Superheroes are like us, but different.

Most superheroes are human beings who are somehow changed — by radiation experiments (Captain America, the Incredible Hulk), a radioactive spider (Spider-Man), alien intervention (Green Lantern), a lot of money and guilt (Iron Man) or a lot of money and revenge (Batman) — into something extraordinary. (The exceptions include Superman, Wonder Woman and Thor, who came to our world from, respectively, a destroyed alien planet, an idyllic secret land and a mythological realm.)

"Everyone relates to a superhero somehow. … Everyone has a superhero in them in one way or another, and everyone's got a special talent," said Tory Davis, who owns the Wayne Theatre in Bicknell — and is in charge of the Bicknell International Film Festival, which brings B-movies to the Wayne every July.

For the Bicknell festival's 16th year, Davis and the programmers chose a superhero theme and picked three entertainingly bad movies to go along with it: "Batman" (1966), a movie expansion of the campy TV series starring Adam West and Burt Ward as Batman and Robin; "Captain America" (1990), a ridiculous adaptation of the Marvel Comics title starring Matt Salinger (son of novelist J.D. Salinger); and "Flash Gordon" (1980), a campy update of the old space-adventure serial, with Sam J. Jones as Flash and Max Von Sydow as Ming the Merciless — featuring music by Queen.

The influence of superheroes isn't limited to Bicknell. This summer's movie slate has included Thor, Green Lantern, the X-Men and (coming to theaters this Friday) Captain America. Even the Salt Lake City Public Library got into the act, adopting a superhero theme for its teen summer activities program.

"Superheroes oftentimes appear in their normal form, but there's something special about them," said Jordan Triptow, associate librarian and coordinator of the Salt Lake Library's teen reading program. "I think teens can really relate to that. There's more than meets the eye."

Rachel Getts, an assistant librarian who oversees the comic books and graphic novels in the Salt Lake City library system, said that what she loves about superheroes is that everybody deserves to be saved. "If you look at Superman, for instance, he will save everybody — from hardened criminal to small child."

For Kerry Jackson, co-host of Salt Lake City FM station X96's "Radio From Hell" morning show and ringmaster of the Geek Show Podcast, superheroes "are the modern mythology."

As a child, Jackson said, two entities — his parents and superheroes — helped him find his moral compass.

"I got more focused direction for superhero comics than I did out of any institution," Jackson said. "Peter Parker [the student who became Spider-Man] was more like me than Jesus, or any of my teachers, or anything like that. I was able to learn more about right and wrong through him."

As he got older, Jackson found characters who reflected the kind of person he was becoming. He graduated from college kid Peter Parker to playboy industrialist Tony Stark, the man inside the Iron Man suit. "He had his moral peccadillos, but he always wanted to do the right thing," Jackson said.

From Stark, Jackson moved on to identify with Steve Rogers, aka Captain America — a true-blue American icon who also stood up to his government's shadier doings.

"A lot of people think Cap is a right-wing superhero, but he is the opposite," Jackson said. "He is more of a subversive character than a lot of people think. He sees the potential of what the country can be. And he's fighting for everyone, not just Americans."

Superheroes, Getts said, can fill a void that other institutions — like business or government — cannot.

"As things get darker and darker, and people see less in their government officials, and less in their economic wellbeing, they look to superheroes," Getts said.

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Bicknell International Film Festival

The 16th annual Bicknell International Film Festival, billed as the world's smallest film festival, runs Friday and Saturday, July 22 and 23, at the Wayne Theatre in Bicknell, Utah — in Wayne County, eight miles west of Capitol Reef National Park, on State Road 24. Here's the schedule:

Friday, July 22

4:30 p.m. • Pre-parade party, in front of Chillz Restaurant on Main Street (Highway 24), Torrey

5:30 p.m. • Participants gather in front of Chillz to begin "The World's Fastest Parade," which runs from Torrey to Bicknell and reaches speeds of 55 mph

6 p.m. • The parade leaves Torrey, headed west for the Wayne Theatre in Bicknell

7 p.m. • Screening of "Batman" (1966), after a costume contest and a short film, at the Wayne Theatre

9 p.m. • "Party of the Stars," with music by the Sister Wives, on the patio of The Rim Rock, east of Torrey

Saturday, July 24

9 a.m. • Swap meet, at the Robber's Roost Bookstore, Torrey

Noon • "Mutton and Taters" Dutch oven cookout by the Teasdale Volunteer Fire Department, at the Teasdale Park Shelter House, Teasdale (midway between Torrey and Bicknell)

2 p.m. • Matinee screening of "Captain America" (1990), with "Mystery Science Theatre 3000"-style audience participation and special guests, Wayne Theatre

6:30 p.m. • Screening of "Flash Gordon" (1980), with introductions and submissions from BIFF's first Independent Film Awards.

9 p.m. • "It's a Wrap Party," with music by the Main Street Revelators, at Chillz, Torrey

Admission • $60 for an adult FastPass (admission to all festival events); $75 for a "Want It All" FastPass (admission to all festival events, plus raffle tickets for each screening, a commemorative T-shirt and poster); $30 for a Child FastPass (admission to all festival events); $8 for individual admission to movies; $8 for individual admission to the Dutch Oven cookout; $20 for individual admission to parties. For more information, or to buy a FastPass, visit www.thebiff.org.