Help Me Write the Next Hero Myth

Yep, I’m going to talk about stories again.  Cuz that’s my jam.  

I mentioned I’ve been reading good stories to help me get by.  I’ve been drawn to quest stories like the Hobbit and hero myths like Robin Hood, and King Arthur--any and all versions I can get my hands on.  Later I’ll come up with some theories as to why those particular stories are appealing to right now, but that will have to wait until the analytical part of my brain comes back online.  In the meantime I’ve been noodling with updated versions of those stories.  For example, King Arthur is supposed to return when Britain needs him most, right?  Well, the whole world needs a hero right now, right?  So I’ve been imagining what that might look like. It’s definitely not some white dude with a sword coming to the rescue.  So what does the hero of our times look like?

A clue comes from my three-year-old nephew, whose favorite movie right now is Spiderman: Into the Spiderverse.  Have you seen it?  If not, see it.  Because, “We are all Spiderman.”  

Maybe the hero myth of our times is people of all ages, races, genders and nationalities suddenly waking up to the fact that they are the Chosen Ones, manifestations of the hero stories of their cultures.  The main challenge they face isn’t overcoming an invading evil, though that is a plot point.  The real challenge is learning to work with all the other Chosen Ones all over the world. If they can do that, they can do anything.  The invading evil (maybe, oh say... a virus and/or a fear-mongering megalomaniac?) doesn’t stand a chance. 

Would you want to read that story?  Or maybe live it?  It might sound like these heroes are facing overwhelming odds, which is often exactly what we’re trying to escape when we lose ourselves in hero stories.  But hang on.  The most important plot point here is that it’s not just one person responsible for saving the world.  The old hero myths were all about one person going forth and conquering the big bad.  With maybe a little help from animals they met along the way or Ron and Hermione, but generally the fate of the world rested on the shoulders of the Chosen ONE.  The hero of our times, however, is a plurality. All the chosen ones are in this together.  It’s the only way.  

 If you feel like it, mull over this idea of all of us being chosen ones and what kind of new hero myth we’re being called upon to narrate right now.  Send me any genre-revolutionizing plot points that occur to you.  This new story needs to happen.