Inness’s assessment of Elektra is not fair at all. In a quick summation of how “tough” this comic portrays them, it took an explosion in conjunction with a surprise beating by Elektra to knock out the Daredevil, but it only took one shot of a dart to knock her out. This is an unfair comparison that the writers created just because she is a woman, and the man always has to be tougher. Skill wise and logistically she should be the tougher of the two, but she still gets the short end of the stick- along with the skimpy outfit.

The media definitely perpetuates that women need male protection because in world affairs it is always men who are discussing and making big decisions, as well as tough/burly men who are shown in the military branches as defending here in the United States. The only exceptions I can think of are the few media outlets who only show women as being superior to men, and the few times when the media has some type of women’s appreciation in a commercial or a news story to try to even out the cause. I believe that these few examples do show how things are changing, and I believe that it will simply take more time for more change to occur. Women barely got their suffrage and their rights as a human in essence less than 100 years ago, so how can we expect the “mans” world to change in such a short time? There have been more and more developments since then, and these will catch up in the comic world as well. The consistent effort to make the world truly equal is what will drive the ever-present progress in all social/political affairs.

Mark wears the Superman costume after his wife passes away, an act that has many meanings within itself. He realizes that he needs to live every day to the best of his ability, especially because there may not be a tomorrow for some people. He also uses it in a smaller sense as a defense mechanism because he is scarred from the passing of his wife. On another note, his dressing up lightens the mood of everyone around him, which helps him to avoid the depressing pity of those around him who know about his loss. It is a mood lifter in a sense as well, for himself and those who see him in public. He wants to get reactions and he says he gets more reaction from those who grew up with a comic type of background.

I understand that those who see him might be excited at the culture-breaking idea of standing out and doing things that might draw attention. It is like the saying that states if you shine your light, you unconsciously give others permission to do the same. This benefits those around him greatly, as well as himself, especially through his new way of life. He likes to give others something to smile about and a way to think about something that makes them happy and not so focused on secular things. Even when he gets made fun of, he uses it as a chance to show an example of someone who is kind and forgiving.

Aunt May explains to Peter how necessary heroes are, both as examples to others and as fulfilling it is to themselves to take up their responsibility. Heroes are only heroes because they sacrifice things that others would not. They sacrifice their time, commitment, and most of the time they put their lives at stake, and that is what makes them so selfless and invaluable. In our own lives we sacrifice based on the decisions we make. Sometimes we sacrifice something we want in order to help someone else- a giving up of ones own wants and needs just to help someone else fulfill theirs. Sometimes we go extremely out of our way to help someone in need, or just someone that means a lot to us. The same pulls that Spiderman has put pressure on all of us- that if we can do something to help, we feel an obligation to do so.
I have made many sacrifices when it comes to basketball. My entire childhood and teenage years were devoted to the sport, and I lost a few friendships along the way because they were not happy about me choosing the sport over them time and time again. I had to miss events, care about things that other people did not have to think about, and always perform to my best ability because it was going to be evaluated. My parents also sacrificed for me to pay for club basketball and training all in support of my dreams. From us making those sacrifices, I achieved my dreams, and I became a mature and well-rounded person overall. I think the same sacrifices could be felt by Peter Parker, and that his choices and his loved ones choices made him into who he is.

After learning of Edward Snowden’s leaking of NSA information, I learned that people are not very critical of whistle blowers themselves when they uncovered information that is helpful to them. The only people who believe Snowden is a traitor are the people who side with those agencies and believe that there should be governmental secrecy over those matters. The public did not care enough to remember the leak- let alone have an opinion on his character- even though privacy is a good topic of discussion for Americans.

This compared greatly to Captain America: The Winter Soldier greatly because Cap and Black Widow leak all of SHEILDs information to the public. This creates the same topic of discussion both in this fictional superhero world and in the real world: should everyone be watched all the time? I believe this is justified in both ways, regardless of who it might be hurtful towards. If it were a truly noble act of the government/SHEILD to provide “safety” through surveillance and tapping, it would not be a secret. If it were a 100% good idea, all citizens would know and have a chance to express their opinions through debate or through vote. Because of this, whistle blowers are very necessary.

Cap, Black Widow, and Snowden are all whistle blowers. The only difference between the superheroes and Snowden is that the heroes have a sort of responsibility to shed light to the truth at all times, and with that comes more freedom from consequence. Snowden is forced to flee and stay in another country, while the heroes are encouraged to plead their case and move on from these situations much quicker.

I do not believe you can be truly free while being fully safe. In order to be safe, someone or something must know what is happening, who is where, and what they are doing at all times so that if there is a negative occurrence, they can stop it. This inadvertently requires some sort of violation of privacy. There are many examples hired hands that have access to their employers schedule as well as every bit of information about them, and they must know this in order to help keep them out of harms way. That being said, freedom comes with a sense of trust in the way that our country is considered to be free because we have people in the military who give up their freedom for some time to fight for us. This is a trusting situation in which someone must always give something- whether it is the person being protected or the person protecting them. I am willing to sacrifice some of my own privacy to a point in order to be safe. I think it is okay to let people know where I am at what time or who I was with, but I would only want the RIGHT people to know that. Also, I have no secrets that could be useful/hurtful, so that is another reason it is not as detrimental to me for someone to potentially tap into my information.

I have only had a handful of friends that have made an enorous impact on my life, most of which I met in elementary school and continue to be my friends today. If I look at my life chronologically based on events/successes, it would look like I was a normal kid in sports, then I joined a club basketball team in junior high, then I was a very successful athlete in high school and had 2 specific friend groups throughout, both of which supported my basketball endeavors and my academic ones. My friend group at school was full of the schools best student-athletes, and they helped to keep me on that path throughout those four years. After basketball was an easy success for me, I got a division 1 scholarship from a club team I was on that I ended up leaving and going back to play with my origional club friends. This was instrumental for me because it made basketball fun for me again leading into college. If I had made any very clo9se friends in college, I would probably have stayed at my former school, but I am very happy for the friendships and people I met along the way to transferring to Monmouth. Now, my friends here are all athletes who strive to be successful in the classroom as well. I guess that is the type of people I am drawn to.

This relates to Batman because he is a loner who is attracted to those who are like-minded to him. That is why he becomes quick friends with the cheif. Both of them want what is best for the city, and are willing to put their pride aside to create this powerhouse to fight crime. I guess my friends and I are sort of powerhouse people who help each other be successful in life.

I tend to be frustrated most by ignorance, lack of aspiration, and lack of compassion. I find ignorant people to be lazy, uneducated, and usually those who are trying to fit in in all the wrong ways by being overly opinionated on no grounds. Lack of aspiration is something that I always look for in people. Naturally I want to help whoever I come into contact with become a better person, or learn from them myself how to be better. When I sense that lost and unguided mindset that has no will towards any goals or aspirations or needs to better oneself in life, it gets very stressful for me- especially if it’s a teammate or a colleague. Lastly is lack of compassion and this relates to being there for others. Seeing their perspectives through their eyes and always knowing in the back of your mind that there are two sides to every story if not more. This unwillingness to comprehend someone else’s situation and have compassion causes much resistance towards my protective nature.

Chopra shows that everyone has a shadow self. These shadows to a person are imbalances in the mind that pressure a person to focus on their imperfections. He states that nurturing our darker qualities can transform them into some of our greatest strengths.

These do have a presence in me, more than I would like to admit. I am ignorant in many ways because I try to spread myself too thin and I can sometimes get burned out and lazy. I lack aspiration when I think of shortcuts or finding the most efficient way to do the least amount of work possible. Usually if I have a decent sized obstacle in my way, I tend to back down and find some other direction to go- and this is something I would like to better about myself. Lastly, I lack compassion sometimes because I get too focused on myself, and this is something that I want to get loads and loads better by.

By identifying these weaknesses, I know I can address them directly and actively try to change them into my strengths. As for right now, I want to use my time wisely, do all of my work to achieve my goals, and be as selfless as possible to sum up being the best I can be.

In the Superman comic film “The Eleventh Hour”, it shows Superman secretly getting himself involved in the war, and it shows how easily he can win it. The characters that portray the Japanese are shown as almost monsters in a sense- with large teeth and angry faces- and all they talk about is doing evil things to innocent people throughout. (With their extremely racist accents.)

For those who watched this during wartime, it would come across that the entire people of Japan and their values are no longer a part of their world in any way. It doesn’t show anything good about the environment in the episode, nor does it have any characters to lighten the hate towards the enemies. Children who watch this would become insensitive and have these stereotypes built in from a very early age, and older viewers develop more of a hatred against the entire people, not just those who do evil things. It’s like having your favorite team play against your rival- even then if you and your friends disagree with one another about choosing, you will vote against their side for the time being and any time it is brought up. This is the same as thinking about us versus the Japanese- some people will always see them as the rival team, no matter how long it’s been.

According to comics historian Mike Benton, there are 7 originally significant superheroes that are the most important is the history and development of the superhero genre. These are: Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, Spider-Man, Captain America, Captain Marvel, and Plastic Man. The two additions I would make to Benton’s significant 7 are Iron Man, and Cat Woman.

Iron Man is significant to the genre because he is one of the only superhero’s that can be relatable to all of mankind. He doesn’t have any special powers, in fact, he is plagued by having organ issues, and that is the reason for his super emergence, and his reason for remaining super- until the end of the iron man movies, of course. He is just like the others in the way that he has an alias, Tony Stark, and he has his own reasons for vengeance against evil. He shows an important lesson throughout his struggle to remain on the good side, and in his struggle to not lose his identity. His girlfriend helps him immensely with this, and this is also one case where he does a lot of things with her in mind. I believe he is one of the most iconic superheroes because of his relatability, and his appeal to intelligence and wealth.

Cat Woman is important because she was first brought up as a side character in Batman, but she developed into her own, which many women in comics never get to. She is a bit on the fence between good and bad, but what makes her so important was the balance she brought to the genre by being a very strong female emergence, somewhat early on. I believe that her character shaped later women’s roles in the genre.

Thanks for joining me!

Good company in a journey makes the way seem shorter. — Izaak Walton