A reader comments on superheroes …

• Posted in General musings

On one of my Web pages, I invite people to e-mail me and tell me who their favorite hero is and why. Well, I got my first e-mail about superheroes today. rvarnum writes: 

How do you choose just one? I will have to go with Storm of the X-men. She can control the weather. The amazing gift and the character’s morals make her really intriguing and paralleled to mother earth. Who does not fear wild storms? She is badass!

I totally agree. Storm is definitely one of the coolest characters around. But I have to say that my favorite is Wonder Woman. She gets to wear a tiara, plus she has an invisible jet and a lasso of truth. How cool is that?

I’m also rather fond of Rogue, Batman, Spider-Man, and, of course, Wolverine. 😉

Who’s your favorite hero or villain? Inquiring minds want to know …

10 Responses to “A reader comments on superheroes …”

  1. Amalia says:

    Storm is great, I agree, but she suffers from a debilitating case of claustrophobia. Stick her in an office cubicle and she is reduced to a cowering wreck. Jean Grey is SO much cooler! Not only can she read people’s minds and move objects at will, but her power it literally limitless. Here, at last, is a woman who really CAN do it all.

    My two cents, anyway…

    ~Amalia~

  2. Jennifer Estep says:

    I have to confess that I never really liked Jean Grey that much. She is all-powerful as Phoenix, but she’s sort of wishy-washy as Jean Grey. I actually like her as Phoenix a lot better. Then again, I’m all about the kick-ass heroines, even if they are conflicted and evil-ish. 😉

    The main reason I don’t like her is the whole Jean Grey-Cyclops-Wolverine love triangle. She loves Scott because he’s the good guy, and she secretly yearns to be with bad-boy Logan too.

    But she doesn’t quite have the courage to embrace her inner bad girl and be with Logan, so she keeps him dangling. That’s just cruel. Either get with the guy or cut him loose. Make a choice, lady, and stick with it.

    This is also the thing that kills me about the Stephanie Plum novels — she’s always going back and forth between Joe and Ranger. But that’s a post for another time …

    Just my opinion …

    And a caveat: I am by no means a comic-book expert. I’m basing my responses on what I’ve watched and read. There are so many characters and so many storylines that it is almost impossible to keep up with them all. Although being the Braniac of comic knowledge would be awesome. Maybe I’ll get there someday … 🙂

  3. Brian says:

    With all of the talk of X-Men, I hope that you are reading Joss Whedon’s Astonishing X-Men. I’m not a comic expert, but I’m totally in love with this comic.

    All of the heroes mentioned above are great. I would like to add The Lone Ranger to the all time heroes list. Besides your beloved A-Team – Who else can fire a gun at people that many times and not kill anyone?

    Most of the characters mentioned already have been around for a long time, but I’m very optimistic about the new generation of superheroes. The Freshmen, Runaways and Young Avengers are wonderful example of new heroes.

  4. Jennifer Estep says:

    I didn’t know he was writing that now. Whedon and Kevin Smith do so many different things that it’s hard to keep up with them all. I am looking forward to the Buffy comic in March, though. 😉

    Macguyver didn’t kill that many people, did he? I thought he just disarmed them with with used chewing gum and shoestrings. 🙂

    Actually, I just got “Fragile Things” by Neil Gaiman to read. I’ve never read him before, so I’m looking forward to that. And it’s not a comic book, but I also have “Goblin Quest” by Jim Hines. It’s set in a D&D world with a goblin as the hero. Should be fun.

    I haven’t read any comics lately (I know, I know, I’m a bad person), but I’m hoping my significant other will get me the Marvel and DC Comics encyclopedias for V-Day. Fingers crossed!

  5. Brian says:

    After your negative reaction to season seven of Buffy, I’m surprised that you are looking forward to the comic that will represent season eight.

    Perhaps I failed to adequately convey my thoughts about the Lone Ranger. The Lone Ranger carried and used a gun to fight crime, but he never shot anyone. He would use his gun sometimes to disarm the villain, and then he would finish them off with a fistfight. That was the comparison I was trying to make with the A-Team. Macgyver didn’t use a gun as his primary weapon, so he is not germane. Though it does bring up another question, can a person be a killer and still be a hero?

    Most great heroes do not kill the person they are fighting – That is one of the traits that make them heroes.

  6. Jennifer Estep says:

    I’m interested to see what Whedon does with it — and if it will tie into the last season of Angel. Remember when Spike and Angel went to Italy? And saw a curiously well-dressed Jonathan …

    Ahhh, I see what you mean now. I don’t know if there are any similiar heroes. Maybe Knight Rider? Of course, his primary weapon was the car … I would say Miami Vice, but lots of people died on that show from what I remember. I’m stuck in the ’80s at the moment.

    One of my friends always talks about this “Magnum” episode where Magnum basically shoots a guy in cold blood after they watch the sun rise together. Is Magnum still a hero after this? The guy kidnapped and tortured his friends, but stil …

    Then, there’s someone like Marv from “Sin City” who kills people right and left in a variety of interesting ways just to avenge a dead hooker he barely knew …

    And, actually, it’s a misconception that no one ever died or got hurt on “The A-Team.” Murdock was shot and almost killed in one episode, and B.A. took a slug to the thigh. They were all poisoned, left to die in a collapsed mine, etc. And they actually killed off the military guy who was chasing them at the end of Season 4.

  7. Brian says:

    I’m not sure how much Angel and Spike will be apart of the new Buffy comic because IDW is currently publishing comics featuring those two characters. Also I think that you meant Andrew instead of Jonathan.

    I would really like to see the Magnum episode that you refer to. I wasn’t saying the A-Team didn’t get hurt or get in dangerous situations, I was trying to point out that they fired guns at people but never shot anyone – Just like the Lone Ranger. Though now you have pointed out that they killed someone, I will retract my comparison.

    Motive is what makes a hero. If a hero kills while trying to save and protect it would be acceptable, but if a hero kills out of anger or revenge then he loses his hero status.

    In the last several years I’ve noticed that almost every show I watch is about an ethically conflicted character. The Shield, The Sopranos, and Rescue Me are all about characters that I love, but then I’m reminded that maybe I shouldn’t care these characters. They all commit horrible acts and show the worst of human nature. I applaud a show that takes us to that point – Yet sometimes I find the ride exhausting.

  8. Jennifer Estep says:

    Yes, I did mean Andrew. I always get the two of them mixed up.

    The members of The A-Team didn’t kill him, but he bought it in one of the big gun battles.

    You bring up an interesting point about motive and nobility. That’s part of the reason I don’t particularly care for Superman. He’s just too darn good.

    I like heroes that are more conflicted like Batman and Wolverine. They’re truer to real life, and I can relate to them more than somebody like Superman who has all the power in the world and does nothing but good with it. Superman always makes me feel rather inadequate in the being-a-good-person department.

  10. Jennifer Estep says:

    When I was a kid, I sooo wanted to be Wonder Woman. I’d pretend that I had the bracelets, the tiara, the whole nine yards. And, of course, I looked just like Lynda Carter. She’ll always be Wonder Woman to me. 🙂

    One day, I’m going to break down and buy that show on DVD. The old “Hulk” too. And the “X-Men” cartoon. And the cheesy “Spider-Man” show from the 1970s. And “Justice League” …

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