Marvelous Marvel-Why we love our Super Heroes

Are you a superhero fan?  My fiancé is absolutely crazy about any and all superheroes.  We have seen every Thor, Iron Man, Captain America, Hulk and Avengers movie that has been released.  Peter is also a huge Superman fan.  He absolutely loves any and all of the classic superheroes.  Who can blame him – I mean really, what’s not to love about our incredible superheroes.  They save the world!  They beat the bad guys!  They display all of the virtues that we hope and strive for. 

Watching our superheroes, life is simpler.  There is only good versus evil; right versus wrong.  There aren’t any messy subtleties that make our lives complicated.  When we watch these awesome movies – we always get to root for good, simply for the sake of good. 

My adorable fiancé is one of those guys who grew up following his superheroes.  These incredible heroes of today have their roots back in the 1950’s and 1960’s when kids like Peter would run down to the drug store with their allowance each week, to buy the latest installment of their favorite comic book.  Peter describes the special afternoons that he and his friends would all pitch in their allowance for the newest editions, then sit around and read each one, passing them around to everyone. 

As our world get increasingly more complicated, we long for that simpler time when right was always right and wrong was always wrong.  We didn’t have to worry about or consider what led to the bad guys making their bad choices.  Everything was always easier – no nuances, no shades of gray, it was clear cut and simple.  Captain America would save the day, or Iron Man would rescue us from the evil villain. 

While I am a huge fan of these incredible Marvel movies, and like all the fans I love to spot Stan Lee in his cameo roles, I know that life is much more complicated than a movie.  Bad guys aren’t all bad, good guys make bad choices sometimes, and even heroes are people too, they aren’t infallible.  I really wish they were real.  I wish Superman could fly in and save us all – every time something is about to go wrong, but I know that we all need to learn how to save ourselves. 

 

The real superheroes are the folks who learn how to overcome their challenges and struggles in life everyday.