As a family we are only really partial to one superhero (and his sidekicks) and that is Batman. Andy hit the nail on the head when he said it was because Batman is aspirational. You can be Batman or Robin or Batwoman but you can’t be Superman (he’s an alien for a start) or Spiderman or Wonder Woman.
I am quite interested in the X-Men which I think is because they all seem to struggle with their powers and some aren’t that super.
I would disgaree that Superman and Wonder Woman aren’t aspirational.
For me, Superman represent hope, he is the best that we can be. ok, so he’s an alien, he has all these powers, but he’s also very human (due to his upbringing on the kent farm), and he knows and cares about people and he does the right thing. he never kills, he never gets angry with the innocent, he is just and fair.
Wonder Woman is similar – ok, she’s practically a goddess, but she’s also a role model and very aspirational. She’s a warrior who values truth above all else. she respects everybody and wants to help us be better people. She wants to eradicate war and hate and she is dedicated to her mission.
She shows us that women can be heroes too, that we aren’t inferior to men and we can also be the best and do the right thing and save the world, and that we have a place in it.
She shows us that we can speak out and be ourselves.
It’s not about the powers, it’s about the people they are, inside.
Whew, that was longer than I thought.
I’m a little bit ignorant of the comic books aspects of all these characters. I’m afraid I only really know them from cartoons and films. All in all, not one of my best thought out blog posts but it did get a better reply than it deserved.
However, I do think they are inspirational characters rather than aspirational characters i.e. you can want to be like Superman but you can actually be Batman (except for the not being a billionaire or a man thing).