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Netnet Camomot .

GROWING up with Donald Duck, Archie and His Friends, Little Lotta, Nancy, Porky Pig, Elmer Fudd, Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck, Tom and Jerry, etc. made me so clueless about superheroes.

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While my younger bros pored over their Marvel and DC Comics’ collection, I read the comics section of the day’s newspaper—a hard habit to break up to now.

And then, superhero movies morphed into box office hits and that’s when I could no longer ignore their impact on the madlang pehpohl.

I think the 1978 “Superman,” starring Christopher Reeve, was the first superhero movie I watched. But that was 40 years ago, how could I be sure?

Well, one thing for sure—no more Stan Lee cameos in Marvel movies made after he passed away on Nov. 12.

I wrote this about concerts—to buy concert tickets of your favorite bands and singers before it’s too late. With Queen fans still under the spell of a “Bohemian Rhapsody” hangover, their wish to see Freddie Mercury performing live would remain a wish forevermore.

Lee’s wisdom, words and thoughts could now be viewed only through his past works and interviews.

For a while there, I almost wrote that “Aquaman” will still have a Lee cameo since it was filmed before Nov. 12. Tsk tsk. So confusing—who’s Marvel, who’s DC, ano ba talaga, Kuya?

In case you have no idea, too, “Aquaman” is with DC Comics.

The Pinoy wishes a superhero is real—someone to save him from Tokhang, extrajudicial killing, mistaken identity, a sex-and-drive ending up as a vehicular accident, a dirty old man pretending to be a beauty pageant sponsor. But a superhero is a fictional character created by writers and artists, much like what a public image team may try to accomplish with its client, the politician wannabe.

Tom Cruise, though, has almost reached superhero status with his movie stunts as he flies, dives, jumps, climbs, floats, whatever, wherever, whenever. That’s the attitude a director loves—an actor who can act and does his own stunts, with no second thoughts once the director says, Action! And what an action that will be.

There was this story about then President Ferdinand Marcos’ loyalists, a comparison on the most loyal among them. The winner was then Philippine Armed Forces Chief Fabian Ver because if Marcos were to ask him to jump from a skyscraper, Ver would ask, From what floor, Mr. President?

Any president would love to have their own loyal minion. And the Pinoy does not have to make a wild guess if President Rody Duterte has one. Hmmm. Kinsa kaha na. Esep-esep!

Loyalty means no doubt.

To show you what doubt is, there’s a meme that goes, “If you hesitate between me and another person, don’t choose me.”

Here’s another meme, in case you’re still doubting the real meaning of doubt: “If you have to choose between me and someone else, pick them. I am not going to spend the rest of my life with someone who is going to question if they made the right choice.”

Now you can see how lucky Marcos was to have Ver.

A person of a certain age, who has had his share of so-called friends, has learned his lessons well by now. He looks at a new acquaintance and decides that anyone he meets from hereon will remain that way—an acquaintance. Which is between stranger and associate. And then, he starts hearing stories about that acquaintance and the more he learns about, well, acquaintances.

A superhero, however, doesn’t have the time to distinguish who’s who—his only goal is to help those in need and to save people from villains.

Villains can be everywhere, even outside of a comic book story. If only I’ve been watching “Ang Probinsyano,” surely I could enumerate many of them here. Wait, that’s a teleserye, that’s still fiction.

For Duterte, the villain could be the dilawan who wants to kick him out of Malacanang. For Vice President Leni Robredo, it’s vice presidentiable Bongbong Marcos who up to now, more than two years after the 2016 election, continues to insist that he won. For bar owner Nancy Dimaranan, it’s Keanna Reeves who’s now facing a cyber libel case for accusing the former of not paying her an appropriate talent fee and not providing transportation—all that and more through their Facebook posts and comments.

But the hero versus villain can also be “in the eye of the beholder.” Say, for Reeves—not Keanu—the villain is, of course, Dimaranan.

Donald Duck may also act like a villain because of his temper, but anyone can tell he’s way much more lovable than that other Donald, the US president.

Well, what can I say? Quack quack?

 

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