Captain America: With Great Power Comes Great Responsibility

A few weeks ago I was out shopping and I happened to be wearing my Captain America t-shirt. I'm a huge fan of the Marvel films and especially the character of Steve Rogers (mostly because I identify with him the most). Anyway, a young boy ran up to me suddenly and yelled, “Captain America! I need your help, I lost my mummy.”

I was quite shocked at first because I had no idea why the boy was calling me 'Captain America' until I remembered what t-shirt I was wearing. However, if someone associates you with one of their favourite characters - particularly one who is known for their good deeds and who fights against injustice, you don't want to let that person down, especially if you can help in anyway. So I did the best thing that I could in that situation: knelt down next to him, asked him what his mother looked like and where he last saw her. He reached for my hand so I held it because he looked scared. We managed to find his mother and they were reunited; she was immensely grateful.The boy was a darling and said “Thank you Captain America!” and he looked at his mother and announced, “Captain America helped me, she’s really nice!”

I’m so glad that I could help him out. I've since then been trying to understand the dynamics of that situation, what must have been running through the boy's mind. He must have been confused and worried so he then did what he believed to be logical - searched for someone that he recognised, which by coincidence happened to be me. He recognised the Captain America shield logo on my shirt and immediately associated it with Captain America himself. He therefore obviously views Captain America, despite being fictional, as someone he can trust. Since I was wearing the Captain America t-shirt he viewed me as being someone he could trust, more so than all of the adults who were also in the shopping centre. I'm still fascinated by this, how even when you simply wear a t-shirt associated with a superhero, you can still have the duty that the fictional superhero has. The effect of that is astounding. 

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