Superheroes. Simple Acts

It's been quite a week here at the Planet. Don't want to bore you with specifics but when the bosses are stressed, you're stressed. And then you get annoyed. And then you make mistakes and feel like a total loser. And when you feel like a real loser, the best thing to do is to go and get inspired, so where do you go?
Me? I go to the comic books. (yes even people who live in METROPOLIS read comic books) So I picked up my stack and read. And it got me to thinking about this whole "hero debate" that was waged last week. Sure, recent controversies by my good friend the DoG have overshadowed the whole discussion, and The Urban Barbarian's entire argument has mysteriously vanished. But I can't stop trying to pinpoint what, exactly, constitutes a hero.
Was the Barbarian right? Was I trying to dilute the word so that I could live out some superhero fantasy of my own? I'm a nice guy...I'm "kind" (mostly). Was I equating heroism with kindness to wrap myself in an invisible cape of delusion?

Man that's depressing...

When you need the answer to a particularly vexing question you go to the smartest man around. There ain't nobody smarter than Mr. Reed Richards of The Fantastic Four. And it was in the pages of Fantastic Four that I found an answer.

The Fantastic Four are unquestionably heroes. They have saved the world, the galaxy and even a few neighboring dimensions on multiple occasions. And in this particular issue, Reed Richards aka Mr. Fantastic and his wife, Susan Richards aka The Invisible Woman, reminded me what it is I love most about heroes. And there wasn't anything particularly "Super" about it.

It all starts as an employee of the Baxter Building (where the FF live and work) approaches her boss, Sue Richards, and asks to speak to her in private. Turns out, this woman is being sexually abused at home by her husband. She doesn't know what to do. She's a brilliant lawyer, but her husband is a prosecutor and knows full well she won't be able to prove anything. And she's scared to just leave. Scared of what he will do. The woman has nowhere to go, so she goes to her boss, who happens to be a superhero. Sue knows this is out of the typical "hero" area. There's no alien to hit or supervillainous plot to foil. But Sue takes the woman home and she confronts the husband. She tells him that his wife is leaving him and moving into the Baxter Building. She tells him that he won't contest the divorce. And she tells him that she will be watching him and can do things to him he doesn't even want to think about. After sending the woman back to the Baxter Building she tries to call Reed. But he isn't answering his cell.

Why? Because Reed is at the hospital. About a year ago Reed was on his way back from a cosmic adventure when he saw a man on the ledge of a building. He spoke to the man and found out he had terminal cancer and no one left to live for. He didn't want to die a slow death alone so figured he'd end it now. So Reed Richards, Superhero and supergenius, gave the man his phone number. Promised him he wouldn't be alone. Promised this man that he would be there for him. And that's where he was. Sitting in the hospital with this man. Holding his hand so he wouldn't have to live his last hours on Earth without some kind of human contact.

And that's it. That's the whole story. Aside from Sue using some of those invisible force fields on the pig of a husband and Reed stretching his arms to check the dying man's IV there was no superheroic action. Just two human beings helping two other human beings.

Some people HATE these kinds of superhero stories. I Love them. Because as much as I love some good, old fashioned superhero ass kickin, what I love MOST is what these modern day gods represent. They represent selflessness.

Sue and Reed weren't in any danger in this issue. Their lives weren't threatened. The only thing sacrificed by either of them was their time. But they both acted selflessly, the showed kindness and compassion, and their actions were noble.

I put down the comic. And I was inspired. Because I can't lift a car, I can't shoot lazerbeams from my eyes and as much as I wish I could, I can't fly. But I can be selfless, I can be kind, and I can show compassion. Nobility is within my reach, as it is with any of us.

So am I living out some fantasy? Sure, maybe I am. But it's a fantasy where we can all be heroic all day long. We can create a world where nobility is the norm and not the exception. Where acts of selflessness and compassion really DO become commonplace. That's all I want. I mean, who doesn't want to live in a world where we can all be like Reed and Sue Richards: where we can all be Fantastic!

Check out the comic, even if you aren't a regular geek like me. Fantastic Four #28 Private Lives, Public Faces.