Power: Lessons from Superheroes


The transformation from a David to a Goliath brings with it a huge number of changes in how one is perceived. Corporations like Apple and Google find themselves now being looked like 800-pound gorillas (which they truly are), not the struggling startups that they once were. And that change in perception reduces the sympathy and simultaneously increases the criticism that they face.

Israel is a country in a somewhat similar situation. Long gone is their underdog status: in fact, they are Top Dog in the Middle East today (actually, for several decades).

The common underlying theme in both of the above cases is power.

There are several superhero quotes that teach one a lot about power, how to deal with it and what it does to the one possessing it. Which is not at all surprising: after all, who has more power than a superhero?

Spiderman’s uncle hit the nail on the head when he said, “With great power comes great responsibility”. Because once you have the power (like He-Man’s “I have the power” line), you are going to be criticized for using it (think America in Iraq, or Russia in Afghanistan) and also for not using it (think how America is criticized for not getting involved in any place where genocide happens, from Yugoslavia to Rwanda).

While all powers undoubtedly deserve some (or much) of the criticism they face, I also feel it also has to do with our tendency to support the underdog and our sadistic desire to tear down whatever is successful or big. A sentiment that was captured well in yet another superhero quote, this time by Gotham City District Attorney Harvey Dent when he told Batman, “You either die a hero or you live long enough to see yourself become the villain.”

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