National Superhero Day should be a day celebrated for real heroes

I was taken aback when I first heard of National Superhero Day (April 28).

It was a day that Marvel Comic employees made national in 1995 to celebrate all their mythical superheroes that have made billions of dollars for Marvel in both the comic and film franchises.

I mean really, we need a day to celebrate Iron Man and Captain America? It was obvious from the start that Marvel was going to get pushback from the dedicated day to celebrate their characters.

The pushback came from firefighter and police unions that thought, and rightfully so, the attention diverted to comic book characters as real heroes diminished the appreciation and acknowledgement of the lifesaving and risk of life that real heroes face each day.

Marvel pushed back a bit then eventually said it was a day to celebrate the comic book heroes and those in the local community that are heroes within the community.

Now because of the catapult of success the Marvel Comic franchise has achieved Marvel has acknowledged that National Superhero Day is a day for those who serve and protect us.

They had to make that decision because according to Forbes magazine, the Marvel Comics franchise in both Comics and Studios is worth a nifty $54 billion as of January 2024.

While I appreciate the thought from Marvel and absolutely feel that a National Superhero Day should be celebrated for firefighters, police officers, EMTs, nurses, doctors and those in our community that step up and perform heroic duties every day, it still leaves a bad taste in my mouth that the specific day allocated for superheroes was designed for the comics.

So, for National Superhero Day, do not send your child out in a comic book character costume, send them out in a firefighters or police uniform.

The post above reflects the thoughts and observations of New Jersey 101.5 weekend host Big Joe Henry. Any opinions expressed are Big Joe’s own.

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