Given the newest movie craze, Wonder Woman, is at the tip of everyone’s tongue, and the fact that CASA is committed to celebrating every day superheroes, it seems only appropriate to dive into a conversation about Superheroes. The specific focus of my blog series is the psychology of superheroes.

The first post in this series will take a look at origin stories. Pick up any comic book and it starts with the story of how the superhero came to be. Batman saw his parents brutally murdered as a child. Superman lost his parents at a young age and was thrust into a foster home. Spider Man was an orphan being raised in a kinship home.

With each turn of the page it becomes evident that the stories shared in our comic books are stories that some of us have lived; stories children have lived. The superheroes in our books are not perfect nor do they make all the right decisions. The more we explore these stories the more we realize we are much like those characters. We possess the same ability each superhero--or for that matter, villain—does: we have the ability to choose.

We can celebrate all the heroes in this field who have chosen to be there for the children and families of our community. They do not come with a cape or the ability to fly, but they do have the power to change. This one power can create a ripple effect that may create the next Batman or Spider Man. Each hero in our comics had someone they knew they could rely on and trust. Batman had Alfred, Superman had the Kent’s, and Spider Man had his Aunt and Uncle. Those connections helped shape who those heroes would become. We do not know who we may be reaching and we do not know who is watching and listening. All we do know is we don our capes every day and step out into a world that needs heroes.