Superhero=Mask?

Take two: Ok, last night... I had a dream! >.< Lol, no nothing that deep. But my muse hit me over the head with a thought last night. Pesky muse... Gives me thoughts that I can't deal with at that particular time. -_-; And this thought actually lasted from last night through to today, which is really quite rare. My thoughts usually get lost or are killed as foreign objects.

So anyway... I'm sure I've built up the suspence long enough... espcially concidering I tell you the gist of my thought in the topic...

Does a mask make a superhero??

I was specifically thinking of firefighters. Don't know why, but they were the ones that my brain chose to play with. Firefighters are people... They are fragile little people that are willing and able to go into a burning building to resque other fragile people... I don't care what you say, that's pretty darn heroic! But are they Superheroes? Yes, heroes. Definately heroes... But super?? Would you, for example, see them in a comic book? And maybe firefighters aren't the best choice for an example, since 911 has almost put them into a sort of superhero status... But actually, let's look at that too. I think the media has a part to play in what makes a hero super.

But first, the mask... The all important mask... Now, the mask to me symbolizes the secretive identity and the spiffy costume. All superheroes have these... Now, they may differ in costumes, they may have a cape, they may ride a giant flying hippo... But they all have some sort of costume.
And you never know who they are. That's part of the deal. Part of the... self-sacrifice, having people not knowing who you are or who to thank and give large sums of money to. The mask is a big part of both of these. I can only think of one costume that didn't include some sort of mask.

So I say that the mask is the biggest part of any superhero. I say it makes you a superhero. ^.^

"But wait!" you say "What about Superman? He had powers! He could see through steel, and jump buildings in a single bound!" Very true... very true... But with all his powers, what was he always trying to do? Save People. For all his strength and stamina, he was just a guy trying to save people.

It's very possible for someone to save people with out your oh so special gifts... Your oh so special powers! (Incredibles, gotta love that movie. ^.^) The fireman, for example, has no special power other than being willing to be a hero.

"But!" you continue, "He had no mask!!" ... True... Although I'm going to say that his mask was the glasses. Superman is a special case... He wore his mask when he was his alter ego, Clark Kent.
So there! >.< *sticks tongue out* Oh yes, the media. Yeah... that's special too. All superheroes have media coverage, be it good or bad. Although I think that just goes to further their popularity. But a superhero can still be a superhero without people knowing who he is... At least I think so... That point I'll leave up to you.

So... My thesis (O.o; A blog... and I'm writing a thesis paper...) is that a mask makes a hero a superhero. ^.^ You can not be a superhero without one. A hero, yes. But not a true superhero. ^.^

(wow... I typed this whole thing and only misspelled one word! O.o; That's a major accomplishment for me. ^.^)
Ja!