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(07-07-2013, 06:35 AM)Uther Wrote: Yeah, that's a pretty good explanation right there. I love Superman.
FINALLY! I have someone to argue about Superman with!
Ok. So. Counterpoint on Superman:
Even when he's written "well", there's something about this character that irks the crap out of me. Mostly in that he's named himself the absolute arbiter of justice. Everywhere. Forever. With no attention paid to whatever personal shortcomings he's got.
To say his power simply doesn't color his perceptions of the world is a massive oversight. Every day, Superman picks and chooses who he does, and does not save. A man who could be just about everywhere at once, and he'll skip right over you if he feels like it. Sure, he's made it a point to stop a sad girl from jumping off a building. But how many people in Metropolis were murdered in range of his super-hearing at that moment? He catches a plane, but makes no effort to say...keep that security guard facing down Lex Luthor's secret Spec Ops crew from getting gunned down and dissolved in super-acid later.
Perhaps my biggest issue with Superman is that he's reactive, rather than proactive. He doesn't really prevent these disasters from happening. He just handicaps our ability to handle them by swooping in and doing it all for us. Superman's actions show something that writers never out and out say: He doesn't trust us for shit. He's gonna tell us what's right. He's gonna tell us who gets to be saved, and who doesn't. He's gonna tell us when we need him, and when we don't.
Honestly, I find myself in the same boat as Mr. Luthor. I look at him, and I think "Who asked you?"
And, now a segway into thoughts on Rorschach, 'cause he poses a question I think we should all ask about Superman (And Batman, frankly):
Rorschach asks the audience, quite plainly, if we really want someone with an unwavering moral compass. Someone who doesn't see grey. Someone who decides that they know better than anyone around them.
Rorschach, like Superman, forges on without turning any of his thoughts inward, and it destroys countless lives. Did the child murderer he butchered deserve to be punished? Sure, but nobody deserves to be hacked to bits by a madman in possibly the coolest mask ever. This is the road that heroes like Superman and Batman are on. Particularly the former. Superman can get away with just about anything. The fact that he hasn't yet is pretty much just luck. After all, he has a human psyche. He doesn't have a super-strong sense of identity, or an unending reserve of mental resilience. He can't choose not to be scarred by trauma without diving into a world of utter fantasy. He's well beyond genius-level as far as intellect is concerned, but that comes with it's own set of issues, not the least of which would be his ability to actually relate to the people he's trying to protect.
And we see these same sorts of things come back and bite Rorschach in every way possible. He's a smart guy, and his ability to recall events and bridge logical gaps just means that his trauma and stresses dig that much deeper. His moral compass is unwavering, but that leaves him unable to adapt to a changing world. He's named himself the absolute authority on right and wrong, and that makes him a monster.
You guys. Guys. Seriously. I am so happy to argue about comic characters right now.