A couple of days ago my neighbor's son paraded around his front yard in his Halloween costume. His mother had added cotton balls to his Iron Man pajamas to bulk it out into a muscular superhero suit for him, and they picked up a cheap mask at Party City to complete the look. He was perplexed, however, because he was also strongly drawn to being Darth Vader. The deciding fact for him, of course-the muscles. Forget the menacing lure of a lightsaber, a cotton ball Hans and Franz "Pump You Up" physique was much more enticing to him.
His consternation reminded me of Andrew's dilemma back when he was about 5 or 6. It was about 1997 or so, the year after the re-releases of the Star Wars trilogy, and he was part of the new generation of kids that got sucked into the Star Wars universe like I did. When it came time to pick out a Halloween costume that October, there was little doubt that he would go for a Star Wars character. We looked at several different costumes, from villains like Vader or a stormtrooper to Boba Fett to the hero side of the aisle, Han Solo or Luke Skywalker. The final decision was C3PO, based less on the droid's persnickety fussiness than on his gleaming gold head, the cool exposed wires in his abdomen, and his proper British accent.
The problem with this choice was that ninjas had become all the rage over the past several years. Cool black ninja suits, throwing stars, swords and batons and nunchaku-these were seriously cool weapons. And for a 5 year old? To choose between channeling the best movie he had ever seen, for which he already had action figures, lightsabers, Happy Meal plastic junk toys, and trading cards, and dressing as a silent and stealthy warrior, was an excruciating decision. Andrew already had a huge problem with making purchasing decisions, the type that more than once caused him to run from one toy to another in a store until I gave him a timed countdown to make the final choice or risk getting nothing. (We all know how those end, the split last-second decision, the momentary jubilation, the agony of the car ride back home, the wail of "I should have gotten the other one instead" from the back seat).
After an inordinate amount of time in the store, he decided on C3PO, based on the rationale that he could always be a ninja another year but that C3PO would not always be available, since it was just riding the surge after the re-releases of the Star Wars trilogy. Of course, on Halloween night, once dressed up, his other inclinations began to tug on him, and he bemoaned the fact that he had chosen a costume with no weapons of any sort. Alas! Why oh why had he not chosen Chewbacca with a cool bowcaster, or Vader with his lightsaber, or Han with a blaster? Oh, to have wasted an opportunity to show off martial prowess with some sort of weapon.
Andrew, being inventive, soon remedied this situation. He plundered through his toys until he found a sword. It was the type that was probably sold with a Roman Centurion helmet, or possibly a Crusader armored helm. He stuck this in his belt, dragging behind him on the ground, and pronounced himself properly attired for trick-or-treating.
I don't know how many people asked him about his costume, but his answer to all of them was the same "I'm C3PO." Pause five seconds. "With a sword". Totally and fearlessly unaware and unashamed of the incongruity of a futuristic robot being armed with a weapon more befitting a Norse god, he dragged that thing up and down the street, announcing his identity whether he was questioned about it or not. "C3PO."That dramatic pause. "With a sword."
The only drama came when an older lady answered her door and exclaimed over Andrew "Oh, I love your R2D2 costume." I remember having to stop him from pulling his sword out for some serious smiting of her based upon her (criminal) inability to distinguish between R2D2 and C3PO. He was incensed for the rest of the street to have been mistaken for being the other droid. That motivated him to announce loudly and clearly who he was before the door was even fully opened to him for the rest of the evening.
So tonight I surely will be looking for kids wearing Iron Man costumes and lightsabers dangling from their belts, for Princess Jasmine with vampire fangs, for all those kids who CAN'T get everything they need from just one identity. How can you NOT carry that awesome Captain America shield just because you are the Hulk? Kids have it right-you can be who you want to be.
C3PO.
With a sword.
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