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Post by zaku on Aug 23, 2022 12:07:16 GMT -5
Not a good example; Arbery's killers were not the norm for the vigilante example, nor were they good-willed vigilantes who "simply" made an error in judgement. They were White Supremacists--two with a known history of racist behavior--who profiled Arbery only due to his race, and chose to execute him. They are not in the same moral / psychological category as the kind of costumed heroes in question, as they have not consciously profiled, and carried out an execution for one of the most despicable beliefs systems in human history. This in an interesting point. In superhero comics when someone acquires superpowers they always fall into one of these two cases: either they have a morality that allows them to use their powers in the best possible way (I mean from a moral point of view of course) or they become a supervillain. There are hardly any other options, such as someone convinced they are doing good but his moral point of view is questionable. This is something Mark Waid talked about in an interview discussing his Irremediable comic. The protagonist's moral fiber is simply not up to par with his superpowers. He tries to do good but fails. Hoping not to touch anyone's political sensibilities, imagine what would happen if, say, someone who is convinced that the 2020 election has been stolen and that there is a usurper in the White House, and then this someone acquires superpowers. I am sure that if he took the current President, abandoned him on a desert island and put the defeated opponent in his place, he would be convinced that he is right and doing something morally justified. He has broken some rules to make those that he considers most important prevail.
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Post by impulse on Aug 23, 2022 13:07:16 GMT -5
I think there are a few shades of nuance between breaking and entering to stop a murder and toppling a sovereign government. Also, that sounds like a supervillain to me. Maybe splintering into superheroes and supervillains is the natural eventual outcome of introducing powers.
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Post by zaku on Aug 23, 2022 13:21:23 GMT -5
I think there are a few shades of nuance between breaking and entering to stop a murder and toppling a sovereign government. Also, that sounds like a supervillain to me. Maybe splintering into superheroes and supervillains is the natural eventual outcome of introducing powers. You know what I'd like to read, the story of someone who believes in all possible conspiracies (from Flat Earth to Moon Landing) and suddenly acquires superpowers. Then he decided to use them to expose the Hidden Powers that he believes rule the world.
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Post by Deleted on Aug 23, 2022 13:49:51 GMT -5
Hang on, the world isn’t flat? I suppose you think it’s a cube. You’ve been reading too many Bizarro stories…
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Post by zaku on Aug 23, 2022 14:12:20 GMT -5
Hang on, the world isn’t flat? I suppose you think it’s a cube. You’ve been reading too many Bizarro stories…
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Post by impulse on Aug 23, 2022 14:45:51 GMT -5
I think there are a few shades of nuance between breaking and entering to stop a murder and toppling a sovereign government. Also, that sounds like a supervillain to me. Maybe splintering into superheroes and supervillains is the natural eventual outcome of introducing powers. You know what I'd like to read, the story of someone who believes in all possible conspiracies (from Flat Earth to Moon Landing) and suddenly acquires superpowers. Then he decided to use them to expose the Hidden Powers that he believes rule the world. In the right hands, that could be a really interesting story. How does a superpowered conspiracy nut hell-bent on a mission to expose the conspiracies cope when he founds out they are fake? Does he see the error of his ways? Does he crack under the weight of the cognitive dissonance? WHAT IF HE FINDS OUT HE IS RIGHT? ? ::cue X-files them music::
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Post by zaku on Aug 23, 2022 15:02:24 GMT -5
You know what I'd like to read, the story of someone who believes in all possible conspiracies (from Flat Earth to Moon Landing) and suddenly acquires superpowers. Then he decided to use them to expose the Hidden Powers that he believes rule the world. In the right hands, that could be a really interesting story. How does a superpowered conspiracy nut hell-bent on a mission to expose the conspiracies cope when he founds out they are fake? Does he see the error of his ways? Does he crack under the weight of the cognitive dissonance? WHAT IF HE FINDS OUT HE IS RIGHT? ? ::cue X-files them music:: Not exactly this, but there is a interesting comic where someone... (Copy and paste from official site description) COLE TURNER has studied conspiracy theories all his life, but he isn't prepared for what happens when he discovers that all of them are true, from the JFK Assassination to Flat Earth Theory and Reptilian Shapeshifters. One organization has been covering them up for generations. What is the deep, dark secret behind the Department of Truth?
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shaxper
CCF Site Custodian
Posts: 22,709
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Post by shaxper on Aug 23, 2022 15:26:54 GMT -5
Not a good example; Arbery's killers were not the norm for the vigilante example, nor were they good-willed vigilantes who "simply" made an error in judgement. They were White Supremacists--two with a known history of racist behavior--who profiled Arbery only due to his race, and chose to execute him. They are not in the same moral / psychological category as the kind of costumed heroes in question, as they have not consciously profiled, and carried out an execution for one of the most despicable beliefs systems in human history. This in an interesting point. In superhero comics when someone acquires superpowers they always fall into one of these two cases: either they have a morality that allows them to use their powers in the best possible way (I mean from a moral point of view of course) or they become a supervillain. There are hardly any other options, such as someone convinced they are doing good but his moral point of view is questionable. Oh, there have been a few like this. The one that comes to mind immediately is the imposter hero in Shadowhawk III who believed it was his job to purge society of non-whites, only to discover that his hero (Shadowhawk) was Black under the mask.
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Post by spoon on Aug 23, 2022 18:50:34 GMT -5
So, in my opinion, this makes superhero ideology fundamentally a fascist ideology. Attention, I don't mean "fascism" as the Americans mean it (which for them is just a synonym for "violent"). Casual bigotry makes CCF a less enjoyable place to be.
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Post by badwolf on Aug 23, 2022 18:55:21 GMT -5
Most of Alpha Flight weren't superheroes first and foremost. Aurora and Puck enjoyed it, but they were adventurous types in general. Guardian was in the tech field. Shaman was a doctor. Snowbird was RCMP (and of course her primary reason for being was to hunt and destroy the Great Beasts.) Sasquatch was a scientist. Northstar actually disliked the "superhero games" and preferred to engage in professional athletics. They first worked for their government and when their department shut down, they united when the situation called for it, usually in smaller units. They never went out looking for things or "policing." Madison Jeffries, at least under the writer who created him, never wanted to be a "hero" at all and preferred the quiet life of a laborer. He was only persuaded into "action" on one occasion as he felt he owed a debt to James Hudson.
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Post by tarkintino on Aug 23, 2022 19:42:58 GMT -5
Not a good example; Arbery's killers were not the norm for the vigilante example, nor were they good-willed vigilantes who "simply" made an error in judgement. They were White Supremacists--two with a known history of racist behavior--who profiled Arbery only due to his race, and chose to execute him. They are not in the same moral / psychological category as the kind of costumed heroes in question, as they have not consciously profiled, and carried out an execution for one of the most despicable beliefs systems in human history. This in an interesting point. In superhero comics when someone acquires superpowers they always fall into one of these two cases: either they have a morality that allows them to use their powers in the best possible way (I mean from a moral point of view of course) or they become a supervillain. There are hardly any other options, such as someone convinced they are doing good but his moral point of view is questionable. Possibly due to writers and editors largely believing in--or selling--the idea that super-beings have a natural leaning toward justice and morality, hence the reason the vast majority of mainstream superheroes (particularly post-1960) are not embracing belief systems such as racism. Some outlier of a character might hold offensive views, but again, they are not the face / flagship of the corporation and its mainstream ideologies.
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Post by zaku on Oct 10, 2022 17:14:43 GMT -5
Well, I think this is the most ethical way to use superpowers
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Post by EdoBosnar on Oct 11, 2022 6:48:25 GMT -5
Well, I think this is the most ethical way to use superpowers SMBC is such an awesome comic.
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