Who To Turn To

written by Natalie Finander | illustration by Angela Zheng, layout by Cami Miceli

It’s important to have someone to look up to – an older brother, a parent, or a teacher, for instance. Having a role model or “hero” that one aspires to be like is essential in discovering who we really are. Recognizing a quality you admire in someone else will help you discover what kind of qualities you want to emulate.

But what about superheroes? Do those costumed, masked, superpowered beings perform the same function as a beloved mentor? Would they not be a better role model because they can literally save the world?

I believe the answer is no; superheroes don’t replace the non-fictional heroes we encounter throughout our lives. However, the purpose of a fictional hero is just as important, for in their extreme abilities, they show us the extremes of kindness, patience, and love. They choose the right way over the easy way and inspire us to do the same. And, perhaps most importantly, superheroes show us how to use power and difference for good.

My two favorite superheroes growing up were Martian Manhunter and Wonder Woman. Martian Manhunter, aka J’onn J’onzz, is an extremely old, extremely powerful Martian known as “The Last Son of Mars.” His powers include super strength, super speed, flight, telepathy, mind control, and shape shifting. Superman once called him “the most powerful man on Earth.” He had a wife and two daughters on Mars, but they died along with the rest of the Martians in a terrible war.

J’onn isn’t my favorite superhero because he’s so powerful, but because of what he chooses to do with all of that power. Despite all of his tragedies – losing his wife, losing his daughters, being the last member of his race – J’onn is kind and eventempered, both in the comics and in other media. He is the epitome of the gentle, silent giant: he has the power to crush you with a single hand or even a single thought, but he chooses instead to be calm, protective, and compassionate. J’onn could conquer the Earth with little effort in an act of rage because of his lost planet. What he actually chooses to do, however, is protect the weaker humans from ever facing such a tragedy as his. J’onn taught me how to turn pain into love and suffering into purpose.

Wonder Woman, or Diana Prince, doesn’t have the tragic backstory of J’onn J’onzz, but she shares his ability to decimate mankind. Raised on the island of Themyscira, homeland of the all-female warrior Amazons, Diana took up the mantle of Wonder Woman when she donned her now-famous armor and left her home to fight the forces of evil. Diana’s strength rivals that of Superman, and her skill with her Lasso of Truth and bullet-blocking bracelets make her a formidable fighter.

In some versions of Diana’s origin story, once she leaves Themyscira, she can never return. In effect, she left her mother, her friends, and everything she’d ever known in order to help humanity. J’onn was forced to come to Earth, but Diana chose to help us instead of staying home, where she was safe and loved. In the 2017 movie Wonder Woman, she even had a moment of weakness and told Steve Trevor that she made a mistake in leaving her home, and that mankind wasn’t worth saving. But after watching Steve sacrifice himself, she decided that there was hope for humankind and remained in our world as Wonder Woman to continue fighting for good. Again, a person with godlike power who could just as easily forsake the Earth as save it decided that the possibility of helping the human race was better than returning to her life on Themyscira.

This pattern can be seen for virtually every superhero created. Superman could have razed the Earth without breaking a sweat. Batman could have turned into a murderer from grief over his parents. Captain America could have overthrown the U.S. government if he ever disagreed with what they asked him to do. Iron Man could have continued making weapons of war instead of technology for peace. Spiderman would have made an excellent thief with his abilities. But the important thing is that they didn’t: they all chose to fight for good, for humanity, for us. These heroes show us how to accept ourselves for who we are, inspire us to stand up for what’s right, and demonstrate how to turn what could be a source of pain into a reason to help. It doesn’t matter what kind of powers you have or what circumstances you came from – it only matters what you choose to do next, and superheroes can be the guides that help us choose the path of the righteous.

None of us would have these role models without the real humans (writers, illustrators, and editors) who created them. No matter what the stories tell us, superheroes owe all of their might, courage, and power to regular, flawed, human writers. Their true “origin stories” are that they were created by ordinary humans. But though superheroes may have been formed from humble human imagination, they are still the necessary role models that society needs.

Writers are an integral part of society. Since the time of fairy tales and folk stories, humans have relied on others to give examples of good triumphing over evil, of the virtuous defeating the wicked. In the modern age, this very important role falls at least partially on comic book creators, and at least in my case, they have succeeded in inspiring me to be the best person I can possibly be.

And, to one of the greatest writers of our time: rest in peace, Stan Lee.