Everyone wants to be Iron Man, but not everyone wants to be Tony Stark. Everyone wants to be Batman, but not everyone wants to be Bruce Wayne.
“But wait,” you might reply, “Those are charismatic multibillionaires.” Well, they didn’t start that way. Both were shaped by tragedy. That money came with enemies and challenges. In both cases, much of the privilege came with problems, struggling with emptiness and need for purpose. But let me switch to an example that might land a bit more squarely on target.
Bilbo Baggins had dreams of adventures, but the consistent hard work and danger regularly kept him away from pursuing those things.
Bringing it back to the comics examples, Bruce Wayne’s and Tony Stark’s whole journeys are ones motivated by loss and struggles against things bigger than they are, money or no money. Bruce Wayne often resigns himself to never being very happy in his personal life. Tony Stark regularly battles against his ego, conflicts in his personal relationships, and a regular bout with his alcoholism. When faced with this, could we say that being Batman or Iron Man is worth the trade-off? One could argue the responsibility that comes with the hero’s mantle would finally put the negatives ahead of the positives in the final tally.
Like it or not, being a hero is not a thing of status. Being a hero is about doing the right thing, and very often it involves a lot of “swimming upstream” against others, against the status quo, against the world and its ways, and especially against yourself.
Most true heroes are recognized only by some after the fact, not while they’re doing it. Not much reward and it’s often only because they know it’s right, even if no one else does. Sooner or later it also comes with costs.
So it would seem that the conditions for making heroes are exactly the conditions that would ensure most people would never willingly choose to be one. The traits are uncommon, and that is why heroes are uncommon, but they are exactly the stuff that makes both heroes and their stories special. “They make the decisions most of us couldn’t.” And maybe it starts us thinking maybe those traits are worth adopting because of that. After all, heroes are often made, not born.
Until next time, Godspeed and Peace be with ya!
The Paladin Author 