When you read a comic book for the first time, you are probably going to be excited to see how the main protagonist will become the hero of the story. Along the way, you'll see them be put through the wringer in terms of personal growth, whether that's through the death(s) of people close to him or innocent people in the middle of a battle, to learning hard lessons about being a hero in a world where people hate them despite sacrificing so much to keep them safe. Qualities like this not only make a hero relatable but also makes me sympathize with them.
Heroes that have relatable qualities make for interesting characters to me as you want to root for them to succeed and you feel bad for them when they save an innocent person from dying but end up being ridiculed for it (*cough* Spider-Man *cough*). The heroes that stand out to me that fit these qualities are the following:
Captain America
(Loved by many and is seen as a shining example of heroism)
Spider-Man
(Poster child for public hatred)
Invincible
(Guy trying his best to help but has enough of the "hero life")
Incredible Hulk
(Man and monster who struggle with doing the right thing without being targeted by others)
Each of these characters struggled or still struggle with doing the right thing while still suffering a negative consequence because of their choice. In each hero's case the consequences they suffer are:
- Innocent people dying (All of the above)
- Being hunted by the government for something they didn't do (Hulk)
- Realizing not everyone can be saved (Spider-Man and Invincible early in their careers)
- In spite of everything they've done eventually, the people will hate them (all of the above) (hope you caught the Spider-Man movie reference)
- Making a difficult choice of killing the villain (Invincible)
- It doesn't matter how much good you do, there'll always be people who want you dead (all of the above)
All in all, it doesn't matter if you are selfless and heroic like Captain America or Spider-Man, you could save a million people from a nuke and the people will still think that you caused it as Hulk has been in similar situations. When we sympathize with them and want to say "screw you!" to the people that were saved, I feel that the writer has done a perfect job of making the character relatable and we want to continue seeing them grow and become one of the best, if not the best they can be.
Comments
Post a Comment