Author's note: next to last snapshot, ladies and gents – for the moment, anyway :o) This Friday I offer you a little Wally introspection. Hope you like :o)
Disclaimer:I own the bread, ham and Gorgonzola cheese I'll be having for lunch (yummy!) but I don't own DC – comics and animated universe, since the DCAU is what I'm writing about. Wouldn't trade my lunch for it, though. Too much darn trouble, and I value my food as dearly as the next Frenchwoman :D
Snapshot Collection
25. Selfless
Wally often hears people pointing out that selflessness is the chief virtue of a superhero.
He doesn't agree.
First off, even if you're born with superhuman powers, or, like Bats, actually achieve nearly superhuman powers – the guy can keep J'onn out of his mind, for God's sake – or, like himself, have had powers thrust upon 'em … You get your share of ego. A big one.
No wonder the time when Grodd had messed with their minds and dragged up all the resentment and the bad moods and made everything clash had made Wally think that the Beatles splitting must have been a little bit like that.
Being a superhero practically makes it mandatory for your ego to step right up there with the others. That's what makes it hairy, sometimes – all those egos, those I-work-alone attitudes in the same room. But when you get down to it, when there's no choice, no back-up plan, no other solution, each and every one of these men and women would lay down their lives.
But Wally thinks there's something unfair in calling that 'selflessness'.
Having a lot of self had never kept him from doing the right thing. When he almost ran himself out of existence to defeat the Brainiac/Luthor hybrid, he wasn't being selfless. He was thinking as he ran – albeit not very clearly – I can do this. I'm the only one who can do this. This is my thing.
Amazing and terrifying himself every thousandth of a second.
Maybe there should be another word to mean 'giving-your-everything-no-matter-the-cost'.
The ending's a little abrupt … sorry :o/ This one stemmed (I think) from the fact that I'm not a native English speaker and I get curious about words, especially English ones. Being 'selfless' means putting others before you, right? But it puzzles me a bit that thinking of others should always mean stop being self-aware. Anyway, my two centimes :o)
Next up: Copperhead and Atomic Skull can't be caught. They're on a mission from … you know the guy.
:o]