Coming into this class I had only watched the movie Watchmen and throughout most of the movie I was lost. In reading the novel and watching the movie I found that my favorite superhero was Rorschach. After reading the novel now twice and watching the movie multiple times I know exactly what Rorschach stands for. He stands for the innocent, plain and simple. He sees the world in black and white and consequently never punishes anyone who doesn't deserve it. Even though his view of the world is childlike, Rorschach be a great example to us all for standing up for his beliefs even in the face of death.
Before coming into this class I had never read Marvel's Civil War and even though we only read the first book out of the series I got a hold of a copy and read the entire thing. Up until that point I had looked at Captain America as nothing more than a government stooge, but after the opening book I might ideas about Captain America turned around. Instead of just following orders Captain America tells S.H.I.E.L.D that he will not comply with the new superhero act and he'll fight it to the end.
During my childhood and my high school years I have never had some deep secret that I was afraid of telling my parents. In reading the book Hero and learning of how much Thom just wanted to be accepted by his dad, but just being afraid of what his secret would do to their relationship, I have found that I've not really had any adversity to over come. I think so far my life hasn't had that many hardships so I should probably complain a little less and be thankful for the cards I've been dealt.
Batman is my absolute favorite hero of all time. That fact is probably why both of my analytical essays are about him. In this class I wish we could explored his story a little further. I think we all know his origin story, but we left so much of his story unexplored. I know I was supposed to point out an important idea he could have conveyed to the class, but besides his moral code I don't think there is any other aspect we could really dive too much into. So I understand why we didn't spend too much time on him.
I think that if comic book heroes had one thing to say to their readers it would be that it is always right to stand up and help those in need. Anyone who is a good citizen will help their fellow citizens in a time of need. I feel that Superman is the best model for good citizenship because instead of just doing what was easy and making himself a lot of money, he decided to take the hard road. In taking the hard road Superman decided that the welfare and safety of everyone around him was more important than his wants and needs. Anyone who puts the needs of society before their needs is a model citizen.
