Superman is my Hero

I have a file on Superman, which is full of pictures, facts and little secrets about him. Many people would consider it strange that he is my hero especially when many of my friends got over the Superman, Batman stage when they were ten.
However being a fan of Superman isn’t surprising for people to believe but they do find it hard to believe that a girl likes the dramatics of Superheroes instead of make-up dolls and the usual stacks of clothes.

My friends would often say that I’m obsessed about Tom Welling, the actor who plays the character Clark Kent in the show Smallville. In actual fact I don’t care about him at all. He is an amazing actor however the character he plays and represents is far more interesting than any human, or superhero on earth.
I never had an action figure of Superman but I used to jump on the tramp and for one instant pretend I could fly and never fall. Since I was younger I’ve always loved Superman. I think its every childs dream to be like Superman or another Superhero in a fantasy world. I just never grew out of it.

Having a hero around made childhood easier. Although he wasn’t there in real life, in the back of my mind it felt like Superman would protect me no matter what. I often felt that way when my mum got sick with Multiple Sclerosis when I was six. Before then, I never felt that way about a hero, but my brother did. He knew everything, all the little facts about his powers and Superman’s life. I got hooked after an argument with him about who was better Superman or Sailor Moon.
Now it seems we talk about Superman more and more. I think he gets frustrated with me when I correct him.

We both found that there was nothing more interesting than having a Super Powered alien in the back of our imaginations. I would imagine it would have been the same for Jerry Siegeland and Joe Shuster “a couple of teens” who created Superman back in the 1930’s. Superman became real to them as he did for me.
He’s no fictional character, to me, he’s real. He has problems like having to overcome mistakes. When Superman could not save thousands of people he punished himself and disappeared for three days to mourn but when he did return, he had changed his shield to black and he continued to wear it for a year.

When Superman faces his problem, he doesn’t wear a mask like most Superheroes, he faces his enemies with pride. Lex Luthor once said, “I can’t believe someone so powerful wanted another identity”.
People think this might make it easier for Superman to face his problems straight in the eye, but at the end of the day his problems aren’t who he is. This is because his powers don’t define who he is. Superman has a whole different identity as Clark Kent, which is the identity that he truly tries to protect. I wish I could be that brave by using my talents and abilities to protect the ones I love.

Superman has strength, flight, x-ray vision, heat vision, however he doesn’t use his powers for evil but for good. He learnt respect for his powers from his parents Martha and Jonathan Kent. They taught him that although he was the only Kryptonian left he needed to use the gifts given to him for good.
This is why I respect the Kent family. When faced with something different they didn’t get scared and run away, they stayed and were able to mold their son into an extraordinary person.

That is why Superman is my hero. Everything about his abilities, his problems and his life is real. They have made it easier for me to understand my regrets and also my challenges. Superman showed me that it’s not whether you succeed or fail but whether you learn and keep going, and I think that’s one lesson we all need to learn. His story has allowed me to accept who I am just like he had to accept who he was in order for him to make a difference as a hero.