In my first-year signature course, the professors released a survey asking students to share their personal heroes. Apart from an appreciation for parents and religious figures, I expected to see the highest regard for entertainers and world leaders. Instead, the vast majority of students in the class reached an alternative consensus. Their chosen heroes were undeniably super: Spiderman, Superman and Batman.
Superheroes usually possess extraordinary abilities, which they use to combat wrongdoing. Their storylines allow students to resonate with their experiences and adopt their resilience as our own. Instead of perceiving superhero admiration as childish, we should recognize how well-crafted superhero characters serve as positive role models and sources of community for college students.
A study on how exposure to superhero images affects altruistic and sociable behavior found that viewing superheroes, even in a subtle context, may increase people’s ambition to help others. Heroes inspire this behavior in the face of hardships by symbolizing positive qualities like humility, empathy and courage.
“We all go through ups and downs in our lives, just like the superheroes that we see on the screen,” said Steve Rossmann, lecturer at the Moody College of Communication with expertise in marketing for superhero films.
Rossmann explains how marketing teams connect heroes to an audience.
“To make them human, I think that’s where it all begins,” Rossmann said. “There’s some connection or dysfunctionality that they’re trying to overcome. … Superheroes give us a glimpse that they are just like us.”
Superheroes are representations of our potential as well as our own vulnerabilities, which don’t disappear when we reach adulthood. Having superheroes as role models prepares students to overcome challenges once considered insurmountable.
Another study found no association between adverse childhood experiences, or instances of trauma and heroism or villainy in fictional characters. In other words, the journeys of superheroes highlight that past experiences don’t dictate one’s fate. Anyone can be a hero, and no one is destined to be a villain.
“Being able to control the narrative instead of someone else controlling it for you, is the biggest superheroic act,” said Frederick Luis Aldama, Jacob & Frances Sanger Mossiker Chair in the Humanities at UT and founder of the Latinx Pop Lab. “By controlling the narrative, you control the possible futures that you have.”
For someone trying to join the comic world, the sheer amount of lore behind a series can be daunting. Longhorn Comic Books, a student organization at UT, fosters a beginner-friendly community to explore fictional universes like those of superheroes.
“The club is meant to be built around the enjoyment of the members,” said Hudson Rhodes, biology junior and officer. “You don’t have to be an avid comic reader. Even if you’ve never read a comic, feel free to pull up and give it a try.”
Within communities of superhero and comic fans, students find positive role models who leave lasting impressions not because of their powers but because of their familiarity.
Arturo Trejo, rhetoric and writing senior and president of Longhorn Comic Books, describes his lasting admiration for Spider-Man.
“(In spite of how) real-world factors push him down, he always finds a way to get back up,” Trejo said. “It’s that very human motivation to just keep going and trying your best.”
Superheroes model what we can overcome and accomplish with unyielding resilience. Although some characters may be more popular than others, every superhero has a journey that students can resonate with and find community in. Regardless of who you are, there’s a hero written for you.
Williams is a psychology freshman from Richmond, TX.