Superhero Wisdom

In this post, I list the top 10 superheroes who are, in my mind, among the best archetypes to work with as tools for introspection and personal growth.

This post is about a startling and somewhat unsettling piece of hard wisdom embedded within this film that, at a very critical point in your life, you may choose to apply. This post is about how The Dark Knight Rises can save your life.

The primary message of Spider-Man the character, of course, has always been that “with great power comes great responsibility.” It’s a beautiful aphorism but the problem is that many people feel that it has little relevance for them because the last thing they feel like is powerful.

More than any other character in the Marvel universe, Captain America (aka Steve Rogers) didn’t become a hero. He always was one. This is the key when it comes to changing our own lives and that of society.

The Batman movies are powerful because they suggest a more realistic and productive way to deal with our negative emotions, especially fear and anger. We do not deny them, oppress them or run from them, but neither do we indulge in them and let them slowly eat us up from the inside.

Many gifted and talented people often find themselves struggling with intense feelings of alienation at one time or another. Kal-El, also known as Clark Kent or Superman, would empathize.

By working with these characters, their stories and their struggles, we cross a symbolic bridge into our own unconscious and subconscious and wrestle with the demons and villains that lie therein.