[ wp ] Your father was the world 's most feared and powerful super villain . You never partook of his work , but his final words to you prove true . `` There must always be a super villain ! ''

> *Real heroes need real obstacles. * 
 
 He said it so much that I ended up getting it engraved on his headstone. Otherwise, there ’ s no sign of Dad ’ s career on the simple granite slab. Just, you know, the name, relevant dates, and that quote. 
 
 Sometimes I go back to the graveyard and stand there next to him and read that line. I wish he was still around. Not just because I miss my Dad -- that ’ s a big part of it, of course -- but that his replacement is total crap. 
 
 Dad predicted that. He wasn ’ t just a super villain, he was … genre savvy. He filled a fundamental role, a *necessary* function in our society, but he didn ’ t let it take over his life. As I got older, I came to appreciate the rarity of that skill. I've witnessed how common it is for people with a Power Persona to get in over their heads, lose themselves in their role, forget how to be an ordinary everyday person. 
 
 But Dad? He would come home and help me with my homework, he would wash the dinner dishes, he would tell us stories of great heroes and great adventures, and tuck us in and do all of the normal Dad stuff. The other kids were so jealous - our Dad was cool, he was fun, he ’ d chaperone field trips and organize neighborhood cookouts during the summer. 
 
 He was a pillar of the community. During his `` reign of terror,'' he elevated the concept of heroes versus villains from skirmishes and battles to … sporting events. Competitions. The heroes still had their trials and burdens, they had to make hard decisions, they had to learn how to lead and when to follow. He still did his *job* in that regard. But it wasn ’ t fueled by megalomania. 
 
 And that ’ s really how he came to win so much, I think. He never set out to rule the world. He approached villainy like a job, and he was good at it. That screwed up the Morality Clause, the rule that the Good Guys Always Win. Because Dad was genuinely a good guy. 
 
 Maybe that ’ s why things seem so bad now though; the screw-up that took over has no understanding of how to properly do the job. Heroes have been running themselves ragged trying to counter him. They ’ ve been spread too thin and they haven ’ t been able to keep up with everyday dangers, the natural disasters, the external threats. 
 
 Handling stuff like that is *their* real job, and they haven ’ t been able to perform it properly in months. 
 
 This just won ’ t do. 
 
 There must always be an obstacle for the heroes to overcome. There must always be someone to keep them from getting soft, but lets them do their work. I avoided getting into the family business, I stifled my Power Persona because Dad always wanted to be sure I had the chance to be a real person of my own. But I can ’ t stand by anymore and watch the world get ruined by amateur hour. 
 
 Dad. I hope you ’ re proud of me.
