Check out this awesome Superhero height chart! Made by Costume Collection. Showing from the smallest DC Superhero, Robin, to the tallest, Swamp Thing, both very different Superheroes with different talents and abilities. I’m right in the middle in between Batgirl and Supergirl. As a child I looked up to both of these heroes and wondered–what would I do if I was in their position? What would it be like to have those abilities or live in their world?
Superheroes are kind of like “funhouse” mirrors through which we can see ourselves. Sometimes the images are exaggerated, sometimes they aren’t. Most superheroes (even if they aren’t actually human) tend to have the same mental makeup as humans. That means we’re about to learn about ourselves from watching them. Even if Superman is from Krypton, his struggles in childhood with his gifts aren’t that much different from the struggles which (human) gifted children have. Here’s a few lessons we can all learn from superheroes.
Everyone has an alter ego.
Clark Kent is Superman, Peter Parker is Spider-man, Bruce Wayne is Batman–and almost all of us also have our alter egos. These are different sides of our personalities that emerge depending on the people we’re around and the context we’re in. We tend to think, act, and feel differently around our parents than we do around our friends… and differently again when we’re around our boss or romantic partners.
Costumes matter.
Dressing up as superheroes is fun–I used to love dressing up as Batman and fantasizing about having a Batmobile, dropping in from skylights to stop criminals in their tracks, or sitting in an underground cave. But you don’t need a cape or tights in order to understand that what we wear affects how others see us.
Whether you wear grungy jeans, a police officer’s uniform, or a 3-piece suit, the “costume” counts. Based on your appearance, people make assumptions about you that might be true, or might not be.
Those assumptions in turn affect how people treat you, and how people treat you affects how you view yourself.
Everyone is different.
The Justice League, The Avengers, The Amazing X-Men. Every team is a distinct group of superheroes with unique mental makeups and physical attributes. Even superheroes who have the same superpowers are different–when Captain Rhodes puts on the Iron Man armor, he doesn’t become Iron Man. Every superhero is unique, and the same is true of us.
While we share different qualities with others–our gender identity, ethnicity, religion, interests, motivations, and personalities–the specific combination of characteristics we have makes us each unique.
Check out the full “DC Hero Height Comparison” article here on the Costume Collection blog.
