First and foremost, my Captain America had a successful open-heart surgical procedure yesterday and this person is resting comfortably!

One certainty from this experience (though a lengthy recovery awaits) is that, from what I was told, this person was brave throughout the whole process. This individual combined a scary reality with the universe that stars Captain America to remain calm for the major surgery.

Quite a super mindset, wouldn’t you say?

For the foreseeable future, Marvel and DC Comics will be relentlessly writing and producing summer blockbusters that feature its best superheroes. It’s true. Though the most recent “Age of Superhero Movies” started several years ago, the imagination and intriguing dynamics from all of these films is unmistakable. It’s increasingly weaving itself into mainstream culture with t-shirts worn by virtually every type of person these days, more energized conferences, relevancy to real world events and dilemmas, along with the admiration of the cinematic quality from top-shelf directors and cinematographers. Also, note the popularity of The Big Bang Theory.

What does this mean?

In an era where institutions and its leaders are continually (and sadly predictably) letting us down, there is an empty vacuum to be filled for over-arching societal guidance. It’s becoming more and more apparent that characteristics of famed-superheroes are being adopted and relied upon by us to help react to the chaotic events of our personal lives and the world around us. Instead of looking up for leadership, we’re looking next to us at our fellow men, women and children. The varying exercise of the power of the individual in our highly publicized, social media-driven culture is generating a collective pulse of inspiration (remember Batkid?) that all of us can admire and reach to for our own struggles.

Maybe, just maybe, we’re building the foundation for a super population and culture in the 21st century.

“A hero can be anyone. Even a man doing something as simple and reassuring as putting a coat around a young boy’s shoulders to let him know that the world hadn’t ended.”
–Batman