Wednesday 10 August 2011

Inner Superhero

The problem with superheroes is their lack of all-round ability and fortitude. I mean, if you're going to be a super, why not be 100% super?
Superman: Strong. Fast. Resilient. Often touted to be the best of the best. One word: Kryptonite.
The Hulk: Strong. Resilient. Gets more powerful as his anger grows. Two Words: Bruce Banner.
Spiderman: Strong. Agile. Spider sense. Two Words: Not Resilient.
The list goes on. Every hero has an achilles heel (ha!), a weakness that can be exploited. An enemy just has to strike the weakpoint, and its tickets. (although, for some reason the bad guys never really try to kill the hero. There are only botched attempts to exploit the weakness. Maybe it's because bad guys are not allowed to win by the laws of the universe). Perhaps this is an attempt to make ordinary people feel better about their own weakpoints.
It sucks. I want a superhero that is actually super. No weakpoints, no secret allergic reactions to allicin. A true honest-to-goodness invulnerability (including psychic power invulnerability).
Throw in super-speed, super-strength, flight and you have the makings of a superhero that will kick every other superheroes butt. There are several other powers that can be thrown in for good measure.
I don't think this hero will find much support. Why? Because we actually want to see the hero overcome the weakness, or win in spite of having it. We need to see him do it so that we might feel, even for a second, that no matter how big our issues, we can also overcome if we use our inner hero.
I think deep down we all want to be a superhero. Not because we want to be more powerful than a steaming locomotive (some of us do), but because we want to believe we have the power to overcome our limits.
Our limits seem so rigid, so set in stone that it would take a super-power to break through them. In reality the only power usually required is willpower.
If you knuckle down, believe in yourself and simply hang in there when the going gets tough, you can overcome those limits. So, you can be a superhero. You can overcome your limits. All you have to do is apply your super-power (aka willpower).
Break through those limits.

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