ADVANTAGE: AWESOME


Sunday, June 10, 2007

The Avatars

I don't fit in very well. Anywhere.

Not at my job where a coworker actually called me "House."

Not with my family, because they're really outgoing people who make others comfortable, and well, someone told my brother I have a way of making others feel stupid. I was shocked at this, mainly because I rarely talked to that person.

And with my friends, I still feel like the odd man out. I'm with them, but...

I started thinking about this, and as with most other things I think about, I started to think about comics, and what kind of character that would make me. I would have similar goals as all the other heroes, but something about my nature or my methods would make me an outsider.

In Marvel, Punisher would come to mind first but Punisher doesn't have the same goals as the heroes, he wants all criminals dead. And Hulk doesn't count, he wants to be left alone.

Only this guy fits the bill: Known by all, but people keep their distance. And he couldn't care one way or another.

In DC, it's harder. There's a place for everyone. It was racking my brain to think of a DC character who wanted to help but was ostracized by the hero community at large. I thought I would have to refine my parameters to just someone though with a team occasionally, never truly connected with others.

My mind grazed Phantom Stranger, but I know myself well enough to realize I'm not as cool as he is. The only person I could think of was a guy who was sent to the Titans on work release, had to take a leave of absence for emotional problems and joined the Justice Society because he had no other place to go. I'm: People try to make me feel accepted, but I'm not there. And while I haven't experienced the same level of crap as Grant has been through, sometimes I feel as though everyone is better adjusted than I am, like every JSA member must seem to Grant.
I invite you all to think about yourselves and which comic character you relate to.

2 comments:

Siskoid said...

Hate to admit it, but I'm probably a Reed Richards / Brainiac 5 type: Know-it-all who has some organizational leadership, but will every so often be contradicted by his peers who want to make their decisions alone for a change.

Derek said...

In Marvel, definitely Beast. He has low self-esteem, always thinks he's less accepted than he actually is, he uses humour as a defense mechanism, he's a physically imposing presence, and he often talks over people's heads and needs to explain the words and references he uses.

Hey, look, I managed to be arrogant and self-deprecating in a single sentence. Go me.

DC's tougher. Ted Kord, maybe? Pretty accurate, except for the handsomeness and the competency and the money.

Aw... I made myself sad.