“Wait a minute, Mr. Luthor. You mean, fire and bullets can’t hurt this guy… ”
— Lex Luthor’s henchman, Otis stating the obvious in Superman: The Movie (1978)

One of the oldest (and coolest) superpowers is invulnerability. Being impossible to harm to one degree or another has been a staple of heroic myth going back to Gilgamesh and Hercules. But the icon of invulnerability exploded on the scene in 1938’s Action Comics #1: SUPERMAN. Everybody knows that any evil genius facing the Man of Steel with less than a kryptonite cannon might as well be throwing marshmallows.

Like it or not, all web designers have to face a hail of bullets (thankfully…the metaphorical kind) sooner or later so Invulnerability is a must-have superpower for the Web Design Superhero, too. Thankfully, it’s a power that can be developed without the necessity of a Gamma Ray Blast (The Hulk) or Kryptonian heritage (Superman).

At times, the gunslingers are going to be other designers and programmers. Posting your designs to galleries and forums is like hanging a bullseye on your work. Often the critiques you get will be helpful and constructive, but sometimes they will be inflammatory and hurtful. When faced with comments questioning your ability to turn on a computer — let alone build a beautiful, functional website — keep in mind that even the greatest designers (writers, artists, etc) have people who just hate their work…period. These bullets will sting, at first. Even Superman probably flinched the first time he looked down the barrel of a crook’s .38 Special, but they will bounce off and can’t do any harm. Use the constructive criticisms to hone and improve your designs, but never stop participating in the web design community.

Now fire up Photoshop and break out your favorite text editor because This Looks Like a Job for… YOU.