Protective custody from witness protection programs wouldn’t be enough, and takes away a huge part of your life.
“What ever happens, stay who you are, not just a soldier, but a good man”
A quote from the Captain America movie spoken by Dr. Abraham Erskine, the scientist that made Steve Rogers become Captain America, reminds us to remain good and decent in spite of the consequences. There will definitely be a lot of sufferings and trials as you fight the more influential and affluent menaces of society. We just need to hang in there and keep the faith.
But who is the real superhero?
“And having disarmed the powers and authorities, he made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross.” (Colossians 2:15)
For the religious types, Jesus is the only real superhero. As God’s perfect, obedient son, He came to earth especially for us so that He might die on the cross and pay for our sin. Because He was without sin, He rose from the dead. In doing so He defeated death for all those who trust in Him for eternal life.
Some of us may not believe in a higher being, but there has been testimonies that the belief in an omnipotent force would most of the time make us spiritually stronger and wiser to manage life a whole lot better. Sometimes our faith may be criticized and challenged…but miracles do happen to those that believe, especially on themselves.
