Superheroes have always called out to me as examples of realized human, superhuman, even supernatural potential. You can imagine the profound impracticality of wanting to be one!
I grew up before the RLSH ( real life superhero ) acronym was coined but always wanted to be one. I was impacted by reprints of pulp novels ( Doc Savage is my favorite and the Avenger ) and comic books. Live action superheroes on TV offered Linda Carter’s Wonder Woman, Isis ( whose title character had a large adult male following, lol ), Captain Marvel and a lesser known dynamic duonamed Electra Woman and Dyna Girl. Lee Major’s Six Million Dollar Man and Bionic Woman series also fed my heroic imagination. Public safety series like Adam 12, Emergency and private detective shows the Rockford Files and Banacek showcased conventional heroism. Mission Impossible, theAvengers ( British spies, not Marvel Comics icons ) and animated adventurer Jonny Quest fought the Cold War with style. UFO took the fight to aliens, along with cartoon hero Space Ghost.
Towering over all was Adam West Batman, whose adult Boy Scout portrayal reinforced what home, church and school taught.
I grew up finding my super in writing, drawing, civil rights advocacy and creating safety via neighborhood watch, private security and bounty hunting. It wasn’t until 2008 that I discovered folks literally living out their super, complete with aliases and outfits. I joined in and haven’t looked back. There’s too much to be done not to find your super in real life. There’s enough limited thought around without limiting yourself.
Find-your-super and live it!
-Nadra Enzi aka Cap Black, #RLSH. @nadraenzi on twitter.
*Donate* if you believe in creating safety together instead of awaiting rationing from government.
#CapBlack #RLSH 