“With great power comes great responsibility,” according to Peter Parker’s Uncle Ben.
There are many superheroes in comic books, from Superman to Batman and everything in between. Some are not as well-known as others, but they are still just as significant.
We all have our favorite superheroes that we secretly wish we could be or at least get the opportunity to meet. They give us hope and something to strive for. Everyone needs a hero.
As a young columnist and photographer, Peter Parker was bitten by Norman Osborn’s radioactive spider and transformed into the well-known Spider-Man.
As an amateur journalist myself, my goal is to help people and save lives in my line of work. Even though we may not have been bitten by a radioactive spider, I feel like we still have superhero potential.
As children, I’m sure most of us wanted to dress up and pretend to be specific heroes from movies or video games when we would play with our friends. I know I did.
You always wanted to be the hero and take down the villain and his plot to take over the world. What if I told you those same kids grew up to be policemen, lawyers, doctors and some even journalists. Would you believe me?
Think about it.
Policemen and lawyers? For the most part, they want to put the bad guys behind bars and keep the city safe and victimless.
Doctors and nurses? They want to heal people. They want to give life back to those who have been near death or close to it.
Journalists? We want to be behind enemy lines trying to grab intel and get the right heroes to the scene to help us on the job. A lot like signaling the Bat-sign or calling the Justice League.
This is why superheroes are our ideals and cannot be valued as minuscule without any impact on our lives. Even though, at times, it would be easier to be the villain and get upset with people in our lives and exact revenge, people, for the most part would rather be the hero and be praised for their accomplishments rather than punished for their actions.
Everyone has the ability to be a superhero. You are given many opportunities in life to be selfless and put others before yourself.
The ones who become heroes are the ones who care more about helping others and making the tougher decisions sometimes even if it does not benefit themselves. Parents are very aware of this discipline and that is why we typically call our parents our biggest heroes.
The villains are the ones who have decided to take their own needs into account before others. Typically the villains do not find satisfaction with themselves and look to conquer the world in order to have everything else they could want.
So before labeling everyone in the world a superhero or a supervillain, first ask yourself: What am I? What means more to me? The happiness and the joy of those around me, or my own satisfaction?
Dane Chronister is a junior journalism major from Dallas. He is a reporter and regular columnist for the Lariat.
