Do You Want to Fly Like Superman?
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10 GREATEST SUPERPOWERS
When we were kids and full of daydreams, we fantasized about having superhuman, superhero powers. I remember asking my friends and sisters what superpowers they wished they could have if they could have any. From all of our discussions, I found that the following were the most desirable for obvious reasons:
1. Fly Like Superman
2. Breathe Under Water
3. Superhuman Strength
4. See through Anything
5. Become Invisible at Will
6. Morph into Anyone or Thing
7. Never Get Old, Sick, or Die
8. Time Travel
9. Telekinesis/Pyrokinesis
10. Read People’s Minds
The funny thing is, as we grew older, we never quite stopped wishing we could have something like superpowers. Hence, we continue to flock to the latest blockbuster movies about them: Superman, Batman, Spiderman, and, now, Iron Man! Other heroic genres, such as action adventure (Indiana Jones; James Bond; Jason Bourne), fantasy (Lord of the Rings; Harry Potter), martial arts (Hero; Kill Bill), sci-fi (Star Wars; The Matrix), or other comic-book inspired movies (Blade; Sin City), are all variations on the theme of superhuman powers, gifts, or skills.
SUPERPOWERS REPRESENT FREEDOM
But, why do we, as adults, still love superhuman heroes? And, after all these years, why do we still fantasize about having such powers and all the things we would do with them if we could? Probably for the same reason we began wanting them in the first place when we were still little kids. Back then, we were at the mercy of all the adults around us—parents, teachers, and, even, older kids. What we wanted most was freedom from all of their demands and rules. We longed for the power to do what we wanted to do, not what they made us do. We wanted power to explore the world, to seek adventure, and, above all, to escape all forms of danger. We yearned to be special by somehow knowing more, being more, and doing more than everyone else could. And, we began wanting all of this when we first realized how helpless and vulnerable we really were against the “whole, wide world!”
I think we still, as adults, love superheroes and fantasize about having their powers because we still feel powerless and trapped most of the time, and the more powerless we feel in our adult world, the more we fantasize about power. Hence, our escapism into the latest, futuristic, electronic communication and computer gadgets (though most of us don’t need them and can’t really afford them) and ever-more realistic electronic games that let us pretend to be every bit as powerful as any heroic character in the movies. Here’s just a sampling of what’s available today along with their descriptions from the homepage of EBGames.com:
1. Fantasy
a. Age of Conan: Hyborian Adventures:
b. Age of Reckoning:
2. Science Fiction
a. Mass Effect:
3. Action Adventure
a. Grand Theft Auto IV:
b. Indiana Jones: The Original Adventures:
c. Battlefield: Bad Company:
d. Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots:
4. Martial Arts
a. Ninja Gaiden II:
REAL POWER FOR GROWNUPS
So, what would you do if you could fly like superman—or had any other superpower—assuming the rest of your life was, in every other way, exactly as it is right now? Become an honest to goodness superhero? If so, how would you support yourself financially? Or, would you market your gifts/skills as a sort of magic act and sell tickets like Criss Angel the Mindfreak? Maybe you might even consider stealing from the rich to give to the poor like a modern-day Robin Hood.
That all seems like a lot of work to me. When you really think about it, if the original purpose of wanting all these superpowers was to have freedom, we can get that now as adults quite easily with something quite real: money. Yes, money!
You Can Fly, Dive, Move, Burn, and See through Things
If you have enough money, you can fly anywhere around the world anytime you want. You can even buy tickets to fly into space! Also, with enough cash, you can scuba dive anywhere you dare or charter a deep sea vessel if you want to go deeper. And, whatever you would want to do with superhuman strength, telekinesis, or pyrokinesis, you can buy equipment and pay folks to do all of that for you. To “see” through things, there are also x-ray machines and all kinds of scanners. As for invisibility, I hope you wouldn’t still want to spy or steal (the only things that power is useful for) if you already had all the money you need.
You Can Pretend to Be Anyone or Anything You Want
Okay, you can’t morph into anyone or anything no matter how much cash you have. But, you can still pretend to be anything you want—and, if you’re rich enough, people will play along with you. (E.g., Howard Hughes or Michael Jackson.) That leaves us with time travel, reading people’s minds, and never getting old, sick, or dying. Yeah, those things would be pretty cool. But, with enough money:
Time Travel: You could hire the best historians to find out whatever can be found out about our history, the best moviemakers to bring any period back to life in a giant 3-D experience, and even the best virtual reality game creators to immerse you into a virtual tour of any part of history of your choosing.
Read People’s Minds: You could hire professional people readers. Yes, such people exist (doctors, psychologists, sociologists, economists, historians, and many other specialized researchers), and they’re not cheap. They’re hired by governments and giant corporations to predict and influence our behavior, usually to accept the status quo and spend all of our hard-earned dollars on their products or services. Just look around and you’ll see these experts really do know how to read our minds!
Never Get Old, Sick, or Die: You could hire the best doctors, nutritionists, and fitness experts to keep you as healthy as possible for as long as possible. That’s as as good as it gets. The average human lifespan is getting longer all the time, and some of us can realistically expect to live to 120! That’s long enough for me.
CONCLUSION
Money can’t buy everything; that’s true. But, it sure can buy a lot. Anyone who says otherwise is just grumbling about sour grapes. Money can buy freedom to do what you want when you want. It can make you feel as safe as humanly possible and protect you from most known dangers. It can buy you knowledge, strength, and just about any power there is in the world. Isn’t that what we wanted as kids?
We can have these things as adults if we stop feeling conflicted about money, spend less time fantasizing about superpowers and playing fantasy games, and spend more time developing the one thing in this world that can really give us freedom, protection, and power: MONEY. It’s not a dirty word. It’s the genie in the bottle that grants you your wishes. The more money you have, the more wishes you get to make. How many wishes do you want? Be awesome! Be your own hero!
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