THE-PULSE.COM --> BLOG POST: saywhat128
When you have a full-time job where you're either alone fixing computers or in someone else's office fixing computers where no one talks to you, you have time to do a lot of thinking. Not that I'm not thinking about what I'm working on, but I can multitask like nobody's business. But I've got a question to throw out to the internet. Was thinking about it earlier today.
What's the difference between a superhero and a vigilante? Think on it. The NYPD created the Powers Division specifically to hire powered people to act in a law-abiding superhero capacity. They wear uniforms instead of costumes and work within the confines of the law. On the other hand, you've got people like the Avengers, who are----much as I love them----basically corporate tools when you think about it. They're famous, they're good-looking, they're marketable to the press and they're pretty much sanctioned by the government, despite the fact that the government frowns on caped crusaders. Then you've got folks like Spider-Man who are just part of the lore of New York City, even though we can't kid ourselves----this guy running around now is not the old Spider-Man.
So what's the difference between these clean-cut legends and some yahoo who puts on a mask and tries to stop muggers in back alleys? Is it the test of time? Legacy? Fame? Corporate sponsorship? None of these factors really change the fact that it's a group of dudes (and ladies) putting on wacky costumes, giving themselves fake names, and taking the law into their own hands? We don't know who they are and we don't know what morality code they answer to. The law may not always be right, or quick, or easy, but at least it's defined.
Let's be clear: I don't know what I think about it. The little kid in me wears Superman boxer shorts. The grown up in me says that that kind of thing is better left to comic books.