Captain America: You got heart, kid, where are you from?
Spider-Man: [Straining] Queens!
Captain America: Brooklyn!
Captain America: Civil War
With our New York vacation finished, I have to admit to one small regret: that we didn't have an opportunity to visit the Brooklyn Superhero Supply Company, located, as you might guess, in the savage heart of Brooklyn itself. (Okay, actually kind of north and to the west of the actual heart, but you get the idea.)
The
BSSC is exactly what its name implies, a storefront location that sells the necessities of day-to-day heroic life: masks, capes, utility belts, tins of Invisibility, cans of Antimatter, and convenient packs containing Intuition, Gumption, X-Ray Vision, Reflexes, Mind Control and Bravery.
As with its meta-powered clientele, the
Superhero Supply Company has its own secret identity, accessible through a hidden entrance at the back of the store: that of a mild-mannered non-profit arts and literature organization,
826NYC, whose mission statement is more than a little reminiscent of the opening voice-over from
Star Trek - or maybe the
Superman TV series from the 1950s:
"Our mission is to encourage the exploration of endless possibility through the power of writing. To empower students with the skills to write their own paths forward, undefined by circumstance. To support new and exciting approaches to writing and inspire student engagement. And to foster generations of creative writers and thinkers, who together will define a better future."
826NYC, a branch of
826 National, is dedicated to helping students between the ages of 6 and 18 to become better writers through workshops, tutoring, and by providing publishing opportunities for student work. All proceeds from the sale of superhero supplies go towards supporting
826NYC, but that's not their sole source of funding: luminaries such as Jon Stewart, David Byrne, Sam Rockwell, Cynthia Nixon, Bob Balaban and many others have appeared at fundraising events.
I realize that I could easily order from
the Company's website, but
somehow it doesn't feel the same as strolling up to a counter with an
armload of assorted superpowers. However, it's very likely that Karli and I will visit New York again in the not too distant future, and maybe we'll find the time to take the train over to Brooklyn to stock up on some Inspiration.
Ignoring the admirable real-world purpose of the
Brooklyn Superhero Supply Company, it seems like
such a logical idea that there would be an outlet offering supplies to
the superhero community* - or, more interestingly, superhero supplies to
the rest of the population. Lord knows there have been lots of times
when a quart or two of Invincibility would have been a handy thing to
have around.
And, to make the whole joke even funnier, imagine if the superpower supplies actually worked...
- Sid
* By extension, that suggests that there would be an equivalent
organization supporting super villains, and I do recall owning an issue
of the Avengers that introduced the Taskmaster, who ran a school for
evil minions - no, not the little yellow guys, I mean the sort of people who worked for the Joker, you know, the ones
that Batman and Robin would punch with an accompanying visual sound
effect.
