Michael Miller

Reflections 323: Harrison

February 5, 2012

Reflective Essay #2

            Secret identities and real identities are shown throughout the comic universe that it is sometimes hard to determine which is the known and the unknown. For example, when we are reading a comic we see the superheroes as themselves, but when they go back to their identities that everyone else sees as normal, it can be hard to let their true sides show because of keeping it all under wraps. It can sometimes be shown that the person everybody thinks they know is secretive and less “known” than their superhero counterparts. So if we continue to think, we may come to the conclusion that the superhero becomes the real identity and the secret identity is now associated with the “everyman” just like Superman with Clark Kent being his secret identity.

            Superhero morale is something of a mystery to mere mortals like ourselves because it’s hard for us to fathom how we might handle a situation if we ended up with superpowers and something was attacking a place on the planet. We can infer that, just like Uncle Ben said to Peter, “With great power, comes great responsibility” because the more you use your “gifts,” the more looked up to you are going to become because of your obligation to use your powers to help people in a time of need. But when is it okay to put those obligations aside in order for your “real” life to move forward. Personally if I had to choose between a job I was obligated to be at versus having dinner with that special someone, I might have to choose my job because without a job, you don’t have anything to support yourself or, family, with making it more difficult to cope with life. But that’s only my opinion, superheroes deal with this dilemma on a daily basis, making it ten times as difficult to make up their minds.