If I was a superhero I would be…
Four-year-old boys and superheroes are pretty much a package deal.
I’m not sure when or how it happened. It may have started with a Batman suit my son was given one Christmas, but it has since morphed into a costume collection featuring everything from Marvel and DC comic book characters and Star Wars, to Transformers and ninja turtles.
It peaked when Book Week came around at kindy and my son was required to dress up as his favourite character from a book.
Not having time to create a costume to match one of Master Four’s favourite Thomas the Tank Engine or Peppa Pig books, I made a mad rush to the shops and picked up a ‘Marvel’ super heroes book box set. This meant Master Four was able to wear his Spiderman costume (his favourite super hero at the time) and have a book to match.
The next obvious step was to make his way through the whole box set. I now have a son who is well and truly obsessed with super heroes of all types, colours and powers. On any given day he can have up to five costume changes, as he rotates through his favourite super hero of the moment. Yesterday he was Iron Man, today he said he wanted to be a Transformer.
And I don’t mind a bit.
Let’s face it, wouldn’t many of us like to wear our own superhero costumes to work. It would sure as heck make for interesting water cooler conversations.
It did get me thinking though: If I was a superhero who would I be?
Wonder Woman
I remember having a Wonder Woman costume as a child, complete with home-made bullet proof bracelets and a gold lasso. I totally thought I was the cat’s meow. Only in my adult years did I truly appreciate just how absolutely fabulous Lynda Carter’s version of this classy super hero was. This made me want to be Wonder Woman even more.
Then again I would also like to be…
Catwoman
I grew up watching re-runs of the 1960s Batman series, and this feline hero portrayed by both Julie Newmar and Eartha Kitt.
These women brought the right amount of cool and sexiness to the role. If I was Catwoman it would have to be one of those versions, though Michelle Pfeiffer also gave a credible performance. Best not to mention Halle Berry’s ill-fated portrayal of this beloved superhero.
You know the list doesn’t end there for me. Some days I’d like to be the Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson in The Avengers is one hot lady you wouldn’t want to mess with) then other days I’d like to be Princess Leia (still diggin’ those hairstyles).
Heck. Given the choice I would like to be all of them.
If office protocols and adult social norms didn’t forbid it, I would take a leaf out of my son’s book and wear a different superhero costume for every day of the week.
Instead I get my superhero fix through the characters I create in my books and until my son says “I’m too old for this”, he will be well equipped with the latest super hero costume of his choice.
So the next time you see a four year old ‘fighting crime’ at your nearest mall or Westfield, just smile and ask yourself: If I was a superhero who would I be?
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