Superheros, Heros and just plain old Warriors

According to Wikipedia a superhero is a type of ‘stock character possessing extraordinary or superhuman powers and dedicated to protecting the public.’ In Kill Bill (see previous blog) Bill gives the following speech:

‘An essential characteristic of the superhero mythology is, there's the superhero, and there's the alter ego. Batman is actually Bruce Wayne, Spider-Man is actually Peter Parker. When he wakes up in the morning, he's Peter Parker. He has to put on a costume to become Spider-Man. And it is in that characteristic that Superman stands alone. Superman did not become Superman, Superman was born Superman. When Superman wakes up in the morning, he's Superman. His alter ego is Clark Kent. His outfit with the big red "S", that's the blanket he was wrapped in as a baby when the Kent’s found him. Those are his clothes. What Kent wears, the glasses, the business suit, that's the costume. That's the costume Superman wears to blend in with us. Clark Kent is how Superman views us. And what are the characteristics of Clark Kent? He's weak, he's unsure of himself... he's a coward. Clark Kent is Superman's critique on the whole human race.’
The speech is an extract from ‘Great Comic Book Heros’ by Jules Feiffer.

Today I watched, with my grandson, a modern day superhero cartoon programme for young children ‘Ben 10’. Ben finds a watch like device, the Omnitrix, which is in fact an alien device which allows the user to transform into various forms, each with its own superpower. However the DNA of the user and the the DNA of the form taken combines so the instinctual characteristics of the form is governed by the intelligence of the user. In one episode a few of the forms escape from the Omnitrix and Ben has to track them down and re-absorb the forms back into the Omnitrix. When he caught up with them they were behaving very differently to how they behave when Ben ‘becomes’ them. ‘Why are they acting like that’ Ben asks his grandfather, the only adult in on his secret. ‘Because they are acting instinctively’ Grandad replies ‘They need your intelligence to control the instinct and harness the powers’. All very complex for a 4 year old, which is the age group the cartoon appears to be aimed at although there are also various other versions which are much darker. Ben himself is not a typical superhero. He is sometimes selfish, immature and has a tendency to get a bit big headed. In one episode he travels in time (this concept was very difficult to explain to my 4 year old grandson, although slightly easier than explaining how we lost an hour last weekend, when we put the clocks forward, to my 24 year old son) and Ben is appalled by the behaviour and attitude of his grown up self.

Wikipedia describes a hero as a ‘person who in the face of danger and adversity or from a position of weakness, displays courage and the will for self sacrifice - that is, heroism – for some greater good’.

The world is full of unsung, unsuper hero's. They can be found in the obvious places like the armed and emergency services. They can be found in schools and shops and even in offices. Some hero's will put on uniforms and go out on the streets to look for chances to be heroic. Others will work diligently and quietly, behind the scenes, striving to make changes and bring about a better, kinder – more spiritual world.

'Every noble work is bound to face problems and obstacles. It is important to check your goal and motivation thoroughly. One should be very truthful, honest, and reasonable. One's actions should be good for others, and for oneself as well. Once a positive goal is chosen, you should decide to pursue it all the way to the end.' (Dalai Lama)

Superheros generally have a weakness that is then exploited by their enemies. Practically the whole of Superman 2 has our hero weakened, stripped of his powers and living in a self imposed isolation in his 'Fortress Of Solitude'. Superman gave up his powers in an attempt to be human and he found that he preferred being a super being. When he 'found himself' Superman returned stronger, wiser and more knowledgeable than before. Just like The Bride (Kill Bill) who, having spend 4 years in a coma, awoke with a fire in her heart that only revenge could put out. Although not a hero in the conventional sense The Bride is the heroine of the film and, like Superman, she emerges from the period of solitude a true warrior.