Tuesday, February 15, 2005

You ever wonder...

Ever wonder what it might be like to be a superhero?

I was contemplating this topic earlier today. I wasn't thinking so much as in "what powers do you wish you had" but rather "how would it change your life and the world?"

Yes, it would be fun to be the hero, saving people, helping people, etc. But you'd need to keep your real identity a secret primarily due to revenge possibilities and liability concerns. Absent huge fees and a large clientele, I doubt insurance companies would be willing to provide superheroes with insurance against accidental damage caused in the pursuit of crime-fighting.

One upside might be the babe factor. I'm sure pliable women would flock to the superheroes. Another upside are the endorsement deals. Imagine The Flash doing a plug for Reebok or Superman demonstrating that Ford trucks really are "Ford Tough." I can see it now: "When compared with the competition, the Ford F-150 takes *twice* as long for me to pound it into scrap metal. (mumbles to self: And it has nothing to do with the 0.01% kryptonite coating...)

If there were a superhero or superheroes, then there likely would be supervillains too. Right? I mean, why not? If so, then there would be actual intelligent people combatting you at times, trying to kill you. If there were many or a few superheroes, it's very likely that some would be killed. Hence, as a superhero, you stand a greater chance of perishing due to an "unnatural" death.

This is obviously a downside to the hero biz. It's not as glamorous as the comic books may make it seem. A few of those publications have addressed the likely grittier side of the profession and its potentials. See Alan Moore's The Watchmen for more on this.

Of course you'd need a killer costume and a cool name. Maybe even trademark protection for the name and copyright protection for the likeness or outfit. Hmmm. But then you'd need to supply a real name and address for registration so that might not work. (I doubt the Copyright Office would respond favorably to: "Batman - The Dark Knight, Batcave, c/o My Very Good Friend Bruce Wayne (no relation), Wayne Manor, 42 Gotham Boulevard, Gotham City...")

Anyways, just a few of my thoughts on the subject. Shazam!