Insights about comics come from the unlikeliest places....

How To Think Like a Superhero


How do superheroes think? We read their thoughts often in the comics, of course. But these are usually thoughts related to specific plot and story points. What do they think about in between those highlights? What goes through one’s head when patrolling the city at night or preparing to invade a villain’s lair?

A while back one of my uncles shared a bit of wisdom he had acquired in nearly half a century of riding motorcycles. “Just figure that everybody else on the road is out to kill you, and you’ll be all right.” On a rare visit to a comics shop a few weeks later I recalled that advice and suddenly realized that it opened up a possible insight into superhero thought processes.

Suppose you’re on a motorcycle rolling down the highway at 88 feet per second or faster. The wind blasts you in the face. Your feet rest on pegs mere inches above the pavement. You have no seatbelt or metal cocoon to protect you in the event of a crash.

You share the road with other vehicles of every shape and size. Some of these are driven by people who either aren’t very good drivers in the first place or are distracted or having a bad day. Some drivers have a perceptual inability to notice a motorcycle even in broad daylight—you are effectively invisible to them. At any moment someone might try to overtake and pass you without warning, slam on the brakes in front of you, or dart onto the road from the side without realizing you’re there.

Does that sound like a dangerous environment? Well, it is! Of course unlike with a superhero people aren’t literally trying to kill you. But deadly-level danger is as much a part of your journey as it is of a patrol through the streets or roofscapes of Gotham. Naturally, if you’re smart, you’ll devote a lot of your thinking to managing the risks.

First of all, you’ll maintain a heightened situational awareness. Be aware of the vehicles (and stray animals, road debris, etc.) around you. Evaluate which ones seem likely to pose the greatest potential threats. Is that car on that side street about to dart out in front of you without seeing you? Is that SUV overtaking you in entirely too much of a hurry? Is that vehicle up ahead behaving in an erratic fashion that suggests possible trouble? You’re constantly looking, evaluating the fluid situation.

Superheroes must surely do something similar when they’re out there doing their thing. Is that passerby an assassin in disguise? Does that odd shadow conceal a crouching ninja preparing to spring? Superheroes have to remain alert at all times—not afraid, necessarily, hopefully not too paranoid—but alert, aware, and always prepared to stay on top of the situation.

Suppose a threat—such as a car suddenly pulling out in front of you—does materialize? What then? Do you hit the brakes? Swerve around? Brake and then swerve (You do NOT want to do both at the same time, BTW…)? If they’re about to T-bone you, do you gun it and try to get out in front? Any of these could be an appropriate response, depending on the situation. You have to notice the threat, evaluate the situation, and take action all in a matter of seconds.

This is where skill and training come in. Before something like this happens you have to anticipate that something of the sort might occur and already have a scenario in mind for dealing with it. Superheroes undoubtedly have a lot of these. Of course they’ve got lightning-fast reflexes, but these aren’t much use if you don’t know what to do with them. Superheroes must spend a lot of time after operations analyzing what happened and how it could have gone or been done differently and planning for possible future problems. The planning comes BEFORE the crisis. They have the additional responsibility of not only watching out for their own safety but that of others as well. You don’t want to whip your Batarang at a shadowy figure only to learn too late that you’ve just assaulted some innocent street person.

I get as annoyed at hearing bikers brag about their assorted injuries as I do at seeing stories where superheroes constantly have to push on through knife wounds, gunshots, and more. Yes, it’s oh-so-heroic of them, but a smart biker or superhero on top of his or her game ought to be good enough to keep from getting hurt in the first place! Still, you can’t win them all. The best of us find ourselves in situations where we can’t evade the blow.

That’s where your gear comes in. Behold a group of bikers in full gear—helmets, gloves, boots, and riding leathers. Sometimes the gear is all black, sometimes it comes in a variety of flamboyant colors. In full gear even the scrawniest of bikers—such as yours truly—can look bulked-out and perhaps a bit intimidating. But we don’t wear all this stuff just for show (Though for some there’s a definite element of that), nor do we go around in leather for Freudian reasons (Though I suppose I can’t speak for everybody….). We wear our gear for the protection it gives. In normal travel it shields you from the wind. In the event of an accident it can limit injury or even save your life. For a risk-averse sort like me gearing up—knowing that one has taken the best reasonable precautions—also helps to give that extra little bit of confidence needed to hit the road with no more than a light and healthy seasoning of fear.

That, I believe, is a big part of why superheroes wear their costumes. They’re traditionally depicted as heavily muscled or otherwise overly developed individuals with outfits so form-fitting as to look painted on. I suspect that in “reality” a lot of this must be artistic license. Surely much of that bulk is padding, with armor of some sort covering vital areas. The material must be tear-resistant and flame-retardant. Those cowls are surely hard like a helmet. Those one-way mirrored eyepieces must give eye protection in addition to looking cool. Costumes may look flamboyant, but they must also serve a practical purpose beyond concealing one’s identity.

Before a ride a smart biker takes a moment to get into the right attentive, aware frame of mind. She gears up carefully, goes over the plan, and what might go wrong, and what to do if it does. She stays in that alert and aware state throughout the ride, until the danger is over. Superheroes must do something similar. It’s how they survive and function in a dangerous environment.

Just figure that everybody around you could be trying to kill you—and you’ll be all right.

Very interesting read. Thanks.