While researching stories for our fledgling website, 8list.ph today, I found myself wishing really hard that superheroes were real.

Maybe, then there wouldn’t be dead children washed up on beaches in Europe (or anywhere!), no kids taken from their parents or grabbed from the streets on their way to school.

Hh, maybe traffic wouldn’t be so bad, either. Maybe our telcos would provide us better internet service (because, Oracle and Cyborg). And I’m pretty sure Batman would scare some sense into our leaders. Too much politics, no one talks about ethics. Wonder Woman’s Lasso of Truth could easily weed out corrupt government officials.

Like many of you, I cried after seeing those heartbreaking, gut-wrenching photos of Aylan, the drowned Syrian baby on a beach in Turkey. Realizing my tears, my outrage served nothing, I said a prayer. But lately I’ve come to rely on my imagination more than my faith — on some level, aren’t they the same? So, I thought heroes. This world, this world’s children need heroes.

So here I am, curled up on my bed, staring at my Kotobukiya DC Comics ArtFX collection, lost in imagining how these colorful, costumed crusaders, their ideals and their courage, can make for a better world.