Well, there’s this one:
It is interesting that Superman’s archenemy was an incredibly wealthy businessman. That seems to be the exact problem with our world today (there’s just many more of them).
Environmentalists in comic books are nearly always deranged villains, and the ones that aren’t are still weak and naïve.
The only strong environmentalist hero in Western canon is Captain Planet, and he’s got sus narc vibes.
Well, Green Arrow. But you have a point.
…because he wears green?
Because of his views.
https://i0.wp.com/50yearoldcomics.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/gl89-recruit.jpg?ssl=1
https://i0.wp.com/50yearoldcomics.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/gl89-vapor.jpg?ssl=1
From: https://50yearoldcomics.com/2022/02/19/green-lantern-89-april-1972/
He’s consistently an “old lefty” sometimes more “sustainable-first capitalist” sometimes more “anarchist”, but his views on things like pollution are well established.
Turns out he has a superpower, and it is the ability to be environmentalist, anarchist-leaning, and billionaire at the same time.
Fair. And I believe this absurd was addressed in universe multiple time. Often with him losing the money in a process. But yes, it’s one of the unfortunate consequence of our shift in how we see billionaires. Batman is the richest and smartest person in the world who care only about one city… with it’s underfunded mental asylum looking like a hose of horror.
The irony is clear. They have a better way of fixing the system than fists and arrow. They are the system.
The lean batman and lean GA are the only one that make sense. But they need to be part of the Justice League with immortal gods. So they need the 9th metal mech and killer ray space stations… which cost money.
But saying GL is not an environmentalist is like saying that Batman don’t care about Gotham. (Even if they have a stupid way of organizing their priorities.)
You’re absolutely right on all counts, but I absolutely adore this typo/autoerect error:
looking like a hose of horror
So I’ll leave it unedited out of respect for your adoration :)
I think so and agree with you.
I’ll add that I think Ollie gets a better treatment with it than Bruce, and Marvel’s Tony who is a bit of a dick, do. (Pym and Incredible both manage to keep inventing game-changing things that never change the order or structure of society or economics, which is relayed to where I’m gonna go but also different in some ways).
I haven’t read a lot of Green Arrow, but have enjoyed what I have.
I do remember reading one story that began with Ollie volunteering in Africa working on water infrastructure (not sure if he was also funding things). He takes actions allowed within the confines of the editorial line to fit the views his character espouses.
But to keep relatablity any never ending story, i.e. the soap opera for boys of serialised comics, will tend towards the status quo of our real world. They can’t show us a better way to live, as how we live needs to be the normal and mostly ideal. So Genosha must fall, Metropolis must be a normalish city, and Gotham remains close to a platonic ideal of the upper-middle class’s view of crime infested 80s New York. (Not the original, but seems to have shifted to it from the gangstery 1950s it once was in pre-modern Batman).
Edit: I think this is also actually in part what has led me to become more a fan of Superman as I get older.
I couldn’t agree more. But I could live with the status quo of the environment, I think it could be done well… IF you are willing to let your characters change. But they insist on Batman that needs to stay broken even when he overcomes all his obstacles. He’s a fantasy of a perfect man, right? He should be self-aware and smart enough to start therapy by now. He already raised a family of heros, and which one of them surpass him in some way… the only reasonable place for him to be is retirement. But as long as batman toys and movies are selling better than Nigtwing’s no one will pull the trigger. At least not permanently.
I also moved to Superman - unfortunately I’m taking a brake on US culture until the president is in the office. But I can’t wait to pick up where I left. Superman resonates so much more with me now.
I’m in a small minority that loved Superman revealing that he’s Clark Kent to the word. It’s consistent with his “truth” value, it opens to discussions ethics of having “all hearing” reporter who reports on things he’s part of… it created fresh type of conflicts. And I loved his son, as a Superman who ask himself “should I be doing more and what more even mean”… I loved the House of El and the Superman’s legacy…
You can disagree and it’s fine. The point is, we deserve stories that are more than retelling the same one over and over again.
We could have the metropolis that is normalized with heros who address modern problems that became “norm” to readers. I want to know
But they will not play the long game, when the short term profits are on the line. Status Que strikes again.
Sure, but we’re really in “exception proving the rule” territory where you have to reach back to 1972 for an environmental plotline.
Come on, man. You are portraying a scenario when I opened all comics starting now and stopped when I reached a first one with environmental theme? Is this arguing in good faith? The image is old because it’s an important part of his worldview for a long time. One of his enemy from this year is named “Fresh Water Killer”.
I’m not doubting he’s pro-environment, but my original comment referred to characters defined by their environmentalism, and the fact that you’re pushing him so hard as a candidate off something that’s very much a secondary characteristic proves how thin the field is overall.
What his primary characteristic in your mind?
I agree how the filed is overall. He’s a very small represnetiarion. But I stand by that he’s a valid one.
Green arrow has a decent and relatively new series.
I’ll turn you into a fucking tree!
Storm and aquaman are pretty pro environmentalist without making it their only identity.
Poison Ivy is essentially an anti-hero at this point, and she is considered fairly powerful too.
Couldn’t he just take all the billionaires and fly them into the sun or smth? I don’t know if that alone would fix things, but it’s a start. Also literally no downsides.
His nemesis is literally a billionaire and he never managed to get rid of him.
I bet you if he just lightly beat up one billionaire a day that the problem would sort itself out pretty quickly.
Imagine being the last billionaire but no one wants to take your money rofffffllll
Lightly?
We got American Superman. We got Soviet Superman. We need Anarchist Superman.
Captain planet gets close to that
Don Cheadle’s Captain Planet, you mean.
Batman is a billionaire
Ah yes, In. Public he “Fights” the rich but in the Dark he is awfully chummy with a rich furry.
That’s why he’s constantly fighting
Jeff bezosLex Luther l.If only Superman were a utilitarian. I’d like to read that ratfic.
We can solve those problems directly or indirectly by tying superman to a dynamo. With free energy even the issues with materials can be solved over time.
Just have superman round up every billionaire and political leader and drop them off on an deserted island, and the rest of us can start fixing our problems like adults.
Why not drop them into a volcano
Then the myth that they are special might live on. Broadcast their island ineptitude as they all die and we might wake from that dream.
Better that they be forgotten entirely
Wasn’t there a small parody comic about this?
One of my favorite ever smbc, and that’s SAYING something! ❤️
Isn’t that just a solar panel with extra steps?
I would say the energy output Superman is capable of implies he’s actually a step-up transformer as well as a solar panel. He’d be much more efficient, but of course you only have one Superman.
Now im curious. I’m just an electrician, not an engineer. How much of the grid could Superman power? Someone figure out his kilowatt-hour figures please 😅
The problem would be transmission, kinda like with huge powerplants that exist today.
The most efficient solution? Probably Superman bullying world leaders and billionaires into funding room temperature superconductivity research, heh.
Depends on the writer I guess.
Morrison? He just does a one energy cumblast while macrodosing some shrooms and Earth goes into overdrive. Humanity needs a new Si prefix for Wh.
Just about every iteration could easily power thousands of mountain sized gravity batteries.
Don’t know about Superman, but we have those figures, and it’s a bit disappointing.
Bitch could literally turn back time
How many rounds around earth til un-inventing plastic?
1 turn = 1 day
Completely artificial plastic was invented in 1907 - 118 years ago.
1 year = 365 days
118 years x 365 days = 43,070 days
So 43,071 rounds should do it, and then just clonk Leo Baekeland over the head or something.
1930s Superman would’ve agreed with the crowd.
Isn’t superman pro free will
He will protect against threats but if you fuck it up your mostly on your own
Does superman think humanity chose capitalism? If Superman landed in 1600s Europe, would he think humanity chose feudalism and help put down peasant uprisings? 1700s Haiti, would he help stop slaves from stealing or enacting violence against the French?
When it comes to the economy, capitalism with a heavy dose of regulation is the best option we have right now.
Attempts at communism have failed miserably and just led to dictatorships.
Unless you’re proposing something better than either of those?
You’re*
And use punctuation, FFS.
Yes sir Mr Trump sir
There are evil “robots” you can go beat up to solve those issues, yes
But you said they were robots Rick!!
They’re bureaucrats Morty! I don’t respect em.
That’s why Superman is usually more proud of his work as Clark than as Superman.
Didn’t Luigi have something to say about that?
Well, he could beat up all the CEOs and politicians…
Yeah, sorry guys, but these sorts of things aren’t really Superman’s department.
Uh… You could… Hmm… You could try asking Mr. Terrific.
Bullshit. Superman can totally stop global warming by simply pushing Earth further away from the sun. Similar to how he sent the whole planet back in time by just turning it backwards.
And I guess he could just beat the fuck outta the ceos of every major corporation, too. It worked against Lex Luthor.
D:
W-why The fuck would you want that!? He’d literally be effecting the orbit of a whole ass planet, you have no idea the kinds of consequences that’ll bring! And it wouldn’t even solve the pollution problem!
Superman isn’t supposed to mess with time either. That is the type of shit that gives Lex Luthor’s arguments against someone like Superman a point!
W-why The fuck wouid you want that!? He’d literally be effecting the orbit of a whole ass planet, you have no idea the kinds of consequences that’ll bring! And it wouldn’t even solve the pollution problem!
The extra day in a week means every weekend is a 3-day weekend. 😌
Very optimistic that it wouldn’t instead be a 6th work day.
I think I remember he once built a giant shield from asteroids to block the sun during a large solar flare. That would be an easier way to cool the earth.
Also, the earth reversing direction was not what caused time to reverse. Time reversing is what caused the earth to reverse direction (just a movie visual clue).
You are basically describing the arch of Superman’s son. And fans hated it.
Youre gonna want Captain Planet
This is what I like about Wonder Woman. She shows up and is like. “Oh shit! There’s a world war going on! Better go stop that.” Meanwhile in the present super man is stopping random petty theft.
![[MyGumsAreBleeding] Superhero](https://lemmy.world/pictrs/image/fe3f7af2-2ad0-40f4-8f61-216350f4860e.png){kind=link}
