Why the world needs Superman.

Let’s face it, Superman is a common term. We throw it around at any minimalistic heroic thing. We’re always under-appreciating the magnitude of what the term actually means. The term, or more accurately, he symbolizes truth, honor, power, justice and love. He is the embodiment of self-sacrifice. In the midst of his planet’s destruction, Jor-El sent Kal-El, his only son, to earth in hopes of him using his powers for the benefit of the human race. Sounds kind of familiar right? If it doesn’t, maybe you should consider the New Testament.

No matter what the underlying themes, superheroes are a part of everyone’s life. They are a part of our childhoods. When we are young, they give us the strength to hold back tears over scraped knees. They tell us to be honest, never steal and stay in school. They give us someone to look up to and even something to want to become. They are the example of the world’s courage; if only we would all stand up and fight for what we believe.

Superheroes have been in our lives forever. They have been placed upon the covers of comic books and titles of movies for as long as I can remember. Yet, now, anyone can be a superhero. Superheroes are no longer that unreachable star. They are no longer a far off distant creature who we wish we were, they’re now something that everyone can aspire to be; and in some cases, the worthy ones can become.

            Jor-El, the father of Superman, said in the 1978 Superman: The Movie, “[Humans] can be a great people, Kal-El, they wish to be. They only lack the light to show the way.” We do indeed have a great capacity for good, and as a whole, we want to be worthy. Sometimes we just need a shove in the right direction. On the flip side, we also have a great capacity for evil. We all have darkness of our soul creeping, trying to take over, and thus creating a constant battle between dark and light. Good and evil. It’s not just a battle in us; it’s a battle in them too. Superheroes constantly have to choose between the right thing and the selfish thing. Between saving the girl they love, or the guy who the people need (The Dark Night, 2008). It creates a balance in the universe; even the comic book writer’s know that.

So why does the world need superman? There aren’t any super-villains that we need protection from. We only seek to be saved from ourselves. We truly need superheroes because, beyond all of the incredible powers, they teach us the one collective truth by which we all should accept; that when hatred darkens our world, when all hope seems to be lost, there is always faith left in all of us. All we need is to find within ourselves the strength to move towards the future, and look to the skies.