One hundred blogs. I'm a guy who looks at milestones in life, who loves to celebrate birthdays and anniversaries and who reflects on past achievements when reaching a milestone. I mean it takes a lot of time and effort to achieve a milestone, whatever it may be. Now I'm not the first person on here to reach Club 100 and I won't be the last, but for me it is a celebratory time. I've always loved writing and putting my thoughts out there for all to read, but joining Hyperspace allowed me to do it all in a much more public forum, so it's very satisfying to reach 100. And I couldn't have done it at all without the support and encouragement from you all.

But one fellow blogger in particular has become a good friend, and has always been supportive of my blogs and lent her guidance to me along the way. That is why I have invited the talented and respected amidalooine to help me write this blog, to bring her inspiring style of the written word in to help celebrate my milestone. In this entry, ami's words are italicized and mine are not.

...Every once in a long while in our lives, we meet someone who thinks like we do, who sees life in a similar light. I have been incredibly fortunate in this blogosphere, and such is the case with Darth_Hiram. Deep and thoughtful and considerate, DH is a gifted writer who has gifted me with his friendship, and I am humbled to be a part of his milestone.

We've had several discussions on one particular topic that we feel is relevant today, both in our real world and in the fictional world, be it Star Wars or otherwise. And that is the topic of superheroes.

When Anakin Skywalker was a little boy, I wonder what kind of Jedi he imagined himself as? The old Jedi Order wasn't so rigid that it didn't allow each knight or master to distinguish him or her-self in some way. Their robes, though similar, were unique. Their hairstyles varied. Even their weapons, their prized lightsabers, blazed in different colors, their hilts as individual as they were. Did little Ani dream of blue blades and light robes? Did he see himself in a dark, hooded cape and green saber? Who was Anakin Skywalker in his childhood dreams?

And did Anakin imagine himself as a superhero? I think as he grew, he molded himself into what he believed to be a hero, but I don't think I would fit him into the classification of a superhero. He had these tremendous powers, he had the loftiness of being The Chosen One, and he had the awe of the citizens of the galaxy that looked at him as a hero ... a Jedi who saved lives and won battles. But he had other things that would hold him back too.

We've had superheroes on the big screen, on the small screen, in comic books, in novels and in our imaginations for many years. We've all seen many come and go and some stick around for the long haul. And in today's movie-making age we are seeing a brand of superhero, and likewise villains, emerge that are more real and more in tune with the condition that our world and our society is in. Gone seem to be the cheesy and colourful characters that graced the screens such as the 1960's Batman, 1980's TV specials (I seem to recall an old Spiderman TV movie from years back), and even the comic book portrayal of George Clooney's Batman.

In 1977, Darth Vader couldn't help but be campy. His look was pure science fiction with his shiny black suit and strange helmet, colorful blinking buttons on his suit's control box and awkward boots that caused him to clomp about more like Herman Munster in space than the galaxy's most feared presence. But there was never anything funny about Darth Vader.

Now we are seeing more human characters ... ones that have real flaws and disappointments, just like our real lives can be. Just consider the most recent "The Dark Knight" installment. We are seeing Batman as a flawed hero, one who has to accept that he is a dark hero that nobody wants, but the city desperately needs. He's the opposite side of the coin from the Joker, but they are both on the same coin (to reference Two Face's character). The Joker tells him that they need each other ... they will always be locked in a dance that goes round and round because one will not exist without the other. I feel that the movie is absolutely brilliant in its portrayal of how vulnerable these characters can be, despite all the armour they wear or how protected by their weapons they appear to be. Deep down they are flawed, and in order to move on with life and protecting not only the city or their own interests, they have to accept this. And this rings true for all of us. We are flawed and imperfect. But to live with each other, and ourselves we must accept this ... or ultimately fail.

And in Anakin's case he did fail. He was a flawed character as well and allowed his flaws to best him, whereas Batman used his flaws to strengthen him. Batman knew he must step back and let the city evolve, and protect it from the shadows. But Anakin wouldn't step back when he should have and ended up not protecting the galaxy from the shadows, but terrorizing it from them.

Why do our superheroes wear masks or armor or costumes and carry fancy weapons? Do superheroes feel they have to be something they're not? It was Bruce Wayne's heart that beat beneath Batman's cape, and the events that transpired in Bruce Wayne's life that created the Batman. Why hide? Why this need, as DH pointed out, to protect Gotham only from the shadows? Maybe Gotham would have accepted Batman's flaws. Maybe Batman underestimated the power of the truth to be redemption in its simplicity and realness. Maybe I just want Batman to be happy.

If Batman was the flip side of the Joker's scarred and twisted coin, then what of Anakin Skywalker, who lived as both hero and villain in the same persona, one buried deep beneath the other? Was Anakin even fully aware of the monster he was as Darth Vader, as Batman was aware of the inverse of his own heroics, or even more significantly, the Joker was aware of his opposite "good" side? Only through awareness can there be redemption. Redemption...

Why do our superheroes feel the need to be redeemed, and can Anakin still be considered a superhero because of his redemption? Optimus Prime, the autobot hero of Transformers, implies that he and his comrades on Earth must atone for their sins, but what sins? What can possibly be wrong about fighting violently against a much greater evil? Isn't that what all our superheroes do?

And as I think about the Jedi, the superhero, that Anakin strove to be, I think about Superman. Superman is the epitome of what a hero should be ... strong, trustful, good-hearted and a protector of all that is good and fair and just. He fought for a world that he was not originally a part of. He accepted who he was, where he was and what he was capable of doing. And in the most recent Superman movie, he also showed that he was vulnerable to his feelings. He showed that he could be hurt where it is much harder to recover from, or be invincible from ... his heart. Lois Lane was his true love and it pained him that she moved on with her life when he left Earth for five years. But he had to accept it and be who he had to be, a very human trait. He had to lead his life with his heart for who he was and all that he did, not to save himself from it. And it made him stronger.

And this is where Anakin failed. He couldn't accept what had to be, or what could come. He wanted to be Superman, with the girl. He couldn't lead a double life like Superman does ... his feelings and emotions took over to the point of personal failure by turning to the darkside.

Aaaahhhh, love. A superhero's Achilles Heel. Why is loving someone considered a character flaw? Why are superheroes forced to live without the passion and strength that love could give them? With the exception of the very married with children (and animated) Incredibles, our superheroes are forced to fight the forces of evil alone. Superman should have ended up with Lois Lane, the mother of his child. Batman's dark destiny was driven in part by the heartache of his lost love, a love that would have been unrequited at best. Superhero or not, Anakin's love for Padme killed her...and his dreams (and so many more) with her. At least there's hope for Spiderman, who appeared poised to reunite with his Mary Jane when last we saw them on the big screen.

Maybe Iron Man is the one who got it right in every respect. Utterly flawed and human, Tony Stark reaped the rewards of a life spent using his brilliant mind (one of a superhero's sexiest traits, by the way) to exploit the needs of warring nations, even America's most diligent enemies, drowning any doubts he had in booze, and building himself up in the arms of beautiful but vapid women. It wasn't until the harshest of experiences that Tony found who he was meant to become. Even then, however, Tony remained completely human inside his iron armor, an armor that was in itself, a depiction of who Tony Stark had become...strong, brilliant, using the powers it was given, far from indestructible, and most importantly, driven by his heart. Even Tony's Iron Man's exterior very clearly exposed his heart. I suspect that Iron Man 2 will give us much more of Tony and his love, Pepper Potts and the opportunity to see what happens when the world DOES know whose humanity powers the superhero within.

ami brings up excellent points with Spiderman and Iron Man: their hearts rules many of our favourite superheroes. They didn't choose to be the superhero, nor imagined themselves as one. In fact, do any of our beloved superheroes start out their secret life with that intention? Did Batman? Did Spiderman? Did Iron Man? Did even Superman? I think they were all thrown into their lives for a reason, and because they have good hearts. They are reluctant heroes. They all have had moments of contemplation about where their life is headed, and doubts about who they are and what they can do. Iron Man was literally ruled by his heart ... his device is what keeps him alive and his power is derived from his heart, as ami points out. What greater muscle is there than that to figuratively power a person's life and give them strength?

And of course, Anakin was powered by his heart too. The difference with him is that he also let it rule his thoughts and actions in a selfish way, to his detriment. He let his heart over-power him to the point that he couldn't stop himself from avoiding pain and heartache and ended up hurting others. And on the opposite end of the spectrum, his son Luke let his heart be his guide and paid the ultimate price: he sacrificed himself to save not only his own turn to the darkside, but saved his father, his friends and the galaxy at large. And became a hero alongside his father in Anakin's own act of heroism in saving Luke.

What a wonderful genre of movies, are the superhero movies. What once was perceived as children's comics or Saturday morning cartoons are now complex, detailed and emotional stories of characters that are seemingly invincible, but utterly human. They have the gifts and qualities many of us strive for: strength to help us fight out of tough situations, humanity to know themselves and others, and heart to know that what we do, we do for good and pure reasons. Even The Hulk, given all his brute strength and lack of cognizant abilities could comprehend those he didn't want to hurt and appeared to make decisions where it counted most ... with his heart. They also teach us that it is ok to have flaws and to know them. That is part of our human condition ... to have the strength and ability to know our flaws and still succeed.

ami pointed out to me, not on this blog but in conversation, that Anakin's humanity and his heart are what saved him, as well as Luke. He was a man with a human heart. And I couldn't agree more. He wasn't a superhero like we see in Batman or Superman or Iron Man or Spiderman. He went down a much different path than any of those characters, but what he does have in common with them is his humanity and that his heart is at the centre of his actions. He fought himself as Vader, but Anakin's heart won out in the end.

And he fulfilled his own hero's quest.

My personal thanks to amidalooine for joining me in writing this blog, this milestone for me. As a fellow superhero fan, it wouldn't have been the same without you!