Heroes

No, I'm not referring to the NBC show Heroes as some of you might have thought. Rather, I'm referring to two of the latest comic superheroes to hit the box office/silver screen: Iron Man & The Incredible Hulk. Both movies were released around the same time this year, the former on yours truly's birthday, the 30th of April and the latter on the 13th of June. The latter is actually a better "re-boot" of Ang Lee's 2003 version, "The Hulk", which many would consider a flop. Yes, I would agree after watching both "Hulk" movies, and if you're an avid comic book fan and you have not watched tIH on the big screen yet, I would suggest you set aside 2 hours of your time to do so!

Tagline for Iron Man: Fully Charged

VS

Tagline for tIH: On June 13, get ready to unleash the beast

Yeah, I managed to watch both movies somehow or another despite my hectic schedule around that time. In my opinion, both movies were awesome and I'm not being biased even though I can honestly say I've been a comic book fan of both Marvel and DC Comics ever since young. The plot for both movies were good in the sense that they actually focused on both heroes' origins, somewhat like what the comic book writers would have wanted to portray in the big screen versions. Oh, and the cast was superb also, the main cast for both movies at least. :)

Weirdly enough, I managed to pick out a few similarities between both movies. If you have watched only one but not the other, or watched neither, then the following might be a spoiler for you. Read on at YOUR OWN RISK!

1. Both love interests of Tony Stark (Iron Man) and Bruce Banner (tIH) are women both protagonists work with in close collaboration. Pepper Potts is Tony's personal assistant, whereas Elizabeth 'Betty' Ross is Bruce's colleague. Well, I guess it means that when you spend a lot of time with someone of the opposite sex, you get to know that person really well. 'Nuff said. =)

2. Both supervillains/antagonists in both movies were created out of the heroes' own ingenuity and traits. Iron Monger in Iron Man was created from Tony's own genius and 'spark', and the Abomination in tIH was a combination of Bruce's blood and the US government's top-secret super-soldier serum (oh, what a mouthful!).

3. Both supervillains/antagonists are bigger, stronger and more powerful than the heroes themselves. Self-explanatory. Period.

4. The final showdown between good & evil took place in highly urbanised areas in both movies. Yeah, there were loads of fist-to-flesh/metal scenes. These scenes were probably the most violent in the movies, it's no wonder they're rated PG-13 by the MPAA!

5. Both movies had cameos of the man himself, Stan Lee. This is the man behind the many Marvel characters, their personalities, traits, powers, weaknesses, appearances, costumes, etc. Think they featured him in the Spider-man movies as well if I'm not mistaken.

I'm sure there are more similarities (or differences) you guys can pick up once you have watched both movies, but I think I'll juz end this part here. =D

For the next part of this post, I'd like to share the following passage with you that was written by Dr. Alex Tang, a renowned paediatrician currently working in Johor Specialist Hospital, where my mum works too.

Why the Incredible Hulk should be Red not Green

The fictional comic book character, The Incredible Hulk was created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby in 1962. The Hulk is the alter ego of mild-mannered physicist Dr Bruce Banner who was accidentally irradiated by gamma radiation. Whenever he gets angry, he turned into the Hulk, a creature consisting of pure rage which is invincible and incredibly strong. The angrier the Hulk gets, the stronger and bigger he becomes. I guess he was green because of the gamma radiation. Why green and not red? The English expression of becoming angry is “seeing red.” A red Hulk would be more appropriate.

Many of us are aware of the beast within us. And of the thin veneer of civility that makes us respectable citizens. Occasionally someone will snap and the beast breaks out. Then we are all horrified at the violence done to persons and properties. Sometimes it is not a person but a mob or a nation. And in the aftermath amidst the carnage, we are again reminded of the evil that lurks in the heart of human beings. In our hectic, chaotic and stressful lifestyles, anger is our constant emotional companion. While some of us are aware of it, others are not. Many try to repress their daily anger. Doing so they become impatient, irritable and aggressive. Repressing anger does not make it go away. Like energy, emotions can be converted into other forms. Repressed energy is converted into hatred, bitterness and anxiety.

“Please don't make me angry. You wouldn't like me when I'm angry" is a famous byline from the Hulk television series which turned up in every comic, television and movies involving the not-so jolly green man. What makes you angry? Could it be social injustice, exploitation of the poor, religious intolerance, and maybe, abuse of political privileges? My reasons for getting angry are often not so righteous. I get angry because I do not get things my own way; why people do not behave the way I expect them to, why projects do not go the way I planned it to, and why the universe does not happen the way I want it to. I get angry and then I feel guilty.

I remember what Paul wrote to the Ephesians: "In your anger do not sin": Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry, and do not give the devil a foothold (Eph.4:26-27). Paul was referring to Psalm4:4: In your anger do not sin; when you are on your beds, search your hearts and be silent. Furthermore, I remember this old Cherokee story named “The Two Wolves”: An old Cherokee is teaching his grandson about life. "A fight is going on inside me," he said to the boy."It is a terrible fight and it is between two wolves. One is evil - he is anger, envy, sorrow, regret, greed, arrogance, self-pity, guilt, resentment, inferiority, lies, false pride, superiority, and ego." He continued, "The other is good - he is joy, peace, love, hope, serenity, humility, kindness, benevolence, empathy, generosity, truth, compassion, and faith. The same fight is going on inside you - and inside every other person, too."The grandson thought about it for a minute and then asked his grandfather, "Which wolf will win?" The old Cherokee simply replied, "The one you feed.”

I reflected upon this and drew some wisdom. The psalmist, Apostle Paul and the old Cherokee did not deny the existence of anger or being angry. In fact, they all acknowledge it. Furthermore, they taught me the only way to deal with anger is not to feed it. The only way to deal with anger is to starve it of attention and other emotions. The Hulk is pure rage, violent raw energy and red is the appropriate colour. Green reminds me of leafy meadows, peacefulness and calm. Me thinks the Hulk should be red in colour. Or even better blue…

May you be blessed by this reflection,

Alex

Yeah, so that's about it for now. Juz for the record, there are other movies based on comic books coming soon to theatres near you: MUST WATCH: The Dark Knight and Hellboy 2: The Golden Army. Oh and for all those wondering where I am/where I'll be, I was in KL when I typed this. I'm only going back to JB on Monday. Yeah, so let's juz see how the Lord leads. =D Till then, sayonara ppl.

~Tim~