What’s Your Secret Superhero Identity As A Web Developer?

If I’ve learned anything over the years, it’s that web developers come in all types. They all have different styles, different attitudes, and different ways of doing things. A lot of this has to do with what happens when you view a skill set through an individual’s eyes.

The tools and techniques are the same, but the end result can be very different from person to person and site to site.

Since I think so highly of the web dev lot, I thought it might be fun to see which common personality traits they share with some of the best-known superheroes. Will knowing this info impact how you build websites? Probably not. But it’ll be fun just the same.

While there are many other personality traits to apply to web developers, I’ve narrowed this list down to five “types.” These types offer the closest alignments to the superheroes we all know and love.

The Broody, Works Alone Personality

Do you prefer to work by yourself? Have you created a nest, den, or cave from which to work that allows you to go undisturbed? Do you prefer working under the cover of night? Well then, you’re Batman.

While you might not suffer the same all-around bummer to be around attitude of the caped crusader, you still prefer to be alone and aren’t all that pleasant if disturbed. Collaboration isn’t your strong suit and if you had your druthers, you’d hide out in your office for hours and hours without having to talk to anyone.

Of course, all those hours alone can produce some pretty nifty gadgets, so for you, the lack of socializing has an obvious trade-off.

The Wise-Cracking, Innovative Personality — Spiderman

If you’re always one to try new things (even if what you’re currently doing is working) and can’t resist cracking a smart aleck joke whenever you get the chance, you might just be Spiderman.

Spiderman is brilliant and refines his costume and tools repeatedly until they’re perfect. He’s never satisfied by “good enough” and seeks to improve whenever he can. But when it comes to fighting the big baddies, he can’t resist throwing in a verbal jab or two before slinging his web.

A developer with this personality is a true innovator in her field. He’ll build sites using the latest tricks and gimmicks just for fun. He’ll tweak past designs repeatedly, over and over, because he’s never satisfied. And he’ll leave a good-natured (albeit, snarky) comment should you ever question his accuracy or abilities.

The Community-Oriented Do-Gooder Personality — Wonder Woman

The WordPress community is lucky to have many people with this personality, I have to say. The Do-Gooder is always looking for ways to improve how the community functions and assists those who need it. Sound like you? Why, hello there Wonder Woman!

Wonder Woman is a powerful leader. She’s a warrior princess of the Amazons, after all, and will stop at nothing to protect people and serve justice. Her intentions are pure and her end goal is simply to improve the common good.

The community-oriented developer makes it a prime objective to serve the greater WordPress community. Whether that’s in the official Support Forums, on GitHub, or in a Facebook group, these devs make it a point to help those who need it, without asking for anything in return.

The Doesn’t-Give-A-Crap Personality — Deadpool

You make stuff with code. It’s pretty cool. You’re pretty proud of what you’ve accomplished. But you don’t go on about it and you certainly don’t spend time poking around the community. You do what you do and that’s that. You don’t give a crap about the bells and whistles.

If this description resonates with you, Deadpool makes the best superhero fit. Ah, Deadpool, where would we be without you, breaking the conventions of what makes a superhero to add more dimension to this list? He’s funny, he’s vulgar, and he’s most definitely an anti-hero if there ever was one. But he’s still super enough for the superhero club. He just doesn’t really care that he’s in the club.

Developers like this have their individual purposes driving them and not much else. They might engage in the community and if they do, they consistently walk the line between helping people and trolling them. Sometimes, they might do both at the same time.

The Trained And Skilled Professional Personality — Black Widow

You’ve gone through a lot of training to get where you are today. Did I say a lot of training? I mean a lot of training. You’re the ultimate pro and know how to build a site from the ground up in your sleep. To be honest, your skill set is pretty impressive.

Sound like you? Then you must be Black Widow. The Russian spy-turned-Avenger is accomplished in martial arts and technology and puts those skills to use every time she’s faced with an enemy. She’s a no frills, get stuff done, sort of superhero, which is precisely what the most trained and skilled developers aspire to.

In fact, devs with this personality often attack projects in a matter of fact way. While they may prefer to work alone, they can work with others and are excellent at delegating tasks to those with the appropriate skills to complete them.

So Developers, What’s Your Secret Superhero Identity?

You’ve got my rundown, now it’s time for you to put what you know about your own work methods to the test. Which superhero best fits with your dev style? Feel free to share who you most align with in the comments. Or, if you have any suggestions for other superheroes that possess personality traits that also fit developers, I’m all ears.