The Freakin' World is a Damsel in Distress

I've had this thought that's been bothering me: if superhero comic books are about displaying the powers of the protagonist... doesn't that mean that they almost always have to be fighting someone? The world always has to be ending? Aren't they always saving something or someone?

I like watching action movies/TV shows (e.g. X-Men, Justice League) or reading some epic fantasy/sci-fi story (e.g. Harry Potter), and I think part of why we like this kind of thing is that we get to be part of that journey; part of something greater than ourselves; something meaningful.

BUT from what I've seen so far in our class, superheros and comics are rebooted or recreated in some fashion so that they end up doing the same thing, no? Who wants to see Batman or Wonder Woman have a normal life with normal problems? No, no, that just wouldn't be possible because the world is always going to have problems. I get it, especially since Batman is the only "superhero" in his city of Gotham, he is the only one who has to deal with the constant problems that a city has - crime, violence, etc. BUT BUT I want to see comic artists/writers try to write stories where the protagonist has to deal with our normal human crap. At least something before the world needs their help or maybe even after they just saved the world! Can you imagine?

Focusing on X-Men, they have such great appeal:

• identities grow with their powers
• team/family/community - need each other 
• represent the minority, the hated, scorned 
• it could be anybody, natural/unnatural of attainable powers

I think that this is almost representative of what could be real in our world. The idea that the X-Men go to a school to learn how to control their powers and build up their potential is realistic. It leads to the possibility of them trying to just learn how to live their lives in their world that is similar to ours. I know that it isn't the main focus in the comics but I love the scene where the old X-Men have decided to leave the school:

I'm guessing after they leave, the comic puts its focus on the new X-Men and a new adventure. The idea that the old X-Men are trying to live their lives is intriguing though. Honestly, they are my favorite out of all the Marvel characters/movies. I had watched most of the Marvel films before this class began and none of them were quite as appealing as X-Men. Most of the characters come into play when they are teenagers who just learned about their mutant abilities, trying to figure out who they are, how to live a decent/happy life, how not to hurt those they care about. 

They can just expand upon scenes where the characters are conflicted over their "gifts," or how their abilities play into a normal day-to-day life. Does it help or hinder them? Do the protagonists get bored with normal life? Or do they get bored and tired with the fact that they have to constantly save the world/universe? (*gasp* think of the Incredibles! although they do go on to save the world... but that's another conversation!)