A justified comeuppance every time: Be honest, this is why we love Jack Reacher

Bestselling novelist Lee Child must have known he was on to something when he released action hero Jack Reacher into the world in 1997.

Reacher — as he is more simply known throughout the lone-wolf campaign he has waged against malevolent wrongdoers and street-level bullies across 29 novels, two feature films, and a streaming franchise — is the type of man many of us with a Y chromosome would like to be: courageous, physically imposing, expertly trained in firearms and tactical self-defense, yet compassionate and intelligent.

And the ladies appear to love him.

In a quintessential scene from Season Two of the “Reacher” series on Prime Video — Season Three just dropped on Feb. 20 — we see Reacher at his retributive best. After chancing upon a woman at a small-town ATM who’s been violently carjacked at gunpoint with her young son aboard, Reacher takes matters in hand.

Assuring the woman that “This won’t take long,” he approaches the vehicle and, with ruthless efficiency, disarms and disables the criminal. With her rescued child in her arms, the tearful woman says: “Wait. Who are you?” “Someone who prefers not getting involved,” replies Reacher, walking away.

When he created Jack Reacher, Lee Child — the writing disguise of former British TV producer James Grant — was tapping into our age-old fondness for avenging angels or, at the very least, for an admirable figure who knows how to handle himself.

And given the volatile nature of our political discourse and personal interactions these days, it doesn’t take a doctorate in psychology to understand why we might feel this way.

If you don’t have a history of violence — that is, if you’ve never been involved in a fistfight (or worse) — and if you don’t regard a violent act as the de facto first step in any conflict resolution, then you’re instantly on the back foot.

And should you end up on the ground, defenseless, during a scuffle, well, you’re finished. Your assailants will kick the life out of you. (Gun violence is confined mainly to the criminal underworld in Ireland.)

Jack Reacher — whose military brat upbringing and former career as a decorated military policeman informs his worldview — understands that life works this way in dangerous situations, and he deploys his extensive skill-set calmly and efficiently to ensure he’s always the one left standing.

Unfortunately, in the current climate perhaps a Reacher-like awareness of our surroundings isn’t such a bad thing.

My already circumspect approach to personal safety — forged during an anxious adolescence in Medford, at a time when everyday bullying and aggressive street corner encounters were commonplace — took a different turn as soon as my son advanced beyond the toddler years.

I was a stay-at-home dad, doing my share around the house and punching out incisive columns such as this one, and was therefore available for school field trips, sports coaching gigs, and the like.

My point here — aside from blowing my own trumpet — is that I soon came to see myself as a sort of off-the-books Secret Service agent. In public settings my head was on a swivel, regularly assessing the surroundings for any hazards my pint-sized charges might unwittingly encounter.

When I was out and about with just my son, this feeling was intensified, whether he was scooting the length of a popular harborside promenade near our home, with me jogging beside him, or scaling a slippery slope in the hills around Glendalough in County Wicklow. And, perhaps unnecessarily at times, I was equally watchful in shopping centers and public playgrounds.

I remain vigilant, though no longer on my son’s behalf. These days I’m mainly on the lookout for inattentive drivers, reckless cyclists, or fellow pedestrians, head down and texting, who seem intent on colliding with me no matter how much I zig and zag. (Not exactly Reacher levels of endangerment, but still worthy of my attention.)

When we hear of frightful cases of extreme harassment or unprovoked physical assaults — the latter are becoming a concern in the center of Dublin, together with open, unchallenged drug-dealing — our response is sympathy for the victims and their families, then a longing for justice, followed (in some cases) by a yearning for vengeance. We’d like to think we’ve evolved beyond such base sentiments, but our literature and cinema tell us otherwise.

This is why, with more than 100 million books sold and three Prime Video series bearing his name, Jack Reacher continues to appeal to so many of us. Finding ourselves confronted by thugs and bullies, we’d like to be able to summon his strength and call on his training and thus walk untroubled through our daily lives.

Medford native Steve Coronella has lived in Ireland since 1992. He is the author of “Designing Dev,” a comic novel about an Irish-American lad from Boston who's recruited to run for the Irish presidency. His latest publication is the column collection “Entering Medford – And Other Destinations.”