(Writer's note: Text format may look odd, but that is because of the method I had to use to get the article back, 

I also fixed some grammar errors and added a few things as well.)

	Heroes come in many forms, from athletes to artists, police officers, firefighters, Doctors, EMTs, and 

military servicemen. Superheros and super-villains are a staple of everyone's childhood. There is 

at least someone in a person's life they love or admire. They give kids someone to look up to and 

gives them a goal to be just like them. As a kid, I grew up with many superheros and villains from Batman to 

The Flash, Lex Luthor to The Joker, and Captain America to Thanos. These characters from my 

childhood have helped shaped me into who I am today. I was more fluent with the shows of 

superheros than With comics as a kid, until I got older and grew more of an interest in reading. 
So most of my views will be from the animated shows with some comic references. 

	I grew up with Batman The Animated Series, both Justice League series, X-men, and 

Spider-man. As a child I loved Spider-man and Batman. Spider-man is young and care free who 

uses his powers to help people. Though he is reckless and at times immature, he knows how to 

have a sense of humor during his battles with his villains. As I grew up I learned to laugh at things 

that made me uneasy. Batman showed me that there are other ways to deal with a problem and 

to be sympathetic towards others that most would find "off' or crazy. That's what makes his 

rivalry with Joker that much more interesting. You have two extremes fighting against each other. 

One taking a tragedy and turning it into a strength and the other is letting it take over and drive 

him to insanity. The common answer would be to just get rid of The Joker, but Batman doesn't do 

that. He sees that there is something wrong with The Joker, but he feels that he can be cured. 

Another case is in Justice League Unlimited when Ace has created an illusion and Amanda 

Waller, the woman who is part of the government who deals with heroes and villains on a regular 

basis says the only way to prevent a catastrophic event from happening is to kill her. Batman 

offers to go, but doesn't kill her, he talks to her and in the end saves the day his way, letting her 

go in peace. That's pure compassion and understanding. The Flash in the Justice League show 

is another good example of compassion and understanding when it comes to a villain named 

"The Trickster", who is a less crazy and slightly less harmless version of The Joker. Flash tells 

him that he needs to turn himself in along with taking his medication and that if he does he'll visit 

him at the hospital in return for information about a few other villains. Trickster agrees and goes 

peacefully, knowing that he did wrong, but wanted to have some of his old freedom, 
which Flash gets and talks him into going back, treating him like someone who is sick, not evil. 

	Villains have that effect too. There are some that are sympathetic and that you can 

understand their reasons and actions. Mr. Freeze is a great example of a sympathetic villain. 

Though it was adapted from the animated series into the comics, his actions are due to revenge 

for his wife's death and his own way of justification to relate to that event. So you understand why 

he does the things he does. Another is Magneto, who justifies his actions for a cause. His cause 

being that mutants are superior to humans. He looks after those that follow him and tries to get 

on the right path. What sets him apart is that he tries to redeem himself and make up for his 

past mistakes. Which is a great moral to show to readers and it develops the character. 

	While comic book characters are vast in numbers, everyone always has a favorite for many 

reasons. Some for what they can do, such as abilities, others for who they are, and still others 

for what they do and why they do those actions. As a child I looked at characters like Batman for 

his compassion and Spider-man for his bravery. It shows in my adulthood and how my morals 

were shaped. I used that compassion and bravery to stand up to people and understand them. 

Morals from both and more have shaped me into who I am today as a person Idols can be what 

drives a person to strive to be like them and they can be anyone. Mine were comic book heroes 

and villains. They are my childhood and I will always look back at them With a smile.