As 2015 slowly comes to a close, 2016 promises to be packed with a double-digit variety of big budget superhero feature films, multiple superhero TV shows, and brightly-colored, spandex-clad merchandise.
It is almost as if someone could expect to randomly look outside of his or her window and find, at the very least, an old grappling hook, web-sling residue, or some kind of property damage due to a violent superhuman brawl that had occurred just moments before.
It’s good to know that the world in which we live isn’t so chaotic or larger than life. It’s also understandable that in order to escape the day-to-day humdrum of life, exciting characters and personified ideologies of goodness and moral-uprightness can be aspired to.
With that being said, some of the most impressive superheroes are the ones who have disabilities. As if fighting crime wasn’t hard enough, a disabled superhero must first overcome his or her disability, tackle the obstacles of the environment around them and still have enough strength, courage and energy to fight the bad guy(s).
Two such superheroes who accomplish such requirements are Marvel’s Daredevil and Cyclops. These two characters are very unique in that they both have a visual impairment, but neither of them allows their disability to hinder their day-to-day functions or impede special abilities.
In Daredevil’s case, he exists as Matt Murdock, a trial lawyer by day who, while legally fighting for the justice of others, secretly uses his advanced sense of hearing to tell if people are lying. By night, however, he assumes his role as the protector of the innocent by fighting evil using his heightened senses, agility and expert fighting skills throughout the dark alleys of Hell’s Kitchen.
For Scott Summers, aka Cyclops, disability takes a slightly different turn. Cyclops, although able to see, can only safely do so if he is wearing his ruby quartz glasses. When the glasses are off, anything and anyone around him is in danger of being destroyed by the bright and lethal beam of light that is projected from his eyes. In Cyclops’ case his ability, although manageable, can be a hindrance but he, through years of discipline, does not allow his ability to be perceived as a burden.
One more character, and probably one of the most well-known superheroes with a disability is Professor Charles Xavier. For Professor X, being paralyzed from the neck down doesn’t prevent him from using his superior intellect and powers of telepathy and telekinesis, Professor X is more than capable to lead the X-Men, run a school for mutant children and be a vocal advocate for the disabled, disadvantaged and different. His character is a perfect example of how being immobile does limit the impact that one can make in his or her life.
In honor of October as National Disability Employment Awareness Month, it is important to acknowledge that there are members of society who, although do not meet society’s definition of normal, still have many attributes that can rival any potential superpower. Such people, much like the above mentioned heroes, find ways to make their disadvantages and different abilities work for themselves and greater society. Such tenacity and perseverance should be coveted because not all heroes need to wear spandex and fight crime in order to make a difference.
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