Stephen Murcott
MostlyHarmlessAdulthood is realizing Superman comics aren’t fantasy about how good it would be to have power; they’re a fantasy about what it would be like if someone with power was good.
Mark St. John@MostlyHarmless Related: “The Boys” (Amazon Prime).
Henri VerymetaldevJust like realizing Judge Dredd is a parody of authoritarianism and The Punisher actually hates cops.
Fascists are good at perverting and they will keep doing it.
* read_the_original_comics *
Medea Vanamonde 🏳️⚧️
milkman@MostlyHarmless
very sad-- but true
very sad-- but true
Madcollector@MostlyHarmless In the DC documentary, Grant Morrison said "Superman is the proof the absolute power doesn't have to corrupt absolutely" and that's why I like Supes now that I'm all grown up. It's a nice fantasy.
Fylgja@madcollector @MostlyHarmless I didn't give superheros much attention until adulthood when I started thinking about how our traumas (and good memories, of course) are our origin stories. The superhero uses their traumas as motivation to save and protect others, contrary to the villain who uses theirs to most often become cynical, nihilistic and sadistic. I like to think of it as a personal reminder: traumas can be our reason, not an excuse for hurting others. Superheroes inspire self reflection!
mookraker
Pierre Lindenbaum
⁂ Fish Id Wardrobe@MostlyHarmless all superheroes, really. "what if the guy that solves problems by punching people only punched bad people?"
Jason Thornbrugh@MostlyHarmless I was having a lie-in thinking "We are in an age of heros and cowards. But what separates the two?" Here you are with a ready-made answer. Now my question is what does "good" look like. The philosophers seem rather non-commital. But I'm pretty sure that powerful people self-dealing is always a strong counter-indication.
Thad@MostlyHarmless I love the earliest ones where he's explicitly going after people who take advantage of those weaker than themselves—an abusive husband, the owner of an unsafe coal mine, slum lords, etc.