By: Max Yang

There are many superheroes who use muscles to solve problems, but muscles can’t solve all problems. Brains can. Mr. Kind is a superhero that demonstrates this. Mr. Kind, whose real name is Joe, is a short and weak teenager with a big heart who always dreamed of being a hero. People shot him snide looks when they heard this. They all believed that being buff and burly was the key to being a superhero.

Being laughed at by everybody, Joe went through a period of depression. One day he received a letter from an anonymous organization asking him to test their newly made machine called the hero-incubator. The organization promised that whoever used it would immediately become a superhero. This was what Joe wanted all along.

Arriving at the location given in the letter, Joe found himself face to face with a humongous building. When he entered, he saw many strange devices and gadgets. Scientists, or what looked like scientists, came up and greeted him. Joe saw a large cube with the door locked. The scientists said, “If you want to open it, you must collect 100 thank yous from 100 different people.”

Joe then went out to complete the task. He donated money, clothes, food, and toys for charity, did community service, helped old people cross the road, and helped a kid open a bag of chips. When Joe collected his 99th thank you, he realized that he had run out of people to help. Brainstorming, Joe finally thought of an idea. “Thank you for being a better me,” Joe whispered to himself.

When he went back to the scientists, they exclaimed, “Congratulations, you are already a hero. You don’t need the machine to achieve your dreams.” Joe finally realized that helping 100 people counted as being a hero. With a large smile on his face, Joe recognized that being muscular wasn’t the sole way to differentiate a hero from a civilian. Having a big and kind heart was the only way to pass the gate of superheroes. In the end, people called him Mr. Kind for his considerate acts and Joe achieved his dream of becoming a superhero. Would you like to try the hero-incubator?