A lot of kids dream about being a superhero. Having some kind of special ability or suit you can jump into and fly away. This was my dream when I was younger, and it still is today. However, when you look at the basics of having superpowers, you start to realize how unrealistic they really are.

In 9th grade, I was in the gym with my buddy Allie Young. We were outside and I turned to her as I held out a basketball and said, “C’mon Flash, take it, (reference from The Amazing Spider-Man 2012).” What happened next was a dream come true. I got bit by a spider on the back of the neck, just like in the movies. I was freaking out. Could this be it? Could this be my chance to get superpowers?

That whole day I was ecstatic because I was sure I was going to wake up the next morning with Spidey Powers. The next day, I shot out of bed and ran around looking for a vertical wall to scale. I got to my bedroom door and I started trying to claw my way up. All that happened was I looked like an idiot, and I slid back down. The sad thing is most people would have stopped at that point. Not me. I grabbed a magnifying glass and was studying my fingers to see if I had the little barbs in them that would help me to climb buildings. When I didn’t see any barbs, I tried shooting webs out of my fingers. You can imagine my disappointment when reality set in.

So what’s the fascination with superpowers? Many people dream of having them, and I’m sure you’ve heard the stories about kids jumping off couches only to break their arm because they thought they could fly. I interviewed Maren Kowallis, a Sophomore at Bingham High School, about if she had any superpower horror stories of her own.

She said, “When I was little I thought I was a superhero and my superhero name was Miranda the Best. One day my friend was getting attacked by his older sister and I jumped out of his tree house to save him because I thought I could fly and then I sprained my arm.” She also said, “When I was little my cat bit me so much I thought I was part cat. I was convinced I was a cat because I could see in the dark slightly, and I made a good meow sound.” If that’s not enough evidence, I don’t know what is.

In the movies, we see all of the perks of having superpowers, but rarely does it ever show the consequences. On pcmag, there was an article called, “Want A Superpower? Be Careful What You Wish For …” and it talked all about the consequences that would come with having superpowers. It started off by talking about the ability to fly. It said, “flying at great speeds would likely burn your face off from the friction while flying at altitude could quickly turn you into an ice cube.” It also mentioned the power of invisibility and how “you’d be blind because your retina would also presumably be invisible and unable to reflect light.” As I read this article I could visualize my dreams being crushed. Getting my face burned off just so I can fly around doesn’t sound very appealing to me, and going blind just so I can be invisible doesn’t get me very excited either. I also realized that getting bit by a spider most likely would not alter my DNA and even if it did it probably wouldn’t be in a good way.

I have come to the conclusion that it’s unlikely for me or anyone else to acquire superpowers. However, building a high powered suit that would give me super strength and the ability to zip through the skies might just work.