What maketh a superhero?

The fact that my last post on superheroes got a great response from my readers has led me to shed some more light on the topic.
Who is a superhero?
We mostly recognize our favorite superheroes by their attire, by the special look of theirs, of course. Although a superhero's costume may make identifiable or recognizable, instantly, costumes do not make a man, and as such a vibrant or colorful costume, often with a logo incorporated, cannot be a guarantee of one's being a superhero, can it?
Well, any hero who is a Tom, Dick or Harry may not qualify to be a superhero.
A superhero is simply someone who is born with exceptional, and rather unexplainable powers;
the powers need not be super-powers
but they need to be used for the greater good, unselfishly, heroically.

The selflessness of the superhero is of utmost importance.
A lot of obstacles, a lot of weaknesses are required to be overcome by a superhero, he might have to battle with his personal tragedies, has to grapple with personal tragedies and great personal losses, and yet he has to hold dear the cause of society, or his city which is faced with huge crises, he has to be willing to sacrifice himself for the cause, he has to have an unflinching desire in his model role-play as a savior.
My favorite superhero, many of my readers have wanted to know, had been Superman, since I was first introduced to superheroes - when I was a kid - by the Superman comics and the films (starring Christopher Reeve). But, later, I shifted my loyalty to Batman, the other immensely popular cape-clad superhero, largely influenced by the Tim Burton film (1989) and by the recognition of the fact that Bruce Wayne did not need any superpowers to become Batman; he used intellect and martial arts skills and was aided by wealth and technology to combat the villains, which was quite a style statement for my impressionable mind as a teenager.

Spider-Man captured my imagination much later. No wonder that the comic-books chronicling Peter Parker's grappling with adolescence, his emotional vulnerability, and his self-obsessions, along with his agility and super-strength, the transformation to Spider-man, have attained cult status. Even as an adult I could relate to the protagonist's yearnings and leanings. The trilogy of the live-action films starring Tobey Maguire became my instant favorites as I loved them all (2002 - 2007). The franchise has had a reboot with Andrew Garfield playing the superhero, and although I have a special soft corner for Tobey in the role, am hooked on the new take (the first film in this series, 'The Amazing Spider-Man', was released last year). Glad to have found Andrew Garfield fitting the Spidey suit to a T.

An ode to the superheroes.....

(......and the superheroines as well!)

And such an ode was long over-due, many would say.
Well, this post is just for them, and none else.
To be honest, I have often wondered if I am actually some superhero....... one who is yet to realize what his superpowers were....... one who is still hibernating for all practical purposes....... one who is cursed, and hence robbed of all superpowers!!!




So, today, I took this quiz that a good friend of mine made me take.
It is to help one understand which superhero one is......
I mean, not to be taken seriously, but just an interesting aspect about one's personality that one can find about. The quest is definitely for the one is a superhero buff, as is the friend in question, more so than me.

I took the test, goaded by the fact that this world of ours is filled with superhero fanatics.
They come, as they say, in all shapes and sizes........ hahaha.
The cyberspace is filled with their kind. One plays out one's superhero fantasies at times in the open, undaunted by the jibes of the phobics and the skeptics.
We all want to unleash the superhero spirit lurking deep within our soul,
whatever be the degree of our madness, whatever be the extent of our faith.

The quiz referred to above, 'Which Superhero Are You?' made me answer a whole lot of questions...... ranging from 'Do you like to fly?' and 'Do you like hi-tech gadgets?' to 'Do you wear thongs?' and 'Do you wear a push-up bra?' - unbelievable, no?
Well, to amuse my readers here are some of the other questions I had to answer (there were a series of circles between the two extremes of Yes and No which one had to click in) and find out who I really was (inside, eh?). Sample these:

Are you very virtuous?
Are you a persistent do-gooder?
Are you somewhat reserved and easy going?
Are you an intelligent geek?
Are you accident prone?
Are you a hopeless romantic?
Do you have a good sense of humor?
Did you have a bad childhood?
Do you have long hair?
Are you VERY comfortable with your body?
Do you value independence and privacy?
Are you good at reading people?
Do you like to be in the limelight?
Are you young at heart?
Are you a little naive?
Are you easily angered?
Are you a loner?
Do you often hurt people without realizing it?
Do you move a lot?
Have you ever stolen anything?
Do you use people to get your way?
Do you like bad boys (or girls)?
Are you much of a drinker?
Are you obviously powerful?
Are you a show off?
Do you like to build things?
Have you achieved a lot from hard work?

Well, if you have come to the bottom of the post, laughing, smiling, cringing or squirming, here is the answer.......
the answer is: I am Green Lantern!