Because Superheroes have super powers, or because they might even be aliens from other planets, or even gods who came down on earth for obscure reasons, it's hard to imagine them doing anything less than awesome superhero world-saving feats. It's even harder to imagine them in their day-to-day life. Of course, they must have "normal" lives on the side! They hardly can just live in their costumes all the time, since they must have rent to pay, and grocery shopping to do. They simply must have regular lives when they're not trying to prevent our planet from being attacked or invaded by yet another supervillain.
I've always wondered what the life of a superhero is like when they're not on duty. Thankfully, the Internet is a magical place where one can find a somewhat satisfying answer to all their questions. That stays true even if those questions have to do with fictional characters, and with what they do with their fictional free time.
The easiest way to show who our favourite superheroes are, at their very core, is to place them in familiar college situations and see how well, or how badly they deal with real life problems. It's not a fun ride being a public figure and carrying the weight of a whole planet's safety on your shoulders, even if those shoulders are inhumanly strong and you don't even have to carry anything because you have mastered telekinesis. And let me tell you, the ride is even less fun when you have to take care all of those mundane things, like finding a matching pair of socks or passing your exams.
20 No Parents Allowed
If you've lived on your own for some time, you probably remember all about your first apartment or dorm with a certain fondness, and how you chatted and laughed the night away with your friends. It was great without any parents to tell you it's time to go to bed, because you have school in the morning.
And if you haven't experienced that yet, fear not, your time will come!
The Avengers may be superheroes, but they were all teens at some point, and for sure they had to cut their gatherings short on school nights. But now they're college students, and they get to do pretty much whatever they want. I mean, look at them, eating on the bed! No way my parents would have let me do that when I still lived at home!
Art by Reducto1
19 Group "Study Sessions"
If there is ONE thing you need to know about college, it's that organizing group study sessions never works. Working on a group project is one thing, but deciding to meet with friends and just each study your own thing? Nope, that's not a good idea.
I imagine this is what a 'World Saving Meeting' looks like for superheroes, even in college.
At one point or another, one of you will want to take a break and you'll end looking up one or two funny videos to watch. Next thing you know, it's 1 am, the whole group is staring at the same screen and you've eaten all the food that doesn't require any cooking in the apartment. You know you are nowhere near ready for that test you have the next day. Trust me, I'm speaking from experience...
18 That Broke Student Life
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Ah, living on one's own, with all that freedom and all those bills to pay. Wait, what?! Funnily enough, it's easy to forget all the downsides of being independent in the first few months of living on your own. That's until you realize you need to pay rent, and you've spent all your money partying and on random things you don't need, but you just bought because there was no one to tell you no.
It's cool being a superhero and having powers and all, but doing all that saving anonymously means Superheroes get nothing for all their hard work.
And because being awesome and powerful is their priority, I'm pretty sure most of them would be super broke in real life. That might not apply to Batman, but the guy was already loaded before he became a superhero, so he doesn't count.
Art by Manylasers
17 The Ones Who Love School...
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Most superheroes have an interest in some type of science. It usually remains just an interest, for most people. They all tend to have other hobbies and passions in life, but not Bruce Banner and Tony Stark.
Those two are hardcore science nerds, and nowhere can you nerd out harder than in college.
They're the kind of people, in college, who will always bring everything back to their studies. Not even studies in general, but their own studies, specifically. I don't know how they do it, but those people always manage to find some link between the current conversation and the last thing they talked about in class.
I mean, they're passionate about what they do, and it's great for them but how about a little less school and little more actual socializing, and getting to know the people you hang out with?
16 ... And The Ones Who Love To Party.
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The other type of people you'll meet in college are the party-goers. Any excuse is a good one to go out for a good time. If you're not one of those people, you will come to dislike them very much. Particularly when you miss your alarm clock and rush out without taking a shower or having breakfast. You barely make it on time to your final at 8am and find that the people in your class who went out last night not only made it on time, but are also a lot more fresh than you are.
Loki embodies those people, in the sense that he is never where you expect him to be.
You think he'll be his own demise, and BAM! He's back with a brand new plan. It's practically certain that he'd be one of those people who party all night, and arrive fresh and ready for their exams the next morning.
Art by Xjapanda
15 The Start Of Something New
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As you grow up and discover yourself of your parents' influence, you also discover what kind of person you will be more incline to open up to, and share whatever life will throw at you with. Meeting people in real life is already hard enough, but meeting new people when you're a superhero and have to hide your identity must be on a whole different level of complicated.
College is already overwhelming as it is, what with living on one's own and all the studying.
Figuring out your feelings for someone on top of everything else can definitely be a challenge. Can you just imagine trying to find your significant other and being unable to answer the "what do you do for a living" question? It must be hard to create something real if you have to hide the most important part of your life from your partner.
Art by RandomSplashes
14 Not Easy To Move On
Another tough issue to deal with when you're in college are break-ups. Now, Breaks-ups are hard regardless of when and where you are in your life, but I feel like it can be especially tough when you're in college, because there are already so many changes happening. All that can make parting from your other half pretty hard to deal with.
You don't get to wallow when you're a superhero.
When you're a regular person, you get to take some time and wallow over your break-up. But when you're a superhero, you need to be back out there, being selfless and ready right away. There's no room to mourn your failed relationship when you have to face yet another world-threatening problem.
Guys, can we just learn how to deal with our own problems so that Superheroes get to take some me-time?
Art by Jsalvador
13 Too Cool For School
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My sense of style has always been very neutral. Let's just say I never stand out in a crowd, and I totally want it this way, so that's fine by me. But I'll be honest, I was sometimes jealous of those super stylishly dressed people who just looked like they had their act together.
You know which people I'm talking about, I know you do.
This illustration of Captain Marvel is the perfect image of those people I wish I could be like more when I was in college. Come on, look at that, she's just so cool! To make things worse, I know that this look would take me hours to come up with, and I would feel so uncomfortable and awkward wearing it. But on Captain Marvel, it just looks effortless and naturally awesome.
Art by AndrewKwan
12 You're Finally An Adult
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Ok, I'm exaggerating a little bit here, because being an adult isn't all that bad. But it definitely has its downs. This is particularly during really stressful periods when you feel like nothing will ever be "rainbows and sunshine" again. You just can't stop thinking about everything that's going wrong, and about all the things that could go wrong, and suddenly, you're wondering what you're doing with your life.
I want to be sad for young Batman, I really do.
He just looks so down here, but at the same time, pick yourself up man! Life is tough, and it's not great sometimes, but you should't keep Joy in a tiny circle and let yourself be ruled by sadness and fear. It's easier said than done, for sure, but I really think that happiness starts within yourself.
Just let it be free to take over!
Art by Caiooliveira
11 New Fashion Styles
Looking back at old pictures of myself as a child, I keep thinking: "what on earth was I wearing?" Most of the time, I can blame my fashion fails on my parents' poor sense of style. However, when you grow up, the blame is all yours, my friend. As a young adult, you don't always know who you are or what your style is.
So, naturally, you try different styles and sometimes, it just isn't that great...
Superheroes go through different styles too. Sometimes the new costumes are great and sometimes they're giant flops. Like Superman's new superhero costume that ComickerGirl drew. I personally think it looks more like a Star Trek outfit than anything else, to be honest... No wonder the girls look so perplexed.
Art by ComickerGirl
10 Never Skip Laundry Day
If I could go back in time and say one thing to my younger self, it would be to appreciate the times when you don't have to do your own laundry. Kids, appreciate opening your drawers and always finding clean, matching socks, because the second you're out of your parent's house, it's over.
Who else learned to embrace mix-matched socks when they made it to college?
You have a lot going on when you're in college, I give you that! But I'm also sure we could all find the time to go and do a little laundry. Superheroes, on the other hand, have way too much to deal with on daily basis. I wonder if they all secretly have someone who does their laundry, and that's how they always have clean clothes? Or maybe, they don't do laundry at all and burn their costumes every few days?
Hmm, I wish I knew their secret...
Art by Glenn Jones.
9 New Hobbies
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Let's face it, after a long week of classes and studying for exams, it's hard to get yourself to get out and do stuff when, really, all you want to do is stay home and watch Netflix. Thankfully, there are a lot activities that you can do for free, or for barely any money on campus.
One of the perks of being a student is that you are always encouraged to find new hobbies.
Artist FlyingMouse365 did a series of illustrations featuring our favourite superheroes doing various sports, and it's honestly one of the cutest thing I have every seen! It's also so well thought-out, as the artist portrayed how each superhero would use their powers to play those sports. Having Mr Fantastic's abilities would sure come in handy when one needs to reach high places, right?
Art by Flyingmouse365
8 You Deserve A Treat!
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Although you barely have any money when you're a student, and you almost always end up having to cook for yourself to save money on food, there are so many perks to choosing your own meals.
Oh yes, you get to pick what you want to eat, and if you want fast food three meals in row, there's no one to stop you from doing that!
Thor is a god, and gods have their own special food, but being on earth means he is now able to eat all that fat, greasy, disgustingly amazing human junk food. It must be literal joy for him. The guy also uses quite a lot of strength in a day, he sure needs the extra food to keep him going. Who wouldn't feel like going out to get a taco right now, just by looking at this awesome piece of art?
Art by LintuFriiki
7 Managing Your Stress
One thing I missed when I went to college was pre-exams pep talks. When I still lived at home, my parents knew when I had a big test coming up, and they would always encourage me and reassure me before I went into it. However, when you live on your own, you need to talk yourself up, and it can be really complicated sometimes.
Supergirl is one of my favourite Superheroes out there. She's brilliant, funny, and strong even beyond her superpowers. I can imagine her on mornings before finals, talking to her own reflection in the mirror and trying to give herself a little bit more confidence.
"You are a strong, independent alien. You can ace this final like a 5th grade spelling test."
Supergirl would definitely find the right words to get her motivation and drive back!
Art by ComickerGirl
6 The Mean Snooze Button
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Remember when you always needed your parents to come wake you up, in case your alarm didn't go off, or you'd simply snoozed it into oblivion? That's another tough thing when you start college and have to be your own back-up plan. Getting out of bed and getting yourself to do things is extra hard when no one is around to force you do it.
Snoozing an alarm 10 times before rushing to get ready is a story all college students know too well.
Bucky's drowsy face is every college student's mornings in a nutshell. Waking up to go to class is already big enough of a pain, so it must be a 100 times harder when you wake up to save the whole darn world. Again. I imagine all kinds of bad fails if a superhero is not quite awake yet, and still has to use their powers.
We can't blame the problems on the lack of sleep, be it in class or in space.
Art by Jack-O-lantern12
5 Well, This Is Embarassing
We all have a collection of embarrassing photos from our time in college. At best, you've hidden them in a folder, somewhere deep in your computer. At worst, they're still out there, waiting to be discovered by your colleagues at work. And then, who knows what will happen to you, when they find them...
Let's just say that our fun-loving selves are rarely very photogenic...
I imagine that as a Superhero, you need to project an impeccable image if you want to be taken seriously. No one will trust someone in a dinosaur onesie, with a face full of Ben and Jerry's ice cream and greasy hair. Plus, you also want to maintain your superhero image in people's minds! I find Captain America pretty cute in those pictures, but I can see why those would discredit him in a heartbeat, if they ever leaked.
Art by RandomSplashes
4 The Front Row Kid
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Unless you're one of those kids who sits at the back of the class to goof off without being caught, you will have lived through a semester of suffering. There is always that one person who keeps sitting at the front, but they honestly couldn't care less about the lesson.
There's always one person like in one of your classes, and it's a rule.
I have no trouble believing that Flash would be that person. He doesn't even need to be in class to begin with! He could just read the materials and the professor's notes in two seconds, and still rock his tests at the end of the semester. However, because attendance counts for 10% of the final grades, he would have to keep coming to class.
At least have the decency to sit in the back, pal.
Art by CollegeHumour
3 Things Don't Always Go Your Way...
This is amazing, I totally see this happening with superhero students! The Hulk is too adorable for me not to share him with you. The artist portrayed different superheroes struggling to use a computer because of their abilities, and it's a pretty good analogy for what college can sometimes be.
Most people go into college thinking it's gonna just like high school, and that you get to do what you want. Boy, are they wrong!
Try writing a 5,000 word-count essay and having your computer crash completely! You've lost all of your work the day before your deadline! Things don't always go your way, and sometimes you just have to find a way to work around issues. I'm sure all these superheroes know this, because they simply had to deal with it.
Sometimes, that just needs to be good enough.
Art by Agent-X
2 You Find Your People
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College is no smooth ride, most of the time. You will sometimes feel like giving up, you will question yourself and your choices, but there is one thing that will make it all worth it in the end. Your degree is, of course, very important.
We're talking about all the lifelong friends you will make in college!
Like the Avengers, you will find the people that will stand by you, no matter what! They know who you are deep down, they'll share your burdens and they will always, always have your back. At the end of the day, they will be there to cheer you up, and to cheer you on, whatever you choose to do.
They will be there for you every step of the way as you transition into adulthood. And that, my friends, is the beauty of college friendships.
Art by Renny08
1 Socializing Has Consequences
This scene is the perfect illustration of college gatherings, with the exception of that quiet person who's been force to accompany a friend, and is now reading in a corner until they get to go home (again, speaking from experience).
Whether you're a superhero or not, the key to enjoying a good time is simply moderation. Don't be like Flash.
It's funny how sometimes superheroes can seem so human. You have so many people socializing in the background, they made it to the party but don't really care for it. Quite a few heroes are enjoying themselves, but there's always one who's unimpressed with everything, and always someone fighting in the corner. All this to say, having fun in college can be great, but remember to be conscious of your limits!
Not everyone gets over a dizzy spell as fast as The Flash.
Art by CollegeHumour