Community | April 06, 2009 | 38 comments

Superpowers: Comics and Politics

source: http://fangirlworld.blogspot.com/2009/04/superpowers-comics-and-politics.html

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DeliaTheArtist
If you woke up tomorrow with superpowers, what would you do? Would you dedicate your life to the betterment of mankind? Would you plot domination to rule the world? Would you attempt to ignore your powers and live a normal life?

In comic books and movies, superpowers usually refer to an individual’s abilities; strength, flight, invincibility. However this is the real world- genetic mutations impair us, radiation makes us sick, and no alien beings have come to earth (yet.) We still have superpowers though- I’m talking about the “superpowers of the world”- the countries around the earth who’s influence, economy and authority shape global events everyday.

America has long been known as a superpower. Is it any wonder then that we are the producer of so many stories where super powered beings struggle with their might? Perhaps “With great power comes great responsibility” is not just the motto of our pop culture heroes but the concept of our foreign policy as well. We have the largest economy in the world, the largest military in the world and the largest notoriety in the world, thus, the question has been asked again and again: what level of involvement should America have in other countries? To what extent should we impose our will for what we believe to be right, good, and true?

When George W Bush had declared Iraq, Iran and North Korea an “Axis of Evil”, he stirred imagery that’s deeply ingrained in American society. Evil needs to be fought back by the forces of good- it’s why Captain America fought the Nazis, why Batman fights the Joker, why the X-Men fight Magneto, even if they are misunderstood, criticized and hated by others. The battle of good vs. evil is so prevalent in humanity’s history is has been called a “universal part of the human condition.”

We have entered a new era now, with an administration that is trying to set a different course for America. President Obama has abandoned the idea of the “Axis of Evil” and even the terminology “enemy combatant”- but this obviously does not mean the end of war nor the end of our self imposed responsibility to the rest of the world. The question isn’t “Will we continue to fight for what’s right and good”, it’s an exploration of what IS right and good to begin with.

As everyone with super powers has had to do, we have to reevaluate our methodology, principals and place on this planet. As everyone with super powers has been, we are challenged to find new resolve in an ever changing reality that questions, critiques and confronts us. We could use our power purely for self benefit, as Spiderman attempted to when he first realized his abilities. We could declare ourselves superior and kill those we deem a threat, as Magneto and the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants do. We could shirk the responsibly, as Superman does when he retreats to the Fortress of Solitude. More probable though is that we will continue the battle of good vs. evil, whatever that should mean to us at this particular point in our history.

So I ask again to you, the reader: What would you do?


“Today I say to you that the challenges we face are real, they are serious and they are many. They will not be met easily or in a short span of time. But know this America: They will be met.”
-Barack Obama

“Sometimes I feel like I'm out there fighting all alone. Sometimes I feel like giving up. But, then I remember that what I stand for is more important than anything else.”
-Superman

“Together, you and I will identify and confront America's problems. Together we will figure out what we are and what we can be. Together we will define the American dream and make it an American reality."
-Captain America
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38 comments // Superpowers: Comics and Politics

  • i_am_she
  • soberwood
    • 0
      soberwood  

    • If I could have any superpower I would like to have the ability to see anyone's true motives for their actions, instantly. It would save me a lifetime of searching through history and current information available to find the truth behind the decisions made by everyone. I would like to know the truth, not to find guilt and persecute but to learn to forgive and love. For I know that is what we all want, we are just taught to be afraid to ask.

    • 2 years ago
  • agreeablestatistic
    • 0
      agreeablestatistic  

    • you know, if i had superpowers, i would probably just live a normal life. go to school, get a job, start a family, all that shit.

      if you look at those long running comic books, there's always bad guys one after another. but irl, the world takes care of itself. unless im going to be around forever, i dont see a point in constantly fighting evil or dominating the world.

    • 2 years ago
  • DeliaTheArtist
  • agreeablestatistic
  • DeliaTheArtist
    • 0
      DeliaTheArtist  
    • agreeablestatistic:

      Because more power = more ability to help.

      Let's start on a real basic community level. "Normal people" could pick up trash on the side of the highway for an hour- but if you had super speed, you could do that in no time. Let's say you could pick up trash in the whole state in that same hour- you wouldn't?

    • 2 years ago
  • agreeablestatistic
  • stephenthomson
  • current89
    • 0
      current89  

    • I know i didn't address the questions of "what is good, what is evil?" So, I'll try to address them briefly, for the whole debate is an infinite one.

      To a certain extent I'd say evil and good are relative terms, that are generally based on human opinion. In a sense they are just concepts. A few decades ago it was unacceptable to have interrace couples, it was wrong for a woman to vote, and today, some people view homosexuality as an evil (i don't).

      Personally, I think unwarranted killings are evil(of course what is unwarranted?), I think torture is evil. With that said, I think there are shades of gray to most other subjects, the whole good an evil debate leads down to binary thinking, which, in my opinion, causes massive problems. Personally, I'd argue for Taoist, Buddhist and humanistic principles but that's just me. In addition, I subscribe to the political science theory of gradualism, to a certian extent.

      http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gradualism
      http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Humanism
      http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taoism
      http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buddhism

    • 2 years ago
  • 02
    • 0
      02  

    • I'd go about producing all my 2000 inventions.

      As it would tend to brighten the whole world and change everyone's life the better, that bar-raising would ameliorate the necessity of so much social surgery that might otherwise beckon one's newly found superpowers.

    • 2 years ago
  • Skyscraper08
    • 0
      Skyscraper08  

    • I would love to have a combination of abilities; using them for research.

      - To breathe without the need of Oxygen
      - To be able to fly at light-speed (x10)
      - To be able to defy any type of atmospheric pressure

      With those abilities I would travel throughout the galaxies, and report back to Earth on what lifeforms (if any) I see.

    • 2 years ago
  • SDLN
    • 0
      SDLN  

    • It would be interesting to read something about the correlation of good vs. evil in comics with that of religion. I think we're all introduced to the latter before the former, but the former (or some other art form) eventually has a greater influence on us later in life. How does one inform the other? ...etc. Fascinating post, as always, Delia. Very thought provoking.

      If I had superpowers, I'm sure I'd be a mixed bag. I'd do something perverse and follow it up with a soul-bending act of charity that would bring a tear to the eye of even the most calloused onlooker. On a much smaller scale, that's who I am now; I'll make you cry with an ill-timed joke, and then make you cry with a well-timed hug. I imagine superpowers would only magnify my qualities, not completely change who I am.

    • 2 years ago
  • DeliaTheArtist
  • Lecti
    • 0
      Lecti  

    • Man... that was awesome. I don't care where you stand on the last 10 years or the next 10. This is the reason current.com exists. Rock on!

    • 2 years ago
  • ocanada
    • 0
      ocanada  

    • Having a disease that makes you fragile that means waking up with fresh bruises and sores every morning makes one contemplate the meaning of power in this world. I would chose shared consciousness. The ability to share or exchange any ones personhood. In the end I could be or do anything without exchanging my humanity.

    • 2 years ago
  • wirehedd
  • DeliaTheArtist
  • 4free
    • 0
      4free  

    • I'd pull a Magneto/Luthor/Chitauri/Darkseid/whoever - totalitarian dictatorship, except that it'd be benevolent. Paradoxical perhaps, but a utopia nonetheless.

    • 2 years ago
  • DeliaTheArtist
  • artemis6
    • 0
      artemis6  

    • I am a mom . So I have the superpower of love for my kid . I can endure the unbearable . I can defy the mighty powers of destruction ( I may not succeed , but defy them I will ). I can teach the joy of living and other things book learning cannot teach . When I was younger I used to try and protect people , things , Ideas . Now, I Just try to do what i can for this one person . Always wanted to be able to fly unaided though .

    • 2 years ago
  • WhiteNoise
  • cztheday
    • 0
      cztheday  

    • One of my closest friends is a school psychologist who is nearing retirement. The kids at his high school adore him. We have lunch about once a month, and there are always a few cases troubling him. He is not at liberty to divulge the details of course, but he sometimes speaks in generalities about the kinds of problems that recur over and over again.

      Some involve troubled or uncaring teachers, of course. Others involve substance abuse or immature sexuality by the kids. But some of the saddest stories are about abusive or neglectful parents. To a child, parents start out having "super powers" and become mere mortals as the kids grow to adulthood.

      I just wish more parents understood the extent of their "super powers" in the eyes of their young children and the importance of modeling the values they wish their children to have when THEY become adults.

      Kids are just so tremendously impressionable. I fear that too many of us (myself included) become so caught up in our day-to-day struggles that we forget that our children really are the most lasting legacy most of us will give to the world (or impose upon it, depending on the decisions we make).

    • 2 years ago
  • current89
  • Nettle
  • Sexirobot
  • current89
    • 0
      current89  
    • current89:

      @Nettle

      True, but I'd have to half my lifespan wouldn't I? Iol

      @sexirobot

      Well, you can still see when a person is going to die, but It's true, they aren't as useful without a Death Note.

    • 2 years ago
  • Nettle
  • current89
    • 0
      current89  
    • current89:

      "I totally think they'd be useful! You make a mint "predicting" people's deaths, amass a fortune and rule the world. Easy peasy lemon squeezy."

      People might start worshiping you as a god as well. Genius!

    • 2 years ago
  • cztheday
    • 0
      cztheday  
    • current89:

      Hmmmm. At first I was baffled by the notion of making a fortune by predicting people's deaths. I mean, the last thing most people would want to know is when they are going to die -- looking into the eyes of SOME people, you can just tell that they have persuaded themselves that THEY are going to be the exception to the rule that nobody gets out of this world alive.

      But I can see where an insurance company would pay you a couple hundred million a year to tell them which lives they should insure (those that will live long enough to pay them FAR more in monthly premiums than the amount of the payout their beneficiary will receive at the end) and which they should not (those who will be leaving this vale of tears in the next few years or under circumstances that would trigger the "double indemnity" clause in their life insurance contracts. Is that what you were thinking?

    • 2 years ago
  • tome_erau
  • Nettle
    • 0
      Nettle  
    • current89:

      @cztheday: Not what I was thinking but that is an awesome angle! I was thinking more along the lines of people would want to know when they themselves or others would die and would pay anything for it.

      @tome: Yes.

    • 2 years ago
  • maasanova
  • DeliaTheArtist
  • maasanova
  • Skyscraper08
  • agreeablestatistic
    • 0
      agreeablestatistic  
    • maasanova:

      you'd also have to fight the people who caused the problem in the first place, the people who caused the real estate and financial markets to bubble, then collapse.

      you know, the people who bought shit they can't afford.

      you don't think bank assets just turned toxic by themselves?

    • 2 years ago
  • tome_erau
    • 0
      tome_erau  

    • The real problem is that there is no such thing as evil. People only do things because they find them justifiable and in their opinion "good." But it's all relative.

      To use an extreme example, Hitler did not believe he was an evil person. He honestly believed that he was doing the right thing for Germany, and it was "evil" countries like Britian and America, and the Jews who had destroyed their once glorious country. Of course, we look at it from our perspective and its obvious that he was a monster. Or just look at the way the Bush administration and Al-Qaeda throw the word "evil" back and forth.

      In the real world there is no such thing evil. Just a bunch of people trying to do what they think is best for themselves, their family, and their neighbors.

    • 2 years ago
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