Superheroes have captured the minds and hearts of many fans for generations. They had such marvelous and fantastic powers (pun intended). The evolution of their exciting stories and costumes has kept them popular and loved. They are everywhere: box-office movies, successful TV shows, and comic books. They are all over the pop culture landscape. The impact on millions of fans worldwide is too obvious for anyone to ignore. In this post, I will share how superheroes have had an impact on my life. After that, I will share some of my favorite superheroes of all time. Let me know if we have the same favorites!
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| Photo by Kristina Paukshtite |
Inspiration and Empowerment
These days, superheroes are a massive thing. Big-budget movies and TV shows are often stories that revolve around these superheroes.
I grew up in times when these superheroes were only in comic books and cartoons. We had live-action movies and shows, but they had less than impressive special effects. I find it awe-inspiring to see today's heroes. I love how technology has made these heroes come to life in ways that we never imagined in the past.
Today they can make all these fictional worlds and super beings come to life so well. It almost seems believable for these characters to blend into the real world as they do in movies and TV. It gives children even bigger inspiration to dream of being heroes themselves. It helps them imagine a world where they are the best that they can be, like the heroes they know and love.
I grew up being a fan of Wonder Woman. I remember watching Lynda Carter on her TV show. I loved how she portrayed Diana Prince/Wonder Woman. She was both feminine and strong at the same time. She was a good role model during my younger years.
I credit my being a Wonder Woman fan to attracting me toward strong female characters. These are not only in the books I read but also in the shows/films that I watch. I would like to think that this helped me to grow up stronger and more empowered as a woman as well. It inspired me to be as smart and sophisticated as Diana Prince. At the same time, it inspired me to be as strong and as honorable as Wonder Woman herself.
Values
I was also a fan of the show Captain Planet. This is the show where the kids would come together with their rings to form the titular superhero to save the day. I credit that show with making me aware of environmental issues. It helped me become more aware of taking care of the environment and its resources. This is something that I carry with me now as an adult.
Then of course there is Superman, who stands for truth and justice. The all-around good guy not only when he is Clark Kent but also as the superhero that many people know and love. I was a big fan of the Superman movies that starred Christopher Reeve. His version (and Brandon Routh’s) presented Superman as that perfect icon that children can look up to. He was someone who often faced darkness but still had a shining light to him that inspired others.
Escapism
The stories that these superheroes have are not only entertaining but they are also a form of escape. Watching such inspiring movies and shows can be a form of stress relief for the fans watching them.
Seeing a world where good triumphs over evil gives viewers hope. Not only that, but it also helps them to escape the pressures of real life by watching them.
Sense of Community
One thing you can’t deny about the power of superheroes is the sense of community that fans have with each other. People tend to drift toward those who are also fans, and it becomes a way for people to bond and start friendships.
There is a sense of camaraderie and connection that these heroes help forge with the public. Case in point: how the world enjoyed that scene in the Avengers: Endgame. The one where all the heroes that snapped away in Infinity War came back for one last battle with Thanos. Every superhero fan is familiar with that. It might be safe to say that everyone loved it!
Social Commentary
I am a fan of how superhero shows and movies often have themes that reflect issues affecting society. I love that they help shine a light on things that people tend to avoid talking about.
The themes they have will often make you stop and think about what is right and wrong. It can lead you to introspection about how you can make your life (and the world) a better place.
By gaining inspiration from these heroes, people become empowered to discuss these issues. People not only start talking about it but sometimes they even do something about it.
Favorite Superheroes of All Time
About the whole Marvel vs. DC thing, I side more with DC than Marvel. I may not be a fan of Batman, but I am more of a DC girl than anything else. I have always been a Superman fan and have been more interested in heroes from the DC universe than in Marvel.
As my close friends know, I was also a huge fan of the TV version of Arrow that starred Stephen Amell. That was a show that I watched from the premiere to the finale. Plus, as I have mentioned earlier, I was a big Wonder Woman fan growing up.
By saying that I am a DC fan that does not mean that I am not a fan of the Marvel movies, because I am. I have watched all the movies in the franchise, and I enjoyed every single one. The main difference is that with Marvel I love the heroes as a group, while with DC I am more into the individual heroes.
Aside from Marvel and DC heroes, I was also a fan of Japanese heroes when I was a kid. I was not a fan of Voltes V, but I was into the live-action show Bio Man.
Bioman was a show that was a lot like Voltes V. I remember watching that show every weekend as a kid. My cousins and I used to pretend that we were those heroes ourselves.
Superheroes films and shows have made our imaginations come to life. They transformed these heroes into cultural symbols. Icons that will leave a mark for generations to come.
These days we live with tragedies such as war, crime, climate change, and natural disasters. We all need and want to hope for people who will come and save us from these things. Sometimes, we even need these heroes to save us from ourselves.
Superheroes make ordinary people love and aspire to the extraordinary. This is why these larger-than-life figures have leaped off the pages of comic books and into TV and movies. They are here to inspire us to be as extraordinary as we can be.
Their stories will always be popular. Viewers love having these strong individuals for people to look up to. We love characters who do the right thing and save the day despite the odds.
These heroes may only live in our imagination, but they will always be a part of our lives. It is always good to have someone positive to look up to. It is good to have something to hope for.
Someone to root for. Someone to emulate. It is a concept that I hope will never get old. We all need that positivity in our lives these days, don't you agree?
Deep down, we all want heroes there for us to save the day. One thing that we must realize is that there are a lot of heroes in real life that go unnoticed.
These heroes may not wear capes or have superpowers, but they still do their part. They help to save the day for someone somewhere out there without people realizing it.
Sometimes we may not even know it, but we could be the heroes in someone else’s life with the things we do for others.
Do you need a hero? Look around, you might find one. Who knows? That hero might even be you. Wouldn't that be something?
I leave you all with an episode of the Fandesals Podcast. Their topic covering favorite superheroes is what inspired this post. If you understand Tagalog and are a superhero fan, you might enjoy this episode.
Let me know what you think about this post and the podcast in the comments section! I would love to know who your favorite heroes are and what impact they have had on your lives! Let's bond over our favorites now!
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