Super Strength Won't Save You- A Plan Will

I’m going to indulge my inner nerd for a bit. Stay with me, though. It will all make sense in the end and build the case for how to survive a disaster regardless of whether you live in an affluent suburb or deep in the inner city.

In comics, the universe is populated by animals, people, cosmic entities and abstract beings with abilities far beyond what humans can control or understand. Super strength, magic and energy projection, invulnerability, flight, elemental manipulation and the ability to process information and think on levels beyond human understanding are all impressive abilities, to be sure. However, the elite and most powerful beings warp reality with mere thoughts. Imagine being able to influence and change the very environment itself, locally or globally.

Whether by childhood trauma, self-experimentation, laboratory accidents, genetic anomalies, alien intervention and through sheer force of will, mere mortals can touch the sky. However, as comforting and appealing as such fantasies are, it’s important to not assign our opportunities and responsibilities to others. In the fantasy genre, there’s a rule that dictates that you do not solve problems by using magic. The characters must achieve the result through careful planning and hard work. In the material world of student loan payments, utility bills and job searches, preparing to survive disasters is no different. Rather than assuming the government will come in with food, water, money and other resources, we must do it for ourselves. No mystical amulets and no spells to cast.   

Prepping, in a way, allows you to control probability and warp reality, albeit on a very small scale. Aside from food and water, the ability to have power for lights and heat to control your environment. Being able to receive information and know what’s happening rather than giving in to fear and relying upon unverified gossip or worse, outright false information that leads to real danger. Preparing in advance creates plans and plans lead to options and options lead to outcomes.

Super Strength and Invulnerability

Super strength and invulnerability are among the most popular tropes in comics. Who wouldn’t want to be able to throw a car to the moon or survive a plane crash? Or, giving your enemies their just deserts is surely a worthwhile pursuit, yes? Human nature is messy and we’re generally driven by our basest desires. We’re optimized to justify our behavior by creating absolutes: I want this; I deserve this, he doesn’t; she’s evil, I’m not; my kids are hungry; my wife is sick, choose one. The short version of this tale is we take what we want or need from others.    

This theft resembles the kleptoparasitism seen in nature when a grizzly bear pushes a pack of wolves off the carcass of the deer they just killed. Higher up the evolutionary ladder, humans do the same thing. Rather than solving our problems, we view others, specifically their resources, as part of our solution.

We’re comfortable allowing desperation and force to dictate our actions in an otherwise manageable situation. One reason why you shouldn’t take advantage of those whom you perceive to be weaker is that one day, you may need their help, and they’ll have nothing for you. The other likely outcome is that you make enemies of the very people who would be solid allies. Now big muscles and a bigger brain are an awesome combination.

Mental Powers

There’s a lot of ground to cover here but I’m going to jump to my favorites. I often quiz friends and co-workers by asking if they had a superpower, what would it be and how would they use it. Super strength and invulnerability, invisibility and flight are among the most popular. Me, I’d opt for telepathy and telekinesis, and I’d use them to find Bigfoot and lost treasures. Sadly, I don’t have enough space or crayons to explain why neither would ever work out in the real world as they do in movies and comic books. Pity. Using our big brains, we can recall past events, recognize patterns, draw tangible lessons from the experiences of others, run scenarios and, most important of all, adapt in real time as the situation changes.  

Again, preparing in advance allows us to hone our skills and to home in on the most effective actions relative to the situation. For example, preparing for a power outage should indicate the importance of alternate power sources such as flashlights and batteries; fuel-based generators, solar power generators and power banks; grills, camping stoves and coolers. Using this model, you can address other essentials and move on to something often overlooked in short-term emergencies, comfort.

A favorite blanket for a pet or a child’s stuffed animal does more to create a genuine sense of stability and normalcy than the pithy platitudes like “It will be okay” or “It will be over soon.” Neither is necessarily true but hope and optimism built upon genuine readiness and a well-thought-out plan backed by calm determination is a sure bet. Pattern recognition and the ability to adapt during a crisis sounds super to me.   

Staggering Wealth

Wealth isn’t a weapon, per se. It’s the mechanism one employs to impact those around you. The trope is that heroes use their wealth to make the world a more just place while villains gain more power and wealth. In the real world, a persistent fallacy is that we can buy and spend our way out of complex and intrinsic issues such as poverty, health crises, and other inequalities.

In some way, we also view boredom and misery as problems that can be erased by money. Nope. The data doesn’t support this and if you want a vivid example of staggering wealth and no plan, a simple Internet search on the statistics of how many lottery winners are broke within three to five years.

The problems we’re faced with today won’t be solved solely by money. When preparing for disasters, pairing money with a plan backed by a realistic hazard analysis is a far more formidable combination. The hero mindset prioritizes the greatest good to the greatest number of people.  

The world is full of conflict, suffering and despair. It’s easy to give in to pessimism and the constant negativity that bombard us daily. Comic books offer a temporary escape and fantasies are healthy, within reason. Superpowers aren’t needed to prepare for and survive a disaster. Likely, they’d become another extreme liability given how we’re predisposed to behave.

People survive horrible accidents, tornadoes, floods and a grocery list of other calamities every day without equipment or training. No, what you need is the right information, a starting point, focus and a plan. Guiding your friends and family through a crisis with nary a scratch will certainly make you a hero in their eyes!