<br/><br/>Just the other day after dusting my old, rickety storeroom, I chanced upon one of my yellowed, weathered copy of a classic comic strip, precariously sandwiched between an old telephone directory and a few dusty magazines. As I picked it up, I could feel the warmth of its well-thumbed leaves. I began flipping through it despite some torn and some missing pages, all this while wondering when was the last time I saw it. <br/><br/>As a kid, I was always fascinated by the ‘Man of Steel’ – Superman, who concealed his superhuman strength and amazing abilities as Clark Kent - a shy, gawky and ‘mild mannered reporter’ for Daily Planet and Batman - the dark, brooding ‘caped crusader’ and a crime fighting machine from Gotham City, who lived off during the day as Bruce Wayne - an American millionaire. <br/><br/>Yes, these two were one of my all favourite superheroes from the DC universe, in addition to a galaxy of characters, which included Spider Man, Justice League, Iron Man, Hulk, Captain America, Phantom, Fantastic Four and Green Lantern. <br/><br/>As you grow up and enter the adult world, there are many things which you give up as a part of maturity, something which is still dubious in my case. Yes, I too paid the price of my early years at the altar of adulthood, when I was reminded and reprimanded of my youthful exuberance and its indulgences – my swelling heap of superhero comic strips. I was told that no one needs a superhero. Well, parting with childhood memories was never easy. I passed over all my riches to younger cousins, who were more accessible than complete strangers and always mindful of my bounty and ready to payback at the slightest mention of it (you see I was not all that dumb!). <br/><br/>As the saying goes ‘old habits die hard’, I might have completely given up on my childhood indulgence, but whenever there is a superhero movie released, I am the first one to catch its premiere and bask in the glory of my first love. Watching superhero flicks becomes an inexplicable experience, which revives old bitter-sweet memories. <br/><br/>This summer, Hollywood is rolling out a posy of slick, adrenaline rushing, action-packed superhero flicks, which I am sure many of my friends are eagerly awaiting. <br/><br/>In May, June and July 2011, Hollywood studios will come out with ‘Thor’ (starring Chris Hemsworth and releasing on May 06, 2011), ‘X-Men: First Class’ (starring James McAvoy and Michael Fassbender and releasing on June 03, 2011), ‘Green Lantern’ (starring Ryan Reynolds and releasing on June 17, 2011) and ‘Captain America: The First Avenger’ (starring Chris Evans and Hugo Weaving and releasing on June 22, 2011) respectively. <br/><br/>Well, Hollywood’s tryst with superheroes does not end here as the superhero saga continues in 2012 with ‘Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance’, ‘The Amazing Spider Man’, ‘The Avengers’, ‘Venom’, ‘Deadpool’, ‘Superman – Man of Steel’, ‘Flash Gordon’, ‘Nick Fury’ and the most awaited Batman film ‘The Dark Knight Rises’. <br/><br/>Now that’s a pretty enviable list of superheroes movies for the coming few months and, I am sure the child in us will regale with joy this summers. After all, don’t you think that the world needs a superhero?
