Recommended Age for Heroes?

This came up briefly in a conversation: Should there be a recommended age for heroes? If so, what would you suggest and why? If not, please share your thoughts.

I'll share my thoughts as soon as there's a post or two, so I don't influence any answers. Make sure you provide some good reasons. I really hate "just because" or other vague answers.

I do not think there should be any set age and the reason that I say that is that well for me being a hero is something that I feel in my heart compelled to do and have since I was a small boy. In kindergarten when the fifth grade kids would try to pick and/or bully on the other kids in my class I could not just stand by I did something about it and I was that way all through school right up till I graduated high school. Now of a night I haunt the streets of my city. I look for crimes happen in do something about it and I even investigate the crime that have gone unsolved or have just happened. So again I being a hero does not come with an age limit.

No age limit on being a hero.

Being a hero can be many many things. Look at Powerboy (I think his name is).

But there are certain areas that shouldn't be done before a certain age, like e.g. patrolling the streets at night. Likewise, there are certain areas that shouldn't be done before proper preparation, like e.g. do some martial arts training before patrolling the streets too.

If I was asked if I recommended an age for heroes to start at, I would say between 19 and 21. It doesn't mean people can't train before then or learn to stand up for themselves and others, but by the ages of 19-20-21 people are a little more mature. I am not saying 18 because there are 18 years old still in high school and high school is a "wretched hive of scum and villainy" - actually its just overridden with hormonal teens who (usually) haven't had to make any serious life making choices.

By 19-20-21 people have usually decided what path they want to start out on, typically: college/trade school, military, or work with no extra school. At this point in life people can start adjusting their schedules, taking control of their lives, and realizing that the world is bigger than they thought (metaphorically). This age range also starts to have a firmer grip on morals, ethics, the law, and they begin to take more responsibility for their actions.

I am not against younger heroes, btw. This is just the youngest age I would personally recommend to people to start at.

I saw the younger they start, the better. I was at this my whole life but started patrolling my neighborhood at no later than 5 years old. That way it doesn't just become like a job that you go in to and then don't find as natural and then naturally phase out of it too.

The experience at a younger age helps. That isn't to say do things you aren't prepared for. But it isn't a matter of "patrol or not patrol" - but rather to do what you are able to when on patrol.

All patrolling is, is a lifestyle, and an alertness and readiness to act as necessary where ever you are at, but also going to places where you think you're needed.

Training may start very young, however, I agree that a certain maturity and lifestyle stability needs to be established first, so as to understand the rational aspects to patrolling and even crimefighting. I'd say the best time to begin actual masked patrols and crimefighting is mid-late 20's... at least by then you're hopefully as rational and logical as you are emotional and all other things.

Though many jokes are cracked, and the allure and fastasy of the vocation is grand, this is some serious stuff!

Eight. That's a good age to start. I just came back from the Haven, (the fortress of solitude to my superman, the batcave to my batman; the place I go for guidance and it activates my Truth Sense, I'll type a Journal after this; I've just sorta had an awakening. Maybe "the" awakening I've been told about by other indigos; scary shit goin' on)
But anyhoo...I just got back from the Haven and had sort of an epiphany in regards of being a superhero and what we should be doing. I made an instant record of it on my word pad thankfully; my memory is always fuzzy after little "bursts" like this. Then again the doc may have been right in saying TLE (Temporal Lobe Epilepsy) could be a possibility from the more-than-I-can-count head injuries I've had. But whatever, it seems to be workin' out haha.
I saved it and will copy/paste it later.
But yeah, I'd say eight is enough. XD (kudos to whoever gets the "joke" XD)
Stay true. Stay free. Stay safe.

--Hero Boy

Blackout,
To be most effective at that age, sort of - although in the military - they say people are at their prime in their late teens. But then if we start out when all skills with no experience, that is all we would be. The experience and maturity and judgment can come from trial and error. That way by the time they reach that age, it's more of a natural lifestyle that one eases in to rather than jumps in to.

Hero Boy,
Is the whole age 8 something you were joking about or just the quote? But, I don't think any age would be fitting for all since a lot of this is part of an individual journey, and what we feel ready to do or not do at any given point in our lives.

Partly a joke. I was just reminded of one of the little boys who led a bunch of his classmates to safety during the Sandy Hook Elementary massacre. He was just a little kid. I don't think it's how old you are that should determine if you can be a hero; it's what you can do. We can always do something; even little kids.
Stay true. Stay free. Stay safe.

--Hero Boy

Exactly!

I could not have said it any better Hero Boy

Thanks.

I snagged this from SuperheroLaw.com which focuses on the law and superheroes.

Superhero Parental Liability


At common law there was very little liability imposed on parents for
the acts, or omissions, of their children. Because children themselves
were not generally liable for their actions, any damages that were
caused were simply written off (hence, “boys will be boys”). Under
modern law, however, there is contingency of statutes that create what
is known as “parental liability,” wherein parents are vicariously liable
for certain acts of their children committed under specific
circumstances.

• Negligent Supervision - Under a number of state statutes, if a
  parent is determined to have exercised negligent supervision over their
  children, they may be held liable for the effects of their child’s
  actions.
  
• Family Car Doctrine - Under this theory of liability, a parent is
  liable for any damage caused by the use of the family car by a family
  member if the parent was aware that the child was using said vehicle.
  
• Court Costs and Restitution - For certain criminal acts, a parent
  may be responsible for reimbursing the State for court costs and/or for
  paying restitution to the victim(s).
  
• Child Access Protection Laws - A number of states have “child
  access” laws relating to use or access to firearms and other deadly
  weapons. Under these laws, parents can be liable for simply allowing
  their child to have access to weapons, let alone, directly handing them
  over.
  

Consider Robin and Hit-Girl, who are Superhero Minor Sidekicks to
their guardian and father, respectively. Both are given direct access by
their guardian to various dangerous and deadly weapons (Hit-Girl is
given a myriad of guns and knives, and while Batman and Robin don’t use
guns, they have a number of incendiary devices, blades, billy clubs, and
other regulated weaponry), both are given access to the “family”
vehicle (both without a license) and it is no stretch to argue that
training, encouraging, and accompanying a juvenile vigilante, would
constitute “negligent supervision.” As such, both Batman and Big Daddy
would certainly be liable for any damage caused by their ward-sidekicks.

Misc. Statutes

• Curfew laws - 45.04 (a) LAMC “Daytime Curfew” It is unlawful
  for any minor under the age of 18, who is subject to compulsory
  education . . . to be present in or upon the public streets . . . during
  the hours of the day when . . . school . . . is in session. 45.03 (a)
  LAMC “Nighttime Curfew” Curfew laws restrict the rights of juveniles to
  be outdoors or in public places between the hours of 10:00 pm and
  sunrise.
  
• Furnishing a deadly weapon to a minor - Providing a minor
  with access to a deadly weapon is generally a misdemeanor, however,
  certain enumerated weapons can result in a felony charge. Weapons that
  are likely to lead to a conviction, and which are popular among
  superheros, include guns, explosive devices, and brass knuckles⁶.
  
• Driving/Flying without a license - California Vehicle Code
  12500 a vc prohibits people from driving in California without a valid
  driver’s license subject to a misdemeanor conviction.
  

Raven,

I think I had heard of that website some years ago. I forgot about that. Thanks for sharing that and the information with us.

Indeed, it might be a valuable tool in shaping The Order's policies and guidelines as well.

In my opinion Batman and Big Daddy are both insane and wreckless vigilantes, not superheroes.
It depends on what form of heroism you're teaching them. I can teach kids and adults alike everything I know because I fight crime by prevention and am more of the Education/Guidance branch of superhero. Give a man a fish, feed him for a day. Teach him to fish, feed him for a life time. So instead of protecting the rape victim, I teach the rape victim beforehand how to defend herself so that she'll be ready, and I teach nonviolent self-defense and conflict resolution and the lesser forms of subtle psychological warfare so that they can always get out of violence and be aware and avoid it through education and preparation, without anyone having to get hurt or anything damaged. I certainly advise aainst the use of weapons; weapons are all over the place. If you genuinely need one your survival instincts will kick in and you'll find or make one. You can also learn tactics by googling "Forever Armed"; I'll see about finding it somewhere; I have it in one of my dads self defense magazines. It's freaky thorough. But yeah, I'd say it depends on the responsibility of the adult when it comes to teaching "side kicks". I teach people in general; starting with "martial virtues" and and sorta brainwashing them to see violence as less and less of an option with some rudimentary mind control tactics and subliminal suggestion, and basically just "purposefully and delicately rubbing off on them". And then they learn the physical NSD tactics more efficiently because they see it as an ideal response and feel better about doing the smart thing and running away and hiding if they have to hide. Among that teaching them health, fitness, relationship work, self reflection, and other more evolved ways of thinking and feeling. I've been doing my superhero activities this way for a few weeks now, and it is sorta freaky how much has changed, but everything is so much nicer and happier and positive and it's just sort of enveloping the people I touch/manipulate. I have no problem with manipulation. It's a tool, and you can use atool, or abuse a tool. Using a tool for positive and inspirational conducts on one person at a time creates an incredible change at an alarmingly rapid rate, but first you have to train at getting to be a good mind slayer so to speak. If you're interested, I have a library of literature on the topics. I'm somewhat of an obsessive reader haha.
Stay true. Stay free. Stay safe.

--Hero Boy

I started at the end of age 16. Looking back, I most definitely would no recommend this, because I had no idea what I was doing, what I was facing, or how to truly be effective at all.

That being said, I learned invaluable things about the art of masked crime fighting, that I never, ever would have learned, if I hadn't started so young. I learned stealth principles, both large and subtle errors in suit building and function, and above all being "comfortable" while in my second skin.

I think it really benefited, but at the risk of possibly damaging my record and "normal" life in the future. If someone is bent on trying it at a young age, I would recommend that they start practicing and training in mock scenarios, martial arts, criminal justice studies, etc. to build their preparedness.

Like Tothian said, every day/night, in uniform or no, can be technically considered a "patrol", if you are actively searching for people who need help or remaining aware of crimes being committed. It's just good to build up to that stuff.

U can be a hero at any age. But as for fighting crime, I'd say that's for people 18 or older

Depends on how they're fighting crime.

Wow! Some very deep and interesting replies here since my last reply. I'm gonna reply to each post since then specifically.


Hero Boy,
You bring up some good points about the teaching people to defend themselves in a nonviolent way. There are ways to do that and while we don't agree on all parts - like the Batman part - which I'll get to in a second - I feel like your views and opinions offer a fair balance to the commonly themed crimefighters patrolling dark alleyways at night that is so common here.

As for Batman - I do consider him to be a hero - he is a Warrior but has also been at times a Protector who has saved people too. Since there are the different aspects of heroism, he represents a certain aspect of it that I feel is very important to not dismiss.

Even in both real life and fiction, it's hard to classify because of how diverse everyone is. It's better when the diversity unites rather than divides, for when it's possible.


Wall Creeper,
While we can never tell someone "Go out and do this at this age" - it also doesn't work if we tell someone "Don't do it until you're this age" - a lot of the times you can look to an individual of any age and know that this is a life for them or not.

Deaths Head Moth made a quote some years ago that I really liked. The idea of it went something like: "It's not about who will let me do this. It's about who will try to stop me."

And that's how it was with me at that age. If a whole community of people tried to dissuade me from this, I wouldn't have listened to them.

Here's a picture that explains why.



Plus, we're not a job. We're a way of life. The earlier we start, the more natural everything will be for us later on in life.


Velocity,
Crimefighting is an aspect of heroism. I had graduated from a Military High School at age 16, and joined the Marines when I turned 17 and still age 17 when I graduated Marine Boot Camp. Just something to consider.

But, what Hero Boy said will lead further to my reply to this part.


Hero Boy (again),
That is a good point too. Obviously, I wouldn't advise someone in going in too deep and biting off more than they can chew, so to speak - then again revert back to the quote from Death's Head Moth that I quoted. But, while we here at the Heroes Network want to be sort of almost like some kind of strategic Think Tank for Heroism, and would not advise someone of ANY AGE to go out of their way to do things that they're not trained to do.

We also want to remember to advise anyone of any age - in the real life Superhero Community or not - to act as their sense of honor would dictate for any given situation.

This is a good commonly asked question through out the RLSH community. I have been asked where I stand on this numerous times and I have had slightly different opinions every time. 

At first I thought that young superheroes weren't the greatest of ideas. Mostly because I was worried for their safety and well being. As well there are a ton of supervision/ guardian laws I'm unaware of. For the minors themselves to go off and attempt to fight crime on their own is one thing, and then there's being the older (over age of majority) hero with a minor as a side-kick. The latter of which would be more of the issue for myself.

To quickly address the issue of a minor going off by themselves or with another minor RLSH partner, I believe crime fighting for them would be very dangerous because of their potential lack of experience and protective gear. As well, the obvious lack of size and strength at that age. However that does not mean they can't help their community in a great many other ways. Running around at night trying to find bad guys to beat up, not being one of them haha.

Now as for the 2nd part... Being a RLSH of age and having a minor as a side-kick. This is the part I'm most concerned about. The thing that comes to mind is what you'd be responsible for and what kind of crap could you get into if something were to go down. 

So with such in mind, I think the parents or guardians of the minor should be informed of their intentions and the RLSH of age's intentions. Therefor they can decide whether this is something they want their kid or teen to be involved in or not.

There's a heck of a lot more I have to say about this issue but I wanna see what is said about this first...