Superheroes, a symbol of hope and patriotism that had been in the Philippines. With one of the more recent heroes being Marvel Comics Wave. A Philippine Heroine whose first appearance was defending the Philippine Sea against intruders. This is only one of the many superheroes who have left an impact on our country.
Many of the older heroes seem to be more of a parody of their western counterparts. Examples of such would be Captain Barbel, Darna, and Gagamboy. They are all distinct, but one could not help but feel that they are just rip-offs of the West, but at the same time, all of those films were Box Office Hits.
However, we also have heroes who are not as well known, acting more as anti-heroes such as Alexandra Trese.
Then we have normal heroes, one we could list down is Ricardo Dalisay from Probinsyano. The culture of heroes in our country, especially superheroes is so prominent that most of the media that we consume is superheroes.
We’ve ended up seeing more and more of them, especially in the media, where they grow larger and larger, becoming iconic figures, that may not be as large as those in western depictions, but large enough that a mention of their names brings us memories of their identities.
I feel that this culture stems from our focus on real-life heroes, such as Rizal, Bonifacio, and other similar figures. They are truly important figures in our history and something that we’ve been enamored with as a country for some time.
There is also a possibility that the reason why we are so enamored with such heroes is because of our fear of thinking big, or our inability of such. Therefore we project onto these characters who have shown greatness and achievements.
In the end, our love of superheroes stems from our personalities. We will always love them or find a way to love them.