Julie 2 - Comic Book Heroes

Comic books have been a part of my life since I could read. Being able to forget about my life and live in the world of superheroes is an amazing concept to me. The impossible is possible in between the pages of a comic book. There is always someone there to help the helpless and save the day. The hero can always stop the villain, be it a common criminal or an alien. When I was younger Superman was my favorite comic book hero. The way he could change from being a reporter to being a superhero blew my mind. Flying through the sky and saving the day in only a way a Kryptonian under the Earth’s sun can. He could have used his powers to easily destroy the world yet he risks his life to help the people of Metropolis and the world. This selflessness was always something I looked up to and hope I can live up to. Now that I am older, I have had exposure to more fandoms. To me, a fandom is what a group of people like and follow, usually a fictional universe, but it doesn’t have to be fiction. With this new exposure, I came across my definition of a hero. Over the course of reading comic books, my definition of superhero and hero has strayed from what I used to believe it to be. A superhero is a hero that has extraordinary, nonhuman powers while a hero is anyone who is willing to risk whatever it takes to save or better the lives of others. This leads me back into the comic books that I have been reading presently. Currently, my favorite comic book series is Doctor Who, leading the Doctor to be my new favorite comic book hero. The Doctor is a prime example of my definition of a hero. She is the last of her species from Gallifrey traveling with the TARDIS, which can go through time and space. Instead of having an easy life where she used the TARDIS to find a tropical island to live, she travels through time and space saving lives and planets. She has given her life(she can regenerate), risked the TARDIS, and, even though she wished she didn’t, risked the lives of those she loves while helping the universe. The Doctor did all this with the thought of helping others over her wellbeing. While this might seem like what Superman does, the Doctor has been doing this for thousands of years. Even after losing so much and seeing so much fall to the hands of evil, she keeps striving to save those who need it and showing a helping hand to those who have been wronged. Comic books have helped me through some dark and troubled parts of my life. They have helped me become who I am today and I strive to become a better person because of the heroes in them. They have shown me the true meaning of being a hero.

Part of my collection