Five Reasons Why Superheroes Are Superb (Guest Post)

This is a guest post written by 'Amira. She'll be writing about the reasons to why people love superheroes and despite the fact that they're fictional, they're still important to us. I've always admired superheroes and their fellow counterparts, whether it's from DC or Marvel, and 'Amira, who is also an avid Ms Marvel (Kamala Khan) fan, will explore the reasons to the hype in this new, trending league of superheroes in the media today. This post can also be found on Medium.

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The stories of Superman, Batman and well, all those other people with extraordinary abilities in tight-suits have been told and retold through generations. So it’s no question that they were a part of our lives once (or still are, for that matter). But have we ever stopped to think why these heroes and their stories have resonated so much with us?

Just the other day I was watching a TEDxTeen talk by an editor of Marvel Entertainment, Sana Amanat, and she was sharing why she loved the X-Men. Growing up, she never felt like she could fit in. But soon she learned about the X-Men and how they had mutated and enhanced genes that gave them superpowers, which was “the coolest thing in the world.” She could relate to these mutants because they were different. They were just like her. And this brings me to the first reason why superheroes are superb:

1. They are human.

Okay, I know some superhero fans out there are going to start screaming, “What about Barrions? Asgardians (alien species in the DC and Marvel universe respectively)?” and so on, but what I’m referring to is their humanity – that altruism that never fails to shine through. That is the fundamental virtue about being human. We look out for one another. We form healthy relationships as the basis of social intelligence. We show love. We show kindness and all values in nature that make us human. What superheroes do encompasses all these acts of humanitarianism – they protect the innocent and they save the world. And as cliché as this sounds, they are our role models.

This is not to say they are perfect either. As the saying goes, “To err is human.” So there’s a second reason:

2. They make mistakes.

In the comics and their stories, I’ve noticed a necessary element in their characterization: flaws. And how is this superb, you may ask?

These little hiccups in their personality make them effortlessly human. And they embrace these imperfections and learn from their mistakes.

Even more so, these superheroes exist in an imperfect world. There is never a balance of war and peace. But when they do bring peace, they also present hope on the other side of the spectrum.

3. They represent hope.

A classic example of this is Captain America. He was created in a time where people had much to lose – their loved ones, their home. What Captain America did was give them a form escapism as well as unity and hope amidst the World War.

And it is difficult to recognize that when we were young and watched superheroes like Spiderman every Saturday morning. All we cared about was how good beats evil and how these extraordinary people save the day. But there is still so much about superheroes that we’ve missed as kids, including the fact that,

4. They have an alter ego.

An alter ego makes them more appealing to children because it is a primary need in one’s early development. In self-psychology, it is defined as ‘the desire to feel alikeness to other human beings.’ Of course, we couldn’t have pointed this out when we were kids. Psychoanalyst Jacques Lacan provides a common example of this desire to mirror: ‘The child who strikes another says that he has been struck; the child who sees another falls, cries.’

So it’s almost as if these double lives of our favourite superheroes have influenced us subconsciously, but positively. They succumbed to that primary narcissism we had as a child.

And the fact that we grew up with these characters makes them all the more superb. The same answer to this lies in: Why are decade-long franchises like Harry Potter, Lord of the Rings and Star Wars so successful?

5. They have a compelling journey.

American scholar Joseph Campbell defined the narrative pattern ‘Hero’s Journey’ as the backbone of modern literature. It is a recurring theme of ordinary people being called upon extraordinary circumstances. We subscribe to a character’s inspiring adventures on a personal level, but as superb as they are, these are not our stories.

One of my favourite poets, Rumi once said: 'Don't be satisfied with stories, how things have gone with others. Unfold your own myth.'

Have a great week everyone,

‘A.

Photo + Lettering + Illustration by Dian

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'Amira is a contributor to Wattpad, where she publishes her books 'Storms and Other Short Poems', 'Speculum' and 'The Avocation' online, with over 10k reads since October 2014 and more than 1000 votes. She enjoys reading, writing and videography.

Wattpad is a world of free stories - a writing community which users are able to post articles, stories and poems about anything. The content includes work by undiscovered and published writers. 

Check out a snippet of 'A's second and third book 'Speculum' and 'The Avocation'.