Childhood Trauma and Comic Book Heroes

Published by

Lem Usita

on

December 29, 2012

I am not a huge comic book fan. I have some friends that are though – and I hope that you speak up after this post to tell me where I am wrong – but where I might be right as well.

Checkout every comic book hero. They have all experienced incredible childhood trauma. Honestly, we have all experienced childhood trauma. It might not be as dramatic as Kal-El having to leave his planet or having your parents brutally murdered like Bruce Wayne. Okay, for some of the stories trauma happens later in life – like Barry Allen. Or maybe you got bitten by a spider. Childhood traumas happen. We all have them. It shapes our identities. You might not become a comic book hero because of it, but you definitely read the comics and identify with the characters because down deep inside we all share the trauma. Even deeper still – it shapes our identities.

What is your super power? Even more important though – to whom are you a hero?

Oh, and for my comic book friends – help me with the childhood traumas that shaped our super heroes.

One response to “Childhood Trauma and Comic Book Heroes”

metamorpheus

December 30, 2012

I’m not a huge comic book guy myself, but I have found, over and over in the people that come through my ministry, that there is a direct correlation between the superhero that a person most relates with, and the person that they ultimately develop into. It is uncanny how directly the characters connect, even if the formative details, like childhood trauma, do not apply.

An example of this would be how a superhero fights. Does he/she have a ranged attack, or does he have to fight in hand to hand combat? This can provide a clue into a person’s gifting and usage. Then we come to superpowers.

Just like Elijah Wood, “Mr. Glass” in Unbreakable, I believe that modern comic books are just the current way we capture and embellish the stories of real supernatural power and authority. And, where could these stories possibly come from? Where else, but the power of God as He activates and empowers His children all over the world.

I know, it’s a bit of a stretch, but that’s the story I’m sticking to…

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