Mount Rushmore for Comics?

I sat back one night about to enjoy a ‘cold one’ from my mini-fridge.  You should know that my fridge is situated nicely beside my chair so that while I play my Playstation, I remain fuelled up.

I sat there about to embark on a newly release challenge in the game I was playing, thinking about what would be an interesting topic to write about.

Sadly, I drew a blank.

At a loss, I looked down at my comic themed pyjamas to find that the answer had been looking at me all night.  You see on my pyjamas are faces of Superheroes. You can find Captain America, Wolverine, Spider-Man, amongst various others adorning my legs. It was in this moment that I realised that it would be awesome to do a post about heads.  More specifically, a post detailing who I would put on Mount Rushmore if I could recreate it.

Just in case, for whatever reason, you are unaware, I’d like to take a second to provide a history lesson as to the current occupants of the monument.

George Washington:

• Founded the country.  Seems logical to me.

Thomas Jefferson:

• Expanded the country.  Grew it from modest to more than modest.  Sounds fair.

Abraham Lincoln:

• Persevered through conflicts including the American Civil War.  Must’ve listened to Uncle Jesse as he explained to Michelle what perseverance was.  Oh, and in case you were wondering, yes, he was Team Captain America.

Theodore Roosevelt:

• Led America through a key time of economic growth.  Seems strange.  Mo’ Money, Mo’ Problems.

Alas, here are my recommendations to replace the figures, should there ever be a need to.

First, George Washington would need to be replaced by Superman.

Whether you know something about comics or not, you probably know that he was the one that really started it all back in June of 1938. He set the standard for Superheroes around the world and quickly became the prototypical Superhero. We might even go as far as to say, he founded an industry that has not yet reached its peak.

He made being a hero cool, although I am not convinced that a red and blue outfit that perfectly displays his ‘junk’ is something that a ‘hero’ would do.

He became the epitome of hopes and dreams to the average American. To this day, some 80 years later, Superman is still considered the consummate ‘good guy’ and continually proves that good always triumphs over evil.  For these reasons and more, he would make my mountain.

It is a strong desire of mine to throw a wrench in the cog that is Mount Rushmore.  Is it not blasphemous that currently there are no women on it?  If all goes as planned and I am able to create my own Mount Rushmore, this will be changed.

Wonder Woman gave rise to the powerful female.

She became the voice of women all over the world and then used that voice to empower them. She began to break down the walls of gender inequality and single-handedly proved that woman could kick ass, all-the-while believing in peace, justice, and love.

She is one of the founding members of the Justice League and can easily hold her own against anyone of them.

Wonder Woman persevered through a male-dominated industry and made it ‘cool’ for women to read comics. She laid the groundwork that so many other female characters would follow. I would be remised to say that without Wonder Woman, we would not have characters like:

Black Widow

Black Canary

Barbara Gordon

Hawkgirl

Jean Grey

Ms. Marvel

Scarlet Witch

For all the above reasons, Wonder Woman deserves a place on my Mount Rushmore.

I’d like to switch gears for a moment or two.

There is one hero that stands out as truly patriotic, so much that his  costume is a giant America Flag.

I suppose you know exactly who I am referring to, don’t you?

Mr. Steve Rogers, Captain America.

I don’t believe that I need to go into a long-winded explanation as to why he would make a great selection for my mountain, but just in case you are still reading and want to know, let me detail a couple of reasons for you.

• As outlined above, he is a walking America Flag.
• He is the measuring stick as to what America stand for.
• He became the poster child for what ANY man could do if they wanted to (and they had a Super Serum Formula to change them).
• He has withstood the sands of time and to this day, is instantly recognizable as an America Hero. In fact, because of his stature, others heroes are lining up to take his place as Captain America (at least 9 the last time I counted).

Jefferson could not have expanded the country if it were not for Captain America going over to Europe and taking care of business. History has it wrong when it says that Jefferson is responsible for the expansion of the United States; I say that honour goes to Captain America.

Finally, we have selection number 4.

I don’t mean to keep you held in anticipation as to who the last person would be on my mountain, so I will just come out with it.

Spider-Man.

I know that this choice might seem perplexing so allow me to explain.

Long considered a stand-alone hero, Spider-Man has quickly become a leader within the Superhero realm.

I’d like to paraphrase what Simon Sinek considers a leader to be.  This will help clarify any uncertainties you may be experiencing.

• A leader is someone who has followers. To lead, you must have a clear definition of a world that does not exist. This, in turn, inspires those who follow you to join you, to figure ways to make this world exist and to go with you on your journey.

I refer you to the moment that Spider-Man/Peter Parker revealed to the world who he was in the Civil War Storyline. He seemingly risked everything so that other superheroes may join the cause in registration.

Did this backfire on him?

Of course, it did.  Understand that isn’t the point. Spider-Man did the unthinkable and became a leader at the precise moment that he was willing to do what others would not.

To gain followers, a leader must instil a message in his people that he would sacrifice everything for those that believe in his purpose.

Spider-Man did exactly this.

Now, to take a sentence right out of an elementary school ground:

“I’ve shown you mine, now you show me yours.”  If you had the chance to recreate Mount Rushmore, who would you choose for your huge heads?