Is DC Attempting to Repeat History with Superman?

[stillanerd]

Comments

[aliasjack]

I can't sympathize with the woman there the way I can with the old man in Hard Travelin' Heroes. The old man is talking about fighting the oppression of an entire group of people in a time of great upheaval. He was telling Hal to take a look around him and see the people with problems that need his help in his own backyard. He was talking about a systemic problem.

The woman, while I feel for her loss, is telling Clark that he should've been there for her single problem instead of deal with his own issues. I understand the desperation grief will drive one to, but that's terribly entitled of her.

Granted, because of who Clark is, he probably would take it to heart the same way, but these are scenes with very different subtext, and that they're told in the same way as if they deserve equal impact I find a little problematic.

[stillanerd]

Which is a very good point and one more reason why DC's attempt to recapture that seminal moment from Green Lantern with Superman (if that is indeed what they were trying to go for) doesn't really work--especially considering how Superman has just saved ALL of humanity yet again while Hal Jordan was being chastised for not paying more attention to his fellow human beings.

[skyblade]

Yeah, I mean, conceivably, Richard Branson could pay my hospital bills, but you can't solve every single person's problem. Though I was always intrigued with the concept of "super doctors". It may even make a good X-Men story, with conflicts with big medicine, and that sort of thing.

[skyblade]

Which is another thing. Superman explicitly keeps himself out of small picture stuff because of the fear of the slippery slop to despotism. It's why he doesn't overthrow foreign dictators or perform lobotomies. The idea is that we're supposed to evolve and become better on own, he steps in on acts of acts of god, or decimating calamities, or to take people as powerful as him out of the game.

Mod note

[aliasjack]

What's more, this is NoScans. I'll have to ask you to remove the links to the scans. We allow links to posts on s_d under certain conditions, especially for editorializing and discussing, but links to scans themselves is not allowed.

sorry for the multiple comments, HTML fail happens sometimes

Re: Mod note

[stillanerd]

Okay, I thought links to images were all right as long as you didn't actually post the images. My mistake. They've been removed.

[ulf_boehnke]

This story might work in an Elseworld with few or no super-villains or alien attacks, but in continuity he is busy 24/7 preventing the destruction of the world.

And he has already lost 2 of 3 homeworlds.

[parsimonia]

Yeah, it does seem like a pale imitation of O'Neil and Adams' work. I guess we'll see.

As for Superman's walk across America...I'm trying not to feel slighted that he's not visiting Toronto. We have a street named after Joe Schuster and everything!

Okay, this is for entirely personal reasons, but I really really hate it when there is a "Superman (or Supergirl) can't save people with cancer" type thing. I just. Augh.

Because the reality is that they could have Superman and Supergirl removing tumours and saving people with cancer all the frickin' time. It'd be their full-time job, and nobody would fault either of them for doing it instead of some intergalactic stuff that could potentially be handled by others.

So I just feel like, what's the point in even bringing it up? It's in no way their intention, but sometimes it just reads like "haha, Superman could totally save people with cancer but he doesn't and people die, just like in real life! *cue sad sit-com music*" I've lost a loved one to cancer, seen the suffering that it puts a

[michaeljhealy]

"As for Superman's walk across America...I'm trying not to feel slighted that he's not visiting Toronto. We have a street named after Joe Schuster and everything!"

I would love a Superman story about him visiting Canada.

[parsimonia]

I know, right? We've got fields of wheat too, Clark! You'll feel right at home!

[shadowlongknife]

I feel the same way. In my town here in Florida, we have an entire development across town named after Superman stuff! We have Krypton street, Clark Kent Avenue, and Lois Lane.

[bradygirl_12]

I just read this issue today. It seemed exactly like the '70s 'relevant' storylines, and besides, Superman can't be everywhere! His powers are made for the big things and yet he does manage to help with smaller events/incidents, too. What's the world going to say if there's an alien attack and Superman's off having coffee in a diner in Nebraska? *rolls eyes*

Every hero plays a different role. Batman is one of the most 'local' heroes there are, yet he manages to be an important part of the JLA and saving the world!

I just thought the 'new direction' was lame. He just came back to Metropolis and now he's leaving again? Whatever!

[aliasjack]

Interestingly enough, some of my favorite Superman stories involve him saving people multiple times to the point they think there's something special about them

[misterandersen]

I like the one where he saves the suicidal Goth girl.

[aliasjack]

the point of that one was kind of the opposite, really