WHAM! KRASH! All Grown Up and Still Loving My Superheroes.

By Kathryn Smith

In 2000 my husband and I went to see the first X-Men movie. Some unknown named Hugh Jackman was playing Wolverine and I was dubious as to whether or not he could wear the sideburns of my favorite mutant with the right kind of attitude. Boy, did I get smacked upside the head! When Jackman appeared on screen in the cage match, I reached over, grabbed Steve by the leg and whispered, "It's Logan." And ever since, Hugh Jackman has been Wolverine for me. In fact, I find him much more attractive as Wolvy than I do as his 'regular' self.

X-Men Origins: Wolverine opens on Friday. A bunch of my friends and I are already planning to pre-buy tickets for opening night. Heck, I'd be there at the first showing if I could. When the trailer first debuted on line I think I watched it 6 times one evening, and every time my heart rate kicked up. And it's not just because of Hugh, though he helps. And it's not Ryan Reynolds or the cutie playing Gambit. It's because of the characters. I'm a sucker for superheroes.

I was six or seven years old the first time my cousin showed me his X-Men comics. I remember thinking it was so cool that Wolverine was Canadian like me. I'd never heard of any Canadian superheroes before that. I read those books and I wanted to be Jean Grey (although I always referred to her as Phoenix) or Storm. The idea of having super powers quickly over powered my notion of someday being the next Olivia Newton John. I wanted to be a mutant! Of course, back then it was just so I could do all the cool things those girls could do.

As a kid I watched a mix of cartoon and live action superhero shows: Wonder Woman, Spiderman, Superman, Batman (yes, the corny Adam West one) The Bionic Woman, The Six Million Dollar Man, Greatest American Hero... My favorite shows were always about people who could do amazing things. I made myself a WW tiara out of construction paper and wore it around the house. I desperately wanted the outfit Debra Winger wore as Wonder Woman's younger sister. Now, I wish I was built like Linda Carter!

It's funny, but as I approached my teens, my interest in Supers waned. Why this was, I don't know. Maybe it's because most of the shows were gone by then. Or maybe because I started spending my money on fashion magazines rather than comics. I find it odd now that as I entered that awkward phase of my life I left my mutants and supers behind, because who else could relate to the alienation of being a teenager than Peter Parker, or any other mutant who felt like a freak and an outsider? I'm ashamed to admit it, but I think part of this rejection of my heroes came from the need to be girly. And back then superheroes weren't girly. And they weren't at all 'cool.'

Then, in 1989 Tim Burton released his Batman movie and suddenly it was okay to like superheroes! I remember seeing Michael Keaton in the mask and thinking that he looked fabulous as Bats because he had lines around his mouth, and Batman would have lines around his mouth! And who could forget Jack Nicholson as the Joker? Those movies started something. Sure, they were campy, but no one does twisted like Burton. And as my generation and the generation before me grew older, superheroes started to get more and more attention. There have been some bad movies (Punisher or The Hulk, anyone?) but since X-Men in 2000, there have been some massively amazing movies, both live action and animated. The Spider-Man franchise, X-Men, Batman, Ironman, The Avengers, Dr. Strange, and most recently: Wonder Woman staring the voices of Keri Russell and Nathan Fillion. These movies are darker than those that came before, but there's also one other HUGE difference.

They've made superheroes relatable. Human.

Peter Parker is just a highschool kid trying to get through the day without getting beaten up, making goo-goo eyes at the girl of his dreams. The X-Men are a bunch of misfits who hide from the world, while Magneto, who has experienced hate all too closely, wants to smack humanity in the face. Batman is damaged sure, but Bruce Wayne is desperately seeking salvation, revenge and redemption. He is lost and we respond to that, just like we respond to the hard-partying Tony Stark, who gets a life-threatening wake up call and becomes more than just a rich kid with shiny toys. I think the one thing we people like to see more in our dramas than a suffering hero is one who not only triumphs over that suffering but then comes back to kick some butt!

So here it is Tuesday and I can't wait til Friday. I'm closer to 40 than I am to 20 or even 30, and I'm unashamed to tell you that I love superheroes. I'm positively giddy to see Wolverine slash his way across the silver screen once more. Now, if we could just get the live action Wonder Woman made I would be a very happy girl indeed.

What I want to know is -- how many of you love superheroes too? Who are your favorites? And if you could have any super power what would it be? I used to think I'd want telepathy, but now I think I'd like to have the power to make a book spring from my head, completed and beautifully written with just a thought. :-)