Written by Every superhero has a back story or what the comic world calls an origin story. Many of those stories begin from a painful and tragic place, but the hero is born from that pain from that pain. For example, Batman’s parents were killed in front of him, Spiderman’s Uncle Ben was killed by a man Spiderman walked past (before he became a hero), and Superman’s home world was destroyed. Tragic events are usually the backdrop of an origin story.
The grief experienced can begin yours. To find a cause from the pain is difficult, but many are the basis of hero stories. Heroes are not the only characters that have origin stories. Supervillains do too. The comic book version of Venom is an example. Venom was a hybrid of a man who hated Peter Parker/Spiderman and an alien that had been transported from its home world to Earth. It is ironic and wild, but it is kind of what grief leads many to believe.
Grief laces the mind with terrible thoughts, images, and beliefs based on what happened. In real life, some people used their grief as an excuse to do horrible things. The world has witnessed mass shootings and other forms of violence, attributed to mental health breakdowns and grief. A reason given by the people that commit such acts, create mental justifications. The comic book aspect is a visual guide to decisions about how one chooses to address grief.
Does one want to become a hero and use the grief as a catalyst to perform acts of kindness and good,, or does the person choose to let the grief direct them to perform negatively? Decisions/decisions. What will you allow your grief to become? Will it become the origin story that creates organizations like the Red Cross or the Susan G. Komen Foundation for breast cancer, or will it be justification to shoot up a theater or a school?
The reason that causes the grief is horrible, but the reaction to the reason is a decision. The mourning period aside, I am referring to how one reacts to the situation. Society will lead many to believe that revenge, anger, and hatred are natural reactions to grief. Still, several who have experienced some forms have chosen to use the negative energy of the suffering and repurpose it into a fuel to power them positively. In some of my posts, I talk about people like Danny Trejo. After serving 11 years in various prisons, he became an actor, restauranter, speaker, and book author.
On the other hand, the rate of recidivism is high. According to a website called WorldPopulationreview.com, in 2023, 44% of released inmates returned to prison after one year, 68% in three, and 77% within five. That means that many people allow the grief related to situation to dictate future and consequently make decisions to return to criminal activities.
There is the potential for many supercriminals to be made. Again, it comes down to perspectives and mind states. The choice to adhere to what the status quo thinks one should do, will, more than likely, place a person in the recidivism category. It is not easy to change the mental state when one experienced a tragic event. It is a matter of pure will and determination to stay off a path that seems easy to walk, especially when the world will justify the approach until one crosses a line. At that point, a person becomes a pariah for their actions. It becomes a lose/lose scenario when taking the supervillain approach. Recidivism, death or initial incarceration are rewards for the actions.
Grief will lead you down one of two rabbit holes. One can become a good guy or a bad guy. The truth is that the public they serve can only sometimes tell the difference. Taking Batman or Spiderman as examples, both are seen by many in the people; they serve as no better than the criminals they bring down.
Real life can feel this way, also. Staying on the right side of things and avoiding a repeat performance is difficult. Whether it is going back to prison, leaving a bad relationship, quitting a job to pursue your dreams, or shifting your attitude in a world that does not appreciate your shift, it is a challenge, and all make staying on point hard.
Here is the twist in the plot of the origin story. Against all odds, one still must maintain integrity. Going against the grain, widespread consensus, and the normalcy of the 98 percentiles means that one at times must look villainous to the populous to maintain their moral course. Looking strange, foolish, and doing things that are considered nonsense is what the griever seeking to draw strength from the grief must endure.
It can play on the mind, and one must fight to stay morally correct when the easy choice is to justify their grief and do something considered in alignment with the grief. A counter-example is Leon Howard (AKA) the Wall Street Trapper. He went from being a drug dealer that navigated prison to becoming a Wall Street success story. Having to turn away from the world that he grew up in, surrounded by drugs, guns, and immorality, he had to make mental shifts. Howard’s choice to change his ways and focus on his future instead of staying stuck in his past brought him along a hero’s journey.
His choice was to leave the glamour and glitz life of a drug dealer and learn to become a Wall St. success. This was not a norm in his world. It was not easy, but it became his origin story. One that allowed him to become a multimillionaire investor. As I said, grief can lead people in one of two directions, taking the Danny Trejo and Leon Howard route or taking the course of a mass shooter. The difference between the superhero and the supervillain is choice.
The will to endure the difficulties of the grief, with an eye on a larger prize versus taking the quick route of dodging, ducking, and sliding with hopes of not getting caught, is where the character is unfolded. Howard or Trejo could have followed they’re collogues and become statistics of recidivism, but instead went against the grain of typical thinking and became heroes in the process.
Everyone facing situations that cause grief has a choice in their origin story. Following the crowd makes for a basic tale that is considered typical. To become a superhero, one must look at the perspective of their origin story and choose not to follow the route of mass expectation and instead agree to become different than their peers. Learning to extract the fuel from the negative energy, repurpose it, and apply it to become a better version of themselves.
Those that chose the opposite route become satisfied with their outcomes. Choosing not to take responsibility for their actions or change course, allows some to see morality in the actions. The choice is to use the origin story as an excuse to create actions or inactions that become detrimental. This is up to the actor. Perspective and choice matter in the origin story. Do you want to be the hero or the villain?
The origin story is never a good one, but how one chooses to spin the tale matters. Justifications result in increased recidivism rates, while becoming a better version of self results in having and being a different version of self. One that can spin their origin story in a more positive direction.
Circumstances can be the reason for decisions. The reasons are always a choice. Allowing oneself to fall into the traps that grief sets instead of navigating the pitfalls and reconstituting themselves is that choice. Going the more complicated route early creates a more leisurely and more moralistic lifestyle than maintaining victimhood and adhering to the status quo. Choice two will not make a positive story. One’s origin story can break them free from bondage or shackle them tighter. As earlier asked, what does one want to be considered? Does one want to be a hero or a villain?
Bibliography
Margaritoff, Marco. “Danny Trejo’s Incredible Rise From Prison Riots To Hollywood Stardom.” Allasinetresting.Com, 13 Oct. 2021, allthatsinteresting.com/young-danny-trejo. Accessed 25 Jun. 2023.
Emmerson, Shannon. “Why Origin Stories Matter And How to Tell Yours.” Echo Stories.Com, 22 Feb. 2018, www.echostories.com/how-to-tell-origin-story/. Accessed 25 Jun. 2023.
“Recidivism Rate by States (Updated May 2023).” WorldPopulationreview.Com, May 2023, worldpopulationreview.com/state-rankings/recidivism-rates-by-state. Accessed 25 Jun. 2023.
Howard, Leon. “From the Trap to Wallstreet.” Wallstreettrapper.Com, ND, wallstreettrapper.com. Accessed 25 Jun. 2023.