National Superhero Day - Who's Your Hero?

The Justice League by Jim Lee

Happy National Superhero Day!

At least, that's what Twitter told me this morning!  I had no idea it even existed!  To celebrate why not put on your favourite superhero movie or catch up with the latest episodes of Arrow, Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. or The Flash?  If you've not tried it yet then today's the perfect day to watch the masterpiece that is Netflix's Daredevil.  Or how about reliving one of the best shows of all time with a couple of episodes of Batman: The Animated Series?

So, who's your favourite superhero?  For me it's only ever been this guy;

Superman by Gary Frank

Superman was the first superhero I can remember watching.  I can't have been more than a few years old when I first saw the classic Christopher Reeve movies on TV.  That first helicopter rescue and John Williams' classic theme were seared into my brain from that moment on.  Sure the films themselves don't stand up as well today, but Christopher Reeve's performance remains timeless.  He didn't just play the part, he was Superman.  He always will be.  And to this day I can't hear that iconic music without it bringing a grin of pure childhood joy to my face.

Superman was my gateway to comics.  I used to watch Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman and the children's TV show Blue Peter did a feature on the upcoming wedding episode where they mentioned that Lois and Clark were getting married in the comics at the same time.  Well, that blew my childhood mind.  Superman had comic books?!  In the UK we got The Beano and The Dandy, super hero comics weren't in any newsagents I'd ever seen.  So my mother helped me find a local comic book store and the rest is history!

But I don't love Superman just because he was my first superhero or because he got me into comics.  I love him because of what he inspires me to be.  Better.

In Smallville's finale, before finally taking to the skies as Superman, Clark tells Darkseid "it may be easier to hate, but it's stronger to love." Is the line a little cheesy?  Maybe, but it's also true and it struck me as something Superman would say.  And it's a message that the world needs now more than ever.  Superman doesn't need to be "grim and gritty" or "dark" or "realistic" or whatever's considered cool right now.  He doesn't even need to be relatable (he is, but that's a discussion for another day), so long as he's inspirational.  He's a beacon of light, a symbol of hope.  We can never be Superman, but we can aspire to be like him.  To be better.

It's not the powers that make him Superman.  It's the man and what he stands for.  There are plenty of other characters with the same or similar abilities but none of them compare.  Superman said it himself in Joe Kelly's classic "What's So Funny About Truth, Justice and the American Way?" in Action Comics #775; "Dreams save us.  Dreams lift us up and transform us.  And on my soul, I swear... until my dream of a world where dignity, honor and justice becomes the reality we all share -- I'll never stop fighting.  Ever."  And that's something the superhero in all of us can do.