Growing up, I was always the pale, lanky kid who carried an inhaler and had terrible acne. I was a stereotypical anti-social “brain” living in Bellafonte, Pennsylvania, a town of roughly 7,000 people just north of State College. Both of my parents were research scientists at Penn State. It’s that traditional story of the parents who were more invested in their work than their son, thus forcing the child to overcompensate in an effort to get their attention by getting straight A’s and winning every academic competition possible. Needless to say, I wasn’t the type of kid people would look at and think, “Wow, he’s going to be a superhero someday.” But, here I am with this mask, in these tights, dodging bullets from some idiot who thought it’d be a good idea to threaten to blow up New York City.
This was not my first choice for a profession. In fact, I’m fairly certain it wasn’t my choice at all. This isn't me. So, who is this person and where did he come from? The media was fed some crazy back story about me being in a lab in Penn State when an explosion occurred, thus giving me incredible strength. Others talk about how I studied for five years in Tibet learning ancient arts and centering myself or how I’m really from another planet and came down to Earth a superior being. The truth is far less glamorous than all of that. I bought a leotard, made myself a mask and started working out. Most of what you hear about me is exaggeration or flat out lies. Sure, I’ve beaten up a few bad guys, but no more than your typical cop. I’m just flashier. The glitz blinds people from the reality. The more Thunderman is the in spotlight, the easier Joseph can fade into the background and hide. The more people believe in Thunderman, the less Joseph needs to exist.
Yea, the world thinks I’m super. And, maybe I am. But, honestly, I’m still just that pale lanky kid from small town Pennsylvania. I’m Joseph Maloney, not Thunderman. It’s crazy what a mask can do to us. What it can make us become. How easily it can hide us. Once I gave up on my parents loving me, my dream was to fade into obscurity.
So, no, I didn't choose this profession. It's just a means to an end.
As the saying goes, "Have no fear, Thunderman is here!" And Joseph is far from sight.
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Anonymous clarification from the author (as if you can't guess who wrote this): This concept was originally much bigger, but time forced it to be a much shorter story. There was supposed to be a much more story-esque middle section, but alas, it ended up just being a relatively depressing monologue about true identities because it needed to be posted today. Essentially, superheroes need counseling. That is all.
ReplyDeleteLove it. Love this blog. Love how different all of these posts are. Am happy about this whole thing in general.
ReplyDeleteI'd like to hear the rest of this story eventually. As it is, it'd make a great monologue.