On 2006-12-23 05:44:44 -0500, "Pam" <punk.child@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
> said:
> Do you (seriously or humorously) think the world (either the real
> world, or the fantasy world Clark Kent lives in), needs Superman, apart
> from the more obviously predictable things that come to mind ?
Hi everyone. What a great question. I haven't ever posted here, so I
thought Id slip in a reply to a nice question like this, and say hello
to everyone at the same time. Im happy to have found the group (again)
and hope to be able to post (read: vent)
I've been collecting comics since the early 70's, when Mom bought me a
couple issues of Jack Kirby's "the demon" (love mom for not reading
into the obvious parental concern of handing a child of 5 or 6 a comic
with the word DEMON in big letters across the top.) I've always been a
DC kind of guy, although I collected all the John Byrne X men,
gravitated to Daredevil for Klaus and Miller, but DC has my heart.
As for the question, I think both worlds could use a Superman, but
going back in my mind over the 50's silly superman, the 60's more
innocent superman and all the other interpretations, I think my answer
is tied to the Kingdom Come episode in the Wizard's bar, with all the
heroes acting badly. Who is the quintessential superhero? Who is the
one you know never wavered or faultered in his ideals and his well,
goodness? Sure you could say it was the corporation behind his
licensing taking care of "the brand" that superman never gave anyone a
heat vision hot foot, or that none of his teachers with generous bosoms
all mysteriously developed cancer as if someone was X-raying their
chests during boring classes (forgive the crassness, its a response I
thought of in response to the post "whats your favorite superman
power". Sure X-ray vision sounds great, but it would suck to have to
torture yourself knowing you COULD do it, but it would hurt someone.
what a waste of a power. Its always superman that has had the most
consistancey.
Superman only works in the comics, of course. He couldn't ever do the
things he does in the books, I mean, what would it take to extrapolate
out the scene with Lois' airliner in SR? Imagine miscalculating the
weight, the plane splitting open spilling people and debris thousands
of feet in the air, all dropping like stones. How many times would
*you* put the suit on after something went like that? No, I love the
comfort of knowing the books have him, and I can suspend all the
nonsense in my head about physics and science and just enjoy him being
the answer to the crazy crap that happens to us all.
If you put batgirl in a wheelchair, blow up metropolis, gotham, coast
city, JLA satellite, JLA moon base, turn Robin into a sex maniac
murder-obsessed dark reflection of batman, kill green arrow, (yeah I
know he's back, but jeez I was bummed out) turn the flash into a
revolving door since the original is also dead, make heroes change
race, kill wives, kill blue beetle (who I read since Charlton) bring
back SUPERBOY and try to convince me he's a horrible murdering lunatic
evildoer, or hell just expect me to deal with all the changes in my
world and my community and my family and my own body as I and we get
older, well. I think I need a touchstone, someone who can say yeah, all
thats true and some of its bad and hard to deal with sure. But, I'm
still here.
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