Thursday, May 7, 2009

So, you want to be super?

As I'm sure you all know, the new X-men movie, X-men Origins: Wolverine, just hit the theatres in Missoula. I won't say that I've been waiting on pins and needles for the movie to come out, but I will probably see it this weekend, since I am infinitely fascinated by the idea that somehow superheroes-- or mutants, as they are called in the movies--make spandex suits seem plausible, and even necessary. (To be fair, the X-men's suits appear to be made out of super powered spandex rather than ordinary spandex, which I'll grant makes them cooler.)

Anyway, in preparation for this weekend's big movie adventure, I've been doing some research. I first went to check out the superhero comic book situation in the library and found out that we have A LOT X-men comic books. As I was reading, and since the new movie is all about the origin of Wolverine's powers, I started wondering about all the possible ways one might actually gain superpowers. For those of you who have been kept up at night by this question, the answer is that there are basically 4 ways of becoming a superhero (or villain):

1. You're born that way, you lucky dog!
2. You become a mutant during your lifetime; perhaps this is the result of a run-in with a toxic chemical or a mad-scientist or what have you.
3. You're from another planet.
4. You have discipline, time, and a load of cash and you use all of those to learn karate and build a bunch of super hi-tech gear for yourself, thus elevating you above other mere mortals.

So. There you go. Now you're ready for action.

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