They say that it’s absolutely normal to have role models when you are little. If there isn’t any particular person that you consciously admire, your parents are probably your role models. However, not few are those who knowingly admire superheroes and develop a strong connection with them and the ideals they represent.
Superheroes are, by definition, out of the ordinary and their capacities place them well beyond the abilities of regular humans. Yet, what makes them so appealing? Do we look up to them only for their strengths and special powers? Do we follow every episode of each series featuring them and do we buy every new edition of the comics that focuses on them just to see what new tricks they perform and how gracefully they defeat their enemies?
I believe that the answer is no. No because there is so much more to superheroes than their superpowers. These characters are the sum of our hopes and desires. They stand for everything we wish to achieve in life: success, happiness, appreciation. Superheroes are able to make good things happen to them and those around them. But this often comes at great costs, just like in real life, which makes them appeal to us even more as we find it easier to identify with them. Superheroes have to face hardship and countless obstacles to defeat villains, they often have to sacrifice their personal lives and even lose the ones they love in order to save the world.
Another aspect that increases their charm are their weaknesses. We do admire superheroes for their extraordinary skills, but we also love them for their weak spots. Their incapacity to adapt to social norms, their frustration and anger, their desires and fears humanise them more and show us that, in the end, putting aside their super skills, they are just like me and you.
Finally, what makes us love these characters so much is the fact that their stories take us out of this sordid reality and into a world where good defeats bad. In this world, the hero is always able to punish the villain and save the innocent. This ideal world which is so different from the corrupt society we live in allows us to hope and dream that we too can change our micro-universe for the better. And, in the end, this is the ultimate purpose of superheroes: nurturing our best wishes and hopes.