by Maria K.

Created on: December 11, 2006   Last Updated: May 09, 2007

Ok, I admit it - I have been assimilated and resistance was futile. A friend of mine, who knows my fondness for super-heroes, forwarded me a link to the NBC "Heroes" episodes, and I got sucked right in.

Jokes aside, my personal list of heroes a mix of my family members and several comic book favorites. Also, if you have read my article about Nihon Goshin Aikido (http://www.helium.com/tm/97957/my-fellow-aikido-stu dents-know-exactly-what-i-mean-when-i-say-that-once- you-seriously-get-into-aikid), you know that aside from some very practical reasons, there is a certain romantic appeal that drives my involvement in the art. I was reminded of the fact as recently as last Thursday, when we did some sword work with the nylon padded swords (because contact was allowed, and we were going at full speed, and a wooden sword bokkan can inflict serious injuries at speed). You'd be amazed by a surge of adrenaline one could get from holding a sword and taking a proper position for a strike - even if it's a nylon padded sword, and you are standing in the middle of a controlled training area wearing white pajamas. I love sword work - both with the padded and with the wooden swords - because it makes me want to go on a heroic quest and slay dragons with full confidence that I would be successful.

As much as I love Batman, Spiderman and the X-Men, their emergence as heroes is hardly ever touched upon. "Batman Begins" is the first of the Batman movies that emphasizes that heroes are not born - they are created in fire and ice. The Spiderman movies show some of Peter Parker's growing pains, but the duration between the spider bite and the stopping of a train is very short. The X-Men are a fully-developed organization, and while some of the major characters have difficulties getting to Professor Xavier's school, they achieve a full super-hero status fairly quickly once there.

"Heroes" appeals to me for the same reason the widely underrated movie "Unbreakable" does - it is truly a story of becoming a hero and the associated growing pains. The characters don't know either the nature of their powers or the full extent thereof. Some of them are still deciding, which side they are on. They are not invincible, they are not fearless, they are not uniformly young, handsome and smart. But they all know they have a job to do, and they are hell-bent on doing it, no matter how many times they have to stumble and fall to accomplish their mission. And talk about an uninspiring slogan, "Save the cheerleader - save the world!" You try becoming a hero, when a statement like that is all you have to drive you.

Needless to say, I am very much looking forward to the return of the series in January, 2007. I am not a huge proponent of popular entertainment, I don't have cable (I watch "Heroes" episodes on the net), and I don't structure my life around a particular show. But this one is good, and I would strongly recommend to set aside 30 minutes of your time every once in a while and lend your support to "Heroes".

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