Chris Skidmore: Top 5 Nonviolent Superheroes

I concluded my previous blog post pondering whether or not any superheros had ever been created that I would actually feel were worthy of kids’ admiration.  After a top five list of some of the best superheroes from mainstream comic books… all of them fell way short.

Are there any nonviolent superheroes outside of mainstream comic books that are worthy of acclaim and true admiration?  Well, as it turns out–

YES!  Far more than you’ll find on the shelves of comic book stores these days.

Here’s my top five list of superheroes that exist solely outside of comic books:

5.) Super Grover

There’s a wonderful book that my daughter loves for me to read to her.  It is called Hooray for Our Heroes by Sarah Albee and Tom Brannon (ISBN: 978-0375822681).  This book alone makes me love Super Grover.

4.) The Super Readers (Whyatt Beanstalk aka Super Why, Princess Pea aka Princess Presto, Red Riding Hood aka Wonder Red, and Pig aka Alpha Pig)

This PBS TV series is aimed at children from ages three to six and teaches reading skills including spelling, pronunciation, the alphabet, writing, phonics, and word usage.

3.)  You

What better than a chance to save the world– yourself?  Wildfire*  is a game that gives you the power to make real change, and let’s you see what you will do with it.  (If you like this idea, check out other games like it here )   Wildfire is a game about saving the world. Opponents like rampant poverty, gender inequality, inadequate education and environmental degradation cannot be defeated by marching armies, secret potions, or magic swords– but they can be defeated by YOU.

2.) Word Girl (Becky Botsford)

At last!  A superhero with “girl” in her name– who is ACTUALLY a GIRL!  Born on the fictional planet Lexicon, Becky is a 10 year old 5th grader.  I just really love this show.

1.)  SpectreHawk and the Fiery Fencer

When my son was six years old, he created a couple of superheroes that solve their problems in nonviolent ways.  You can learn more about them here.

He even inspired me to write a book to flesh out these characters for teen readers.  It is still a work in progress, but more info is available here.

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Also worthy of note, many other folks have also attempted to inspire others for a worthy cause as well.

Here’s a list of five of them:

5.) Superheroes at the Superbowl

These folks have whipped out the superhero gimmick to draw attention to human trafficking.

4.) The Fair-Trade Brigade

In similar fashion, Simon Fraser University students once donned cape and tights to urge the University leadership make the University a fair trade campus in 2008.

3.) A Superhero Funding Foundation

Want to make a difference, but aren’t rich like Tony Stark or Bruce Wayne?  Maybe SpunOut.ie will someday fund a project of your own.

2.) The Super Hero Club

I actually really like this concept.  This particular FB group doesn’t currently have a large number of members, but I could see this type of concept being marketed really well and making a big difference.

1.) The Social Justice League of Alberta (SJLA)

Sister Simplify, The Mercy Monkey, Anti-Materialistic Man, and Love Machine first gathered in September of 2009.  Adorned in superhero costumes that they made themselves out of things we already owned; they meet bi-weekly to do things like wash windows for elderly neighbors, fast on World Hunger Day, volunteer at the local food bank, gather excess clothing and blankets to share with the homeless center, buy nothing on Buy Nothing Day, sort shoeboxes for Operation Christmas Child, etc.  Founder Paula Spurr (a.k.a. Sister Simplify, pictured left, above) said “I started this group because I wanted to nurture the passion I saw in some of the teens around me. I wanted them to know that there is a choice other than despair, that we can do something about the unfairness in the world, and that we can be a positive force for change. Plus I really wanted to make my own superhero costume.”  While it could be easy for such a group to focus solely on social service and ignore social justice, I have to give props to this crew.  Banding together is the only way we will ever really make a difference.

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Ben Goldman and Chaim Lazaros of superheroesanonymous.com didn’t make the list because it can be down right dangerous to do things this way, but you can check out their website if that type of thing interests you.

Okay.  So I do admit that the idea of superheroes in general is really corny, but the concept of having a hero to admire can have it’s benefits.

Who is your personal hero?

Martin Luther King?  Malcom X?  Cesar Chavez?  Rachel Carson?  John Muir?  Bono?  Your mom?  Ayn Rand?  Glenn Beck? Clarence Manion?  William F. Buckley Jr.?  Jonathan Miller?