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One of my favorite Superman stories that I reread from time to time is Action Comics #775, "What's So Funny About Truth, Justice, and the American Way?" For anyone who hasn't read it, an X-TREME team of Authority-esque super-Punishers starts cleaning up the world in a way that is definitely outside the classical sense of what makes a hero a hero. Superman, who views their actions as a direct affront to what he represents, takes it upon himself to stop them even though he honestly doesn't believe he can.
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Sep 13, 2011 05:43
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qntm posted:This issue has never worked for me. At the end of the issue, it looks like Superman is right because he's the strongest and he won the fight. It should be the other way around. Also, amoral antihero Manchester Black bursts into tears and is sad because his teammates are apparently dead, instead of e.g. getting incredibly angry and vowing terrible revenge. I think you'll find that, regardless of "right", the strongest person usually DOES win. The point in Superman's winning that way is to draw a big god damned arrow at how awful a thing it is for that to be the case when the strongest is also the worst. "I'm the strongest, so gently caress you. I won. Kind of makes you wonder what would happen if the Elite ever got tired of mutilating giant monster apes and decided to go after jaywalkers, huh?" Also, Black was never made to be evil in the issue. He was a monster, yes, but look at his life. His sister lost both arms in a sweatshop and he lived on the streets trying to care for her. His daily life was poo poo and he was taking it out on people he thought deserved it. He's crying as much in anger that this big, beautiful, perfect hero gets to be right and put him down... the prettiest guy wins, pretty much tying his entire poo poo life up with a great big bow. Furthermore, Black (correctly) posits that his days as a free agent are over and that, once he's in custody, he'll be nothing more than somebody's pawn. Also: in the upcoming animated version, I really hope they keep the scene of Pa Kent blathering away and saying something along the lines of, "But you CAN take them, right, Clark? ... Clark?" 
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Sep 15, 2011 03:13
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