I despise the very concept of superheroes

[ninjaRiv]

I think you missed the point of superheroes there... Superheroes are about wish fulfilment and trying to look for the best in ourselves and all that niceness. Superman is about sticking to your morals and being a good guy, doing the best you can with the skills you have. The superpowers are there because superpowers are fucking fun, we all wish we had some. Spider-Man is about the same sort of thing but throw in "outcast sees the good in fellow man, tries to stick to his responsibilities." Superheroes aren't about the superpowers, not really. They make for great stories, sur, but it's all about what they do with them. And I don't think I even need to explain X-Men to you. I haven't gone through the posts here, yet but somebody must have explained that already. Right?

But I do see your point, at times superheroes seem like dicks. Incredibles made me feel the exact same way.

EDIT: I used to hate Superman, until I read Birthright; sometimes it's the writer that doesn't know how to handle the character, same with any genre or medium. Birthright was fucking perfect, though.

 

[Chimichanga]

And what's more, human attempts to level the playing field with technology are generally rendered ineffective because most superheroes and supervillains are conveniently immune to human weapons.

You should read "The Boys". Seriously.

READ. THE BOYS.

Seriously, it is straight up your alley on superhero deconstruction.

 

[Zen Bard]

Well, if you think about it, the concept of Superheroes has been around since man first started telling stories.

One could argue that the first superheroes were Hercules, Achilles, Gilgamesh or Ashoka.

There have ALWAYS been myths about superpowered beings, half god or half demon, living among us that either help or hinder us.

Superheroes are just that: modern myths.

A bigger question is "Why DOES humanity constantly feel the need to believe in something greater than themselves?"

 

[Imperioratorex Caprae]

Y'know, its ok to dislike things. Everyone has their own opinion. I tend to wonder why one would expend the effort to hate or despise something though. It seems to me that disliking something should be enough and takes little effort, also doesn't consume time better spent on constructive things.
That being said, Superheroes are a way for powerless folk to live vicariously, to take heart in something that they couldn't do themselves, escape into the character for a few moments and maybe right some wrongs they have experienced. Nothing wrong with that.
And if we're really evolving, eventually something new will happen in humanity, maybe not as fantastic as X-Men powers, but something that elevates a small amount of the population above the other.
I think the OP misses the other side of stories like the X-Men. Its about civil rights, oppression and fear of the unknown, the different, the "freak". they may have all these awesome powers, but they're hated and reviled by a lot of the population simply because they have something others don't.
Superheroes aren't all wine and roses... Most of them have huge flaws, or ordeals that follow them in life.
I enjoy their stories because it shows that even with great power, superheroes still deal with isolation, being outcast and hated for existing. That tethers them to the human condition.
Except Superman. Fucking boyscout alien telling me how I should act when his own people destroyed their own planet with their hubris.

 

[EternallyBored]

Snip

Wow that's a little hyperbolic, also extremely factually suspect, with the way most superhero comics are. I'm honestly not sure if you even read comics or know what Fascism actually is since what you described has very little to do with it. Facism is the glorification of the state, I.E. the government, and national or cultural identity above the self; it is about looking to a strong central authority figure, and relying on nationalism and military conquest to obtain autarky, economic self-sufficiency and independence. Hitler's ideas on genetics and racial superiority, are not a necessary part of Fascism, and even then much of German propaganda was about celebrating the common (non-Jewish, non-gay, or pretty much any race other than white) German man as superior to the rest of the world, I don't know where you got this idea that he thought the German people were dead, when he spent so much time telling them how much better they were than everyone else.

Now here's where I question if you even read comic books, because any time normal citizens get off their ass and does something, they basically either end up kicking the superheroes in their ass, or the superheroes fall on their knees in praise of the "awe-inspiring" efforts of the normal citizens. Although we could just use the whole superheroes as mythical figures thing, since we have had superheroes doing their thing thousands of years before Fascism was even an organized political concept, but that sinks your entire argument before we even get into modern comics.

So, in Marvel who runs the Avengers? it's S.H.I.E.L.D, which used to be a primarily U.S. organization, but later became a more world-wide anti-crime organization. And this super -organization that controls a good chunk of superheroes in the world is run almost entirely by normal people. Of course this is before we get into the fact that the major superheroes will immediately start talking about how awesome they think normal people are the second they get the chance. Superman will talk random people out of committing suicide by telling them how awesome they are, and anytime a public servant is brought up (policeman, doctor, firefighter) most superheroes will immediately start talking about how they (the public servants) are the real heroes, and how they couldn't do what they do without them. This is because a lot of comic books are still set in the "modern real-world" just with superheroes, so they act as morality lessons to their younger readers. So many superheroes also preach about multiculturalism and how all the countries need to get along to stop wars and international problems, which is pretty much the polar opposite of Fascism. Very few superheroes are also pro-government, with many of them being outright considered criminals by the governments of their respective settings, another facet that is pretty much the opposite of Fascism.

With a lot of modern superheroes getting their start fighting Nazis in WWII, a lot of influence on the comics industry is downright anti-Fascist, so I'm really confused on where you got your impressions from.

 

[Scarim Coral]

Err maybe it's because some of us do fantasize/ dream of having above human capability like being lifting boulder with ease. Is is hard to believe that someone with power would use if for good? You do know there are good people in real life, it's just that apply to a superhero level but that doesn't mean that person will be noble (that person could be saving others and doing good for fame or glory).

Beside why get so work up with frictional character/ concept? You're just steaming toward nothing.

Also the concept of superhero well a person with great feat isn't exactly new that superhero had invented, ever heard of Hercules or any of those mythological characters?


Lastly what about that superhero Kick Ass? Where does he fit in your grudge with frictional supercharacters?

 

[NeutralGray]

I'm sorry but it really seems like your just reading way too far into what superheroes and escapist power fantasy is supposed to be. Like Tippy above me said, nobody is reading superhero comics or Harry Potter and putting themselves in the place of random civilian #55, they are imagining being able to have superpowers themselves and going to Hogwarts to learn magic. Frankly that is the way it should be, nobody wants to read about the life of Joe Schmoe, faceless bureaucrat with the unenviable job of enforcing state child care laws and removing crying children and babies from their families, returning home every night to play video games and hang out with his friends; who then spends the occasional weekend biking in the mountains. I just described my own life, and I may be mostly satisfied with it, but I sure as hell don't want to read about it.

I want to read about people and places greater than myself, who do the things I can't or won't do. I want to travel to fantasy lands and extraordinary planets that no normal human could ever visit. That is what a good fantasy or superhero story does, it allows us an escape into things that can never be in reality. Yes, this sometimes means that there are unfortunate implications, but a good story will make them unimportant to the plot and keep our suspension of disbelief in tact. If you overthink the wizarding world in the Harry Potter books, then yeah the muggles get treated like crap and I will honestly agree that the muggle side of the story really gets no payoff by the end of the 7th book, but that's not really the point. We don't read Harry Potter to experience a moralizing tale about the Ubermensch, it's a somewhat simplistic fantasy story about good wizards fighting bad wizards, and a child growing up in that fantastic story. The average reader isn't thinking or identifying with the muggles in the story, he/she is imagining moving paintings, owls that deliver mail, magic duels at night, enchanted mirrors, and creatures right out of fantasy existing in the modern day, all set amongst an idyllic Scottish countryside. While the societal, cultural, and psychological effects of living in a society with a clearly superior class of people is an interesting setting for stories, that should hardly be the only focus in any story featuring super powers or magic.

As a final point, you may not like it, but it is something that I have experienced as true many times in my life, and that is that we are not all created equal in ability. To a child born with severe Fetal Alcohol Syndrome, a normal healthy person might as well be Superman to that child, because as much as they may try, they can never equal that average, physically or mentally. If I drop everything in my life right this second and spend every waking moment training for the Tour de France, I will never be able to win, simply because I am a severe asthmatic. Those people will always be faster, in a way they are the Flash to my normal human abilities. There is always someone faster, smarter, stronger, better looking, or more experienced than you, that is a fact of life; that does not mean that the best of the best should be able to discriminate or abuse those weaker, slower, or sicker than them, we must strive to create a society where even the weakest are at least given the chance to succeed and excel. Which is exactly what many superhero and fantasy stories do, superman does not lord his strength as the Ubermensch over the normal people, he is portrayed as all too human in his emotions, and feelings, he is shown with personal flaws and struggling to uphold noble ideals, and even sometimes failing. This is why DC and Marvel seem to have their setting stuck in a perpetual time freeze, with all the iconic heroes never aging but always being in the present day, so that they can focus on character and setting rather than trying to extrapolate out what the actual existence of superheroes would really do to society, I will give you that it's cliche and really kind of played out by this point, but taking the other road requires them to invent a very different earth that would bear almost no resemblance to where we live today.

To wrap this whole probably pedantic diatribe of mine up, feel free to hate on superheroes all you want, god knows there's plenty of bad stories and legitimate criticisms to lay against the tired old genre. Hell, I mentioned Superman but stuff like the end of the recent Man of Steel movie, that make you stop and say, "wait how many people probably died when that building collapsed?" are good points and when suspension of disbelief is broken we often start questioning everything else in the story as well.

But don't for a second sit there and try to extrapolate people enjoying the genre out into some commentary about how they are similar to supporting the silliness that is Social Darwinism, or the evil that is enforced eugenics. That goes past reading too far into something and right into the kinds of leaps of logic that started the theory of Social Darwinism to begin with.

You have worded this perfectly. The topic pretty much should have ended with this.

 

[Techno Squidgy]

I kind of agree with you, but that's probably because I'm more of a fan of how japan does things. Super Hero Worship makes me feel ill. I'd rather get real fantasy works than stupid superhero movies. Nobody really cares about real sci- fi and fantasy. Makes me glad I read books.

There is the Game of Thrones and The Lord of the Rings. They are exceptions and not average. Hell there was steven speilber's A.I. which was fantastic, but nobody cared.

Define "real Sci-Fi and fantasy". Because I have no idea what you mean.

OT:
I've never really been too keen on the whole superhero thing, some I like, some I don't, most I haven't heard of or just don't have any real interest in. I quite like Thor, but that's probably more to do with my interest in Norse mythology than anything else.

 

[cikame]

So if you had the power to be an untouchable badass you'd just... watch tv?
You'd probably find me punishing some evil doers at some point or another, not necessarily for the benefit of the human race, just because i could.

I enjoy a overpowered hero for the same reasons i watch Jackie Chan films, he's the most agile and dangerous person in most of his films and it's fun to watch the good guy take on the bad guys... it's not as spectacular in real life.

 

[Frontastic]

I understand this point of view but don't agree with it. I don't view humans as a good thing or the apex of their own evolution. I think we can be more and, whether by natural evolution or scientific advancement, we will be more (seriously if were we at Deus Ex level tech, I would sign up tomorrow. Hell I'd willingly volunteer for the Cybermen upgrade).

I don't enjoy them for wish fulfillment, I just enjoy them because reality can be a bit meh. And also tend to side more with the villains than heroes. On a purely philosophical level I'm in near total agreement with Joker, Ra's al Ghul and (minus his own arrogance) the version of Loki from Avengers.

There's enough fiction celebrating humans and putting them on a pedestal. I enjoy seeing them realise how small and pointless they are on a universal scale and if that manifests as magic men in tights, I'm ok with that.

 

[James Crook]

The only superheroes I can abide are those who gain their powers through technology, such as Batman and Ironman. Screw Superman.

Sorry to break this to you, but time and time again it's been said that Batman's combat abilities are greatly helped by the Wayne family's lineage and genetics. Hugo Strange, for example, received extensive martial arts training, and has a compulsive obsession with Batman and a strong desire to be Batman out of jealousy for his innate physical abilities and willpower.

 

[VodkaKnight]

I've never been that attracted to Superheroes. I mean, I can see the appeal, but I just find it difficult to take the concept seriously.

 

[Queen Michael]

But stuff like the Avengers and the DC superheroes... yeah, they're idiots who can fart explosions. Booooooo-riiiing.

That's Wario, actually. Easy mistake to make.

 

[Dr. Cakey]

Superheroes were created when humans stopped believing in themselves. Same with robots. The idea is that humans can no longer engage in positive projects, they can only cling to basic life, and anything more than that must be done by superheroes, robots, and rich and powerful people.

Humans are believed to be drowning in despair, decimated and useless - thus the need for a non-human savior. Any attempt by pathetic corrupt humans to do good in the world will end in failure.

Thus superheroes as powerful - "I used to be just a pathetic human but now I shoot laser beams from my eyes! Yippee it's time to go to town!" Examine the transformation in Peter Parker in Hollywood's Spiderman movie, for example.

The superhero mythos paints humans as sad creatures counting down the days to death while superheroes because they are powerful are truly alive. This is why superheroes always have ridiculous physiques (except when that's too inconvenient for an actor to accomplish) even when that makes no sense with respect to their powers.

It's fascist ideology, which is why humans are inherently offended by it. Hitler believed the German populace to be effectively dead but through world domination and utter power they would be brought to life. Hitler viewed himself as a superhero, a kind of national doctor healing the populace.

So now we have not only vigilantes like George Zimmerman roaming the streets but "superheroes" like the Rain City Superhero Movement transcending their pathetic human selves into an enlightened powerful form.

Anyone familiar with the rise of the fascist right in Europe RIGHT NOW, I'm not taking about the 1930s, understands the dangers of right-wing chauvinist fascism, and if you don't believe that can happen in the United States I can only hope that you don't experience a very rude awakening in the next few years. Don't say I didn't warn you.

Don't worry, if this ever happens, the first thing I'll do is PM you and say, "You warned me. I should have listened." Assuming there's still internet, and I'm not in a death camp or reeducation complex.

 

[briankoontz]

Snip

Wow that's a little hyperbolic, also extremely factually suspect, with the way most superhero comics are. I'm honestly not sure if you even read comics or know what Fascism actually is since what you described has very little to do with it. Facism is the glorification of the state, I.E. the government, and national or cultural identity above the self; it is about looking to a strong central authority figure, and relying on nationalism and military conquest to obtain autarky, economic self-sufficiency and independence. Hitler's ideas on genetics and racial superiority, are not a necessary part of Fascism, and even then much of German propaganda was about celebrating the common (non-Jewish, non-gay, or pretty much any race other than white) German man as superior to the rest of the world, I don't know where you got this idea that he thought the German people were dead, when he spent so much time telling them how much better they were than everyone else.

Fascism is the marriage of concentrated capital and the state, making it not much different than the situation in many countries these days, where corporations purchase government officials and their policies, as well as other techniques such as ALEC. Nazi Germany was merely one type of fascism and is not the archetype.

Just like the self-esteem movement in the United States, the only time people need to be told they are awesome is when they feel they have no value. Examine the history prior to World War II - Europe has a long history of in-fighting which culminated in World War I. After the war harsh economic policies (detailed excellently by Keynes' Economic Consequences of the Peace) were enforced against Germany which decimated the German economy, which had long been strong and a source of German pride. The prolonged economic stagnation that resulted allowed a right-wing populist party, the Nazis, to come to power. Hitler used the despair of Germans, their injured pride as well as their empty bellies, to justify extreme nationalism and genetic cleansing. Hitler wanted them to be proud again, to eat as much as they want, and whoever stood in the way of that (real or imagined) got the gas chamber.

Now here's where I question if you even read comic books, because any time normal citizens get off their ass and does something, they basically either end up kicking the superheroes in their ass, or the superheroes fall on their knees in praise of the "awe-inspiring" efforts of the normal citizens. Although we could just use the whole superheroes as mythical figures thing, since we have had superheroes doing their thing thousands of years before Fascism was even an organized political concept, but that sinks your entire argument before we even get into modern comics.

So, in Marvel who runs the Avengers? it's S.H.I.E.L.D, which used to be a primarily U.S. organization, but later became a more world-wide anti-crime organization. And this super -organization that controls a good chunk of superheroes in the world is run almost entirely by normal people. Of course this is before we get into the fact that the major superheroes will immediately start talking about how awesome they think normal people are the second they get the chance. Superman will talk random people out of committing suicide by telling them how awesome they are, and anytime a public servant is brought up (policeman, doctor, firefighter) most superheroes will immediately start talking about how they (the public servants) are the real heroes, and how they couldn't do what they do without them. This is because a lot of comic books are still set in the "modern real-world" just with superheroes, so they act as morality lessons to their younger readers. So many superheroes also preach about multiculturalism and how all the countries need to get along to stop wars and international problems, which is pretty much the polar opposite of Fascism. Very few superheroes are also pro-government, with many of them being outright considered criminals by the governments of their respective settings, another facet that is pretty much the opposite of Fascism.

With a lot of modern superheroes getting their start fighting Nazis in WWII, a lot of influence on the comics industry is downright anti-Fascist, so I'm really confused on where you got your impressions from.

The Allied Powers of WWII were not anti-fascist, they simply weren't keen on Germany ruling the world. They would have opposed Germany's quest for world domination regardless of their type of government. Many American corporations did business with the Nazis, for example. The "anti-fascist" aspect of the war was used as propaganda to gain popular support for the war. Americans were just fine with America ruling the world, which they effectively did for a few decades after WWII, until transnational corporations (many based in America) took over.

You display a lot of faith in superheroes when you believe their words of "regular people are awesome!". People generally don't need to be told they're awesome, and you may wish to consider the possibility of subconscious patronizing condescension on the part of the "super" people.

I've read very few comic books but according to everything I've heard the TV shows and movies based on comic books are usually very true to the source material, and I've watched many of those. Time and again in these shows and movies the super people team up with other super people to cause great destruction to some unfortunate city in the name of stopping some super villain, who only ever exists in the fictional universe itself. The actual human beings who are having their city destroyed are rarely even shown except as props for the super people to show their awesomeness by saving them from the super villain. One can only imagine the body count of actual humans who are in buildings that collapse, in cars that are crushed, etc. - I say imagine because of course the superheroes are too busy displaying their awesomeness to much care about that. They defeat the fictional big bad guy, smile and give each other high fives, bow in acknowledgement of their awesomeness, and then fly away to their false human lives, secretly wishing for another super villain to show up so that they can be super-awesome once again and having their wishes eternally granted with seemingly infinite sequels.

If superheroes were serious and not vain narcissistic glory seekers they would become law enforcement agents, tracking down criminals BEFORE they became super-powerful super-villains, but of course that would defeat the whole purpose which is to display their super-awesomeness. That countless regular people die in order for them to display said awesomeness is mere collateral damage, a small price to pay. Your death was not in vain, John Smith - Superman got to display his fucking laser eyes again!

 

[Ftaghn To You Too]

I think you are wrong. Superman is the everyday american hero standing up for the american dream and way of life yet hes an immigrant to america. Sound familiar?

And if that were discussed it would be interesting.

But superman represents the smoothest form of immigration. A person who is TOTALLY indistinguishable from the native population in almost every way coming to the country, with a flawless accent and english and as such he wont have any of the issues that someone who is blatantly not from here will have. He fits in, he basically IS a native in every way it could possibly cause him something negative. And in every way it could be a positive thing its exaggerated and drawn out. He gets all the bonus's for not being human but none of the negative aspects for not being FROM here. No one ever freaking mentions it because he is basically a carbon copy of a regular human but with added superness. He doesnt have to deal with ANY of the issues of not being from here but he gets all of the perks from not being from here. The fact hes a "Perfect" human caucasian male is quite frankly totally bizarre and it means he has no issues integrating into our society. Theres no culture clash or isolationism because he looks and acts JUST like everyone else. But he also has super cool god like add ons.

It irks me that not only is supermans power boringly flawless but his origin story, despite having the capacity to explore some AWESOME themes about being literally "alien" and another species defender, is pretty much white washed into the most boring story ever.

"Alien from another planet lands in America! But its ok because he can look, talk, walk, converse and interact EXACTLY like your average american to the point where NO ONE recognizes him as different unless he specifically tells them!". Does any arc ever explore how superman feels about sheparding the humans? Do the humans ever comment about having this guardian from another world plunge into their planet and become the earth police? Its avoided because for practical purposes the story pretends he's a superMAN as the name suggests.

The story pretty much pretends he is a human (because its convenient to) unless narrative involving his powers demands we realise "oh yeah hes an alien lol i forgot".

I think the idea is that he's Jewish. Since his creators were both Jewish, that whole idea of "I'm American, I've lived in America my whole life, I am indistinguishable from an American, but I'm still different, and apart from the average person even if I don't want to be, necessarily" is what mainly informs him being indistinguishable but different. He's an ideal, for a person who is apart still working with the whole for the greater good. He feels it's a burden sometimes. But he keeps doing it.

He's just as human as you or I, but he's not "human", I think is the point.

 

[Queen Michael]

I've read very few comic books but according to everything I've heard the TV shows and movies based on comic books are usually very true to the source material, and I've watched many of those.

No. No no noooooooooo. They aren't. The TV shows might be, I don't watch the live action ones but the cartoons are good. But the movies? Noooooooo. In almost all superhero movies, the titular hero is the only superhuman in the entire world. In the very first issue of The Amazing Spider-Man, you saw proof that Spider-Man was just one hero amongst many others before you even had time to open the comic book. The cover showed Spidey together with the Fantastic Four. But in every single Spider-Man movie, there's never been any superhero apart from Spider-Man, and less than five supervillains altogether.

And there's never been a faithful Batman movie. Every Batman comic takes place in a world with superpowered beings. Not a single Batman movie does. That's kind of a big deal.

If superheroes were serious and not vain narcissistic glory seekers they would become law enforcement agents, tracking down criminals BEFORE they became super-powerful super-villains, but of course that would defeat the whole purpose which is to display their super-awesomeness. That countless regular people die in order for them to display said awesomeness is mere collateral damage, a small price to pay. Your death was not in vain, John Smith -- Superman got to display his fucking laser eyes again!

Ett: Superheroes do track down regular criminals before they become supervillans. But if Spider-Man stops a mugger and gets him thrown into jail, so that the mugger doesn't, say, manage to steal anough cash to afford supervillain weapons, then we won't know that there was ever a risk of that in the first place.

Två: Several superheroes do work for the police or other organizations that do good as their secret identities. Barry Allen worked for the police. Batman devoted his energy to earning enough money to pay for his equipment and works together with the police. Superman's powers started manifesting before he was able to join any crime-fighting organization more serious than the Encyclopedia Brown fanclub. He didn't have the option of working for the government. And nowadays he's so good at crimefighting that he doesn't need any help. He's skilled enough to make sure that no civilians are wounded by his actions.
As for why superheroes in general don't start working for the public good until they become masked vigilantes, well, it varies from hero to hero, but if you read the comics it's clear that its not just so that they can look awesome.

And I don't get what you're trying to say with your last remark -- do you mean that they shouldn't go fight supervillains with their powers, or what? If Doctor Octopus is running amok ad the police clearly arenät equipped to handle him, then we need Spider-Man.

 

[Queen Michael]

I think the idea is that he's Jewish.

His name is Kal-El. El is Hebrew, I think.

Edit: I hope that the italics doesn't make me sound rude.

 

[Ikasury]

typically you have to step away from the 'mainstream' comics to find the really wonky-non-ubermensch stuff... love you Vertigo and Dark Horse~

though for my own commentary, this concept of 'ubermensch' isn't new in anyway, its the basic premise of the 'hero's journey', namely the boiled down 'plot' of just about every 'hero' thing ever written... all 'heroes' are super-human in some aspect, else they'd just be normal people and no one would be interested, its the idealized fantasy of people wanting to be 'different' and 'unique' and thus vicariously living it out in these mediums and stories...

look at any historical fiction: Gilgamesh, Odessy, the Bible, all these stories either center around demi-gods or 'the chosen one', typically hashing out 'good guys' and 'bad guys' and the ambivalent masses no one cares about... yea, its older then dirt, no one cares about the majority of 'normal people' because in general and in real life, 'normal people' don't really do anything .-. yes, 'teams' make the things we find in history, but only one person generally has the drive/ambition/whatever to be named 'the chosen one' or 'the hero' of whatever story... people like conflict, like clear cut good/bad, as much as they like to deny it nowadays, boil it all down and its all the same story really... all these remakes nowadays petty much make that clear-cut...

personally i like the idea of Eugenics, because imagine how much more advanced we would be if we were all breed correctly, or at least with the idea of 'improving the species' like nature intended instead of us all just wasting and doping 'whatever'... i mean we still apply a kind of Eugenics still in how we choose our mates, i just think it'd be pretty spiffy to be able to give my kid super-strength, infinite telemeres, or a perfect immune system, to give them every advantage from the beginning, so, hopefully, they don't have to worry about that and continue on and be awesome...

'Social Darwinism' i have a severe problem with, as its just painted up racism/culturalism/classism and whatever other kinds of 'isms' out there people use for arbitrary bs to call others 'less' for no reason...

the point of these 'stories' is some 'unique' person or small group changes the world, not a huge groupd of people, as its a far more romanticized version, yet oddly correct .-. 'unique' people change the world, not so big 'thing', they're usually just the unnamed masses used by these 'unique' people, like all wars, like now, that's the real sad part of that story, we're all just npcs, no one cares, unless we get that 'big break' we're pretty much always going to be npcs...

these stories are just fantasies, people wishing they were the 'unique' ones, i mean honestly, if you asked someone if they would rather stay as they are or have some superpower, which do you think they'd choose? they wouldn't care about all the social implications or any other 'problems', all they'd think is 'SWEET!! SUPERPOWERS!!' what they'd actually DO with those powers is the big mystery and test of 'character'... the fact superheroes even 'care' about the 'lesser people' is pretty astounding (ESPECIALLY when you consider most are non-human and/or not raised on eath with our moral set), because we all know that in reality, if someone got whatever superpower, they wouldn't give a damn about the rest of the world... humans in reality are quite selfish...

so i suppose i 'disagree' in the sense that there ARE 'super humans' out there, anyone that made history wexcelled at 'something' that made them stand out, otherwise everyone would be in 'history', but we're not, we're just npcs...

though, i suppose for the sake of stating, i hate the 'chosen one' angle, is poor writing in my opinion, a ''perfect' character, a freakin' 'sue', is so bland and tasteless, there's no challenge, nothing fo them to truly overcome or grow out of... its... sad... really ._. part of why i always found Superman and Saiyans so freakin' boring... they need a power, BAM! its there *sigh* i like a character with challenge, mental screw ups, terible past to over come, yattta yatta, like Guts from Berserk or Raven from Teen Titans... they're both rather dark takes on the same formula as the others but instead of getting boost up from their 'auspicious birth' they kinda get a kick in the gut... or its 'just a thing'... i prefer that so much more, someone who starts off 'less' then an npc but grows throuhg adverstiy to be so much more :3

and as a sidenote, if there's a bunch of screw ups in this, i blame this retarded ad that's covering like half my typing box -.-

 

[Diddy_Mao]

Heh, The entire time I was reading the OP all I could really think was. "This is the way I assume Lex Luthor looks at things."