Roundtable: Our Heroes

Infinity War is coming, Infinity War is coming!

To say that some of us are excited would be an understatement. With this in mind, I asked our contributors something simple: who’s your favorite superhero? It doesn’t have to be one of the obvious heroes. I humbly submit that Buffy Summers is a superhero, for example. We’re most definitely not limited to the Marvel family, either. So, read on and find out who some of our heroes are!

J.L. Gribble: You’d think that your MCU fangirl-in-chic would be all about gushing about her favorite Marvel superhero in the lead up to Infinity War. And while I do love Cap…and Tony…and Bucky…and T’Challa…and Natasha…and Clint…and, well, basically everyone down through the Netflix shows and even Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D, it’s pretty hard to choose between the lot.

But one very special team stands out when I think about the extraordinary fictional people in my life. I’ve been low-key obsessed with the television show Leverage (2008-2012) since I discovered the first season on Netflix years ago. I’ve even squeed about them here before, back when I was working on the heist-like climax of a novel I was writing. So far, I’ve done three full run-throughs of the full show, and that doesn’t include watching specific episodes just because I wanted to revisit some good friends.

They may not be the Avengers, but the five-member team of Leverage, Inc. is just as heroic in their own right. Every episode may be a heist, but these former criminals (and one honest man) have turned their skills to helping those in need. No magical powers or suits of robotic armor here. In theory, everything that the team accomplishes is possible in real life. But since this is television, we also get a bit something extra.

Instead of Tony Stark/Iron Man, we have Alec Hardison, a nerdy computer hacker with multiple doctorates in being a smart aleck. Instead of Natasha Romanov/Black Widow, we get Parker, a thief with amazing gymnastics moves and her own tortured childhood. Instead of Thor, we get Eliot Spencer, a former soldier with his own brand of honor. Instead of T’Challa, there’s Sophie Devereaux, a woman who can talk her way into and out of everything, with bonus royal attitude and set of (metaphorical) claws. And instead of Steve Rogers/Captain America, I’d like you to meet Nathan Ford. An honest man who’s not afraid to get dirty to do what is right.

If you’ve already rewatched everything in the Marvel Cinematic Universe and need something to tide you over until April 27th, I encourage you to give Leverage a chance and meet a new amazing team.

Nancy O’Toole Meservier: For my first solo post on Speculative Chic, I wrote about why Squirrel Girl was my favorite superhero. Almost a year and a half later, I haven’t wavered in my loyalty to this rodent based superhero in the slightest. For one thing, she’s technically one of Marvel Comics heaviest hitters, having taken down serious big bads including Doctor Doom, Galactus, and Ultron. And in her standalone graphic novel, The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl Beats up the Marvel Universe, her evil doppelganger soundly defeats many of Marvel’s best, proving that if she wanted to, she could totally take over the world.

What makes Squirrel Girl (who goes by Doreen Green by day) so great is that she doesn’t rely solely on her fists to get the job done. This driven heroine routinely uses her smarts (including computer programming!) to defeat her foes, and knows just went to rely on her friends and allies (which of course includes actual squirrels!). But her greatest weapon of all is her sense of empathy. Doreen knows that sometimes taking down the bad guy isn’t all about fisticuffs. Sometimes it’s about talking to them, figuring out what they really want out of life, and finding a way to help them that doesn’t involve extreme violence or the destruction of the world as we know it.

It doesn’t hurt that the Squirrel Girl comic, written by Ryan North and illustrated by Erica Henderson, is pretty much pure gold. Each issue just hits that perfect mixture of goofy, clever, and sweet. I know that comic book runs can’t (and shouldn’t) go on forever, but I honestly don’t know what I would do if I didn’t have a new volume of Unbeatable Squirrel Girl to look forward to.

Yes, one of Squirrel Girl’s main powers is talking to squirrels. And sure, she hasn’t been around as long as Superman or Captain America, nor does she have as impressive of a rogues gallery as Batman or Spiderman, but that doesn’t change the fact that out of all of the heroes in the world, she’s my favorite. I love how she knows when it’s the right time to fight with her fists, and when it’s the right time to fight with her heart, and her comic book never fails to make me smile. If you haven’t given The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl a chance yet, you really should!

Kelly McCarty: I’m willing to put money down that I am the Speculative Chic contributor who is the least well-versed in superheroes. I’ve never read a comic book. I can’t tell you who is in the Justice League or who is an Avenger. I saw the last two films in The Dark Knight Trilogy but never bothered to watch the first one. All I know about the X-Men, I learned from watching it as a Saturday morning cartoon. I haven’t even bothered to watch Wonder Woman, although it’s been on HBO.

But there is one superhero whose movies I will pay to see in a theater and that superhero is “Captain Deadpool. No, just Deadpool.” One of the reasons that I have never been into superhero films is that they often feel like children’s movies to me. The notion of superheroes being for kids is so entrenched that after the first Deadpool movie came out, many parents took to the Internet to complain about how not family friendly it was, causing everyone else to say, “If only there was some kind of rating system that would tell you if a movie was okay for kids or not…” Deadpool is profane, violent, and decidedly rated R. I can’t imagine Batman making me laugh, Spiderman being sexy, or Wonder Woman killing a man with a Zamboni, but Deadpool does all of that and more. Even in the superhero films with darker elements like The Dark Knight Trilogy, you can count on the superhero to have it together and be heroic. In the final battle of the movie, Deadpool forgets his guns in the cab. Then he shoots the villain point-blank in the head as Colossus is giving a big cinematic speech about what it means to be a hero, declaring, “You were droning on.”

Deadpool is the only superhero who can make me laugh, tossing off one-liners like, “I want to die a natural death at the age of 102 – like the city of Detroit.” Some of the humor feels like it was tailor-made for me—Deadpool and I share an appreciation for Bob Ross and 1980’s power ballads. Even with his hideously scarred skin, Deadpool still has a ton of sex appeal. You can’t find fault with the way Ryan Reynolds fills out that suit. Batman has a cooler car and Superman has better manners, but you know you would have more fun with Deadpool. Deadpool is getting his katanas back out this summer in Deadpool 2, and I definitely want to be there.

Howard Kleinman: My all-time favorite superhero is your friendly neighborhood Spider-Man and has been since I was nine years old. At the time of his creation by Stan Lee and Steve Ditko, Spider-Man was a revolutionary figure in the superhero landscape. Unlike Superman, Spider-Man wasn’t invincible, have super-speed or the ability to fly. Unlike Batman, he wasn’t wealthy and couldn’t afford to devote all of his spare time to fighting crime. Indeed, what made Spider-Man interesting was that his limitations made it difficult to fully embrace being a hero. He is not driven to heroism by ideals like Superman or trauma like Batman, but by a sense of guilt and responsibility. While most super-heroes before Spidey were more interesting when they put on their costumes, Spider-Man’s alter ego, Peter Parker, was just as, if not more important, to the story as his super-powered escapades.

Lane Robins: We all love the capes (or not capes, depending on your sensibilities), but my second favorite sort of superhero is the…

Super Administrator!

Okay, that sounds terrible. But as a chronically disorganized person who is always flailing from one late task to another, while juggling (poorly) several others, while still more slip off the stage—the Super Administrator earns my constant admiration and wishful thinking.

If only I could be like them….

I put super-people in all my books, and they’re not usually the ones with overt magical powers: Gilly, the immensely capable, in Maledicte. Alex, the ultimate support staff, in the Sylvie books. They’re the ones who get stuff done, neatly, precisely, and seemingly without effort.

One of my all time favorite non-super supers is the Marvel MCU incarnation of Pepper Potts played by Gwyneth Paltrow. I adore her character and am so very sad that they keep cutting her out of the movies. She disposes of Tony’s one-night stands with ruthless, polite efficiency; she constantly goes toe to toe with Tony Stark—who, you have to admit would be a charming NIGHTMARE to work for—and she snaffles Agent Coulson as an unwitting bodyguard when she’s run afoul of Obadiah Stane. It’s never stated outright, but definitely suggested that Phil Coulson is impressed by her, and he’s kind of hard to impress. And why not? When the chips are down, when Obadiah Stane is smashing the entire building around her, she’s still thinking logically instead of being curled up in a screaming ball of terror. She’s still supporting the super-hero and helping him save the day.

And that’s before she gets her own super-powers in Iron Man 3. (My personal head canon is that when they say that Tony “modifies” Extremis so it’s no longer dangerous, that doesn’t mean she loses the abilities. She keeps them, even if she doesn’t do much with them but keep herself warm in cold conference rooms and ward off annoying people.) But even without Extremis, she’s still pretty super. Powerful, super-competent business woman, who’s mostly unflappable when it counts.

Casey Price: Way back in the dark ages of 2004, I went with a few friends to see the latest Pixar offering, The Incredibles. When the credits began to roll, the three of us sat in our seats, hysterical with laughter. It was, admittedly, late at night and the three of us had undoubtedly worked at our thankless retail jobs that day, but I’ve never forgotten the experience. While the film revolves around the life and times of a family of superheroes, who are all amazing in their own way, my favorite “hero” is undoubtedly Edna Mode.

Yes. Edna Mode, costume designer to the heroes we knew and loved before they were all forced into a civilian life.

Edna proves that not all heroes wear capes. Indeed, Edna is staunchly anti-cape.

Think about it. Edna not only designs custom uniforms for the heroes of the age, she works around their respective abilities. Edna’s talents are on full display in this scene, where she shows off her handiwork in creating suits for the entire Parr family. From Jack Jack’s flame-proof, bullet-proof onesie to Violet’s amazing disappearing fabric, she has the family kitted out and ready to face whatever may happen to come their way. Creating these customized outfits, with their incredible ability to withstand almost anything, is a super power in and of itself. And, as an added bonus, the suits are machine washable, of course.

Edna also essentially lights Helen’s tail on fire and moves her to action when Bob’s secret activities threaten to, well, threaten the family. When Helen falters, Edna (in a display of tough love) loudly insists that Helen must pull herself together. Without Edna backing up the Parr family, who knows what might have happened with Syndrome and his creations.

She’s smart, creative, bold, and not at all intimidated by anybody. When you’re a short woman in a man’s world, you have little choice but to be these things. When I ponder what I’d want to be like if I ever grew up, Edna Mode’s unabashedly larger-than-life personality almost always comes to mind.

So yes, in a film filled with superhumans, who have the ability to do amazing feats of spectacular ability, my hero is the opinionated, creative genius who makes sure that they’re able to do their jobs safely and stylishly.

**(Editor’s note: all mentioned films and television shows appear to be currently unavailable as part of any streaming service, but may be purchased through Amazon, iTunes, and YouTube, among a few others. For comics, check your local comic shop or library! And hey, check the library for DVDs of the films and television, too!)