Who Needs a Superhero?

Who Needs a Superhero?

We live in a scary world, and hero stories express our longing for safety
and security. While we can sometimes hedge ourselves against disaster, life
is ultimately beyond our control. If only some more-than-human power would
set the world right, we think. If only someone could walk beside us to see
us through the perils of life, someone genuinely good and supremely strong.

So we keep looking for heroes. We idolize our athletes, but they scarcely
make any real difference in the world. We elevate our leaders on lofty
pedestals, but from that vantage their clay feet are all the more obvious.
We expect miracles from doctors, cops, and firefighters, but they all fail
us often enough to remind us that they too are only human, after all.

When real heroes let us down, we turn to the fictional variety. The more
troubling our times, it seems, the grander our heroes. In these days of
terrorism, war, epidemics, ecological disaster, and shaky economics, we need
superheroes, those costumed do-gooders who were born in the frightful
shadows of the Great Depression and World War II. ...

Admittedly, not all superheroes offer sterling role models. Like television, movies and books in general, the comic book field has its share of needless violence, sexual stereotypes, and other offensive material. But if we separate the wheat from the chaff, we'll find comic books offering much heroism, idealism, and sacrificial nobility as any area of the entertainment industry.

In fact, nobody does heroes better than comic books. As far as I can see,
there's just one drawback with these caped adventurers: they aren't real.

That leaves us in a bind. Flesh-and-blood heroes aren't big enough to save
us, and comic book heroes are make-believe. ...

The spiritual hunger for heroes is woven into the fabric of the human
creature. Our Maker built us with a persistent longing for a rescuer who
will save us from injustice and suffering. We dream of a champion who will
lift us and lead us home. In our bleakest moments, we pray for someone to
save us from ourselves.

Religion is the deepest expression of our longing for a savior; but all our
hero stories finally point in the same direction. Every heroic saga,
legend, and myth is ultimately a variation on one universal story: When all
seemed lost, a hero stepped in to rescue us from the evil around and within
us.

As it turns out, this story happens to be true, and the hero is absolutely
real.


H. Michael Brewer
"Who Needs a Superhero?" pages 9-10
Baker Books, Grand Rapids, Michigan 2004