Welcome to Superhero Week!

Superheroes. The modern day version has been with us since the 1930’s. You could even argue that superheroes have existed in “popular” culture all the way back to the days of Odysseus and Hercules. What is so fascinating about them?

There’s the obvious thing; they’re pretty super *rimshot*. Superheroes can do things we as mere humdrum regular people can’t do. More than that, they can usually do things that mere mortal humans can’t do. As awesome as Iron Man and Batman are, they don’t capture the imagination of young ones quite like Superman. Experiencing the impossible is what stories exist for.

Beyond their super powers and sparking our imagination with thoughts of impossible feats, superheroes do more. They give us ordinary people something to strive for. With Great Power Comes Great Responsibility. Superheroes face incredible challenges and they usually persevere. But not always. The best stories show the heroes struggling and often failing. Despite this, despite this superhuman power they have, they never throw in the towel. They keep going. It’s inspiring for us. If Bruce Banner can overcome the fact that he might turn into a rampaging rage monster at any time and save the world, then by golly, we can finish that TPS report despite the boredom!

Why do we care about superheroes as gamers? Because games let us be the superheroes! Movies are great, comics are fun, television is entertaining. But really, can any of it compare to sitting down with some friends and, for a short time, becoming some badass superheroes? Watching or reading can show you some thrilling heroics. Playing a big damn hero means you can do things that would make Iron Man jealous.

In honor of the upcoming release of the biggest superhero release of the year, Avengers 2: Age of Ultron, we here at the Gamer Nation blog will be devoting our attention to different superhero games. We’ll be looking at Mutants and Masterminds, Sentinels of the Multiverse and more. If you’re like me, when you come out of the theater next weekend you’ll be imaging yourself fighting off Ultron on the way back to the parking lot. Pay close attention this week and you’ll find some tips to make that work come alive in your next gaming session!