The Lord of the Rings FTW!

As I sit here, watching The Lord of the Rings: Return of the King for the umpteenth time, something occurred to me: There will never be any heroes that can compare to those in Middle Earth.

There's a reason the J.R.R. Tolkien's fantasy epic has stayed in the hearts of readers - and now movie-watchers - since the sixties. The characters are highly relatable, even if they are fantastical creatures such as elves, dwarves or talking/walking trees.

Take the hobbits, for instance. From the get-go, these four are at a disavantage. They're half the height of men and elves, not nearly as stout as a dwarf, and they have no magical powers to speak of. They're creatures of habit, content to stay in their villages and take care of their duties from day to day, hardly ever wondering what lay beyond their borders. Then, thanks to a ring, they are forced into situations that would never have happened, even in their wildest dreams.

And, here's the thing: they rise above. They don't have to get bit by a genetically-altered spider or have the money for some fancy gadgets. They simply do what needs to be done. Sure, they have help, some of it magical. But, in the end, it comes down to what they are capable of. It's a matter of their bravery, their willpower, their sense of loyalty - and their ability to do what needs to be done.

Against a backdrop of a world that some of us wish we could live in, and none of us will ever see, these ordinary creatures succeed in extraordinary circumstances. They are Everymen. So you can keep Spiderman and Superman, and even Batman. I'll take Frodo Baggins and Aragorn over them anyday.