"HBO's real-life 'Superheroes' are gallant yet unsettlingly goofy... Here they come to save the .?.?. well, that's the problem with adopting the secret lifestyle and ethical codes of a "real-life superhero": Nobody requires your services nearly as much as you're hoping to provide them. Ultimately, as we learn in Michael Barnett's compelling yet conflicted HBO documentary "Superheroes," today's supermen (and the occasional wonder woman) wind up handing out rolls of toilet paper to homeless people."
What makes a superhero? And what is the difference between them and vigilantes?
Is it just that common people have had enough waiting for the system to file their complaints? or is it that they are looking for excitement behind the mask...
to do a bit of pay-back damage of their own?
Growing up I spent some time on the streets, and sometimes at night as I wandered I would see "injustice" ...honestly I was looking for a fight, and someone else in trouble gave me the opportunity to "vent" and "help" someone in over their heads! One night I came across a man slapping a woman just down the street from my location, but it didn't take long for me to get up-close and personal. As I approached where I could rescue the damsel I noticed something change... she kissed him and took his arm and they hugged and walked away. Bewildered, and trying hard to deal with the rush of unspent adrenaline, I couldn't do anything but leave the dysfunctional couple. This makes me wonder what happens when you rescue someone who doesn't want to be rescued? You might be the one who needs to be rescued!
Like the scene in the animated film The Incredibles ...Mr. Incredible finds himself in a jam after rescuing someone from suicide and gets sued for doing so. This world seems quite twisted ...yet I do believe that for the most part people need help, and someone to watch over them. There just isn't enough people wanting to get involved and stand up for what's right... and this is where our Superhero comes in. Though we already have superheroes in uniform as well as under cover... there is something about a tacky get-up that is both entertaining and honourable.
I personally favour the every-day hero, one who stands fro what is right and doesn't have to hide his identity. One who values the lives around them equally as their own... if we all did that we would not need "superheroes" ...this is the model of society Jesus had in mind, when He said love your neighbour as your self. If we followed the golden rule and treated others as we would like to be treated...
crime wouldn't stand a chance.
But like everyday superheroes... neighbourly love seems to be in short supply.