I always think back to this one quote, something like
You can tell the morals of a society by the myths they tell themselves. We tell stories of heroes who save the world then quietly go back to their day job until they're needed again
this post was submitted on 28 Apr 2025
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I read that and I actually think positively on it. To me, i read it as the good person doesnt stand by and do nothing, they fight evil as it crops up, even at the cost of their peaceful life they desire. Im not sure I can agree to any one type of story them we tell though. Its pretty varied.
Some versions do try to tell a more complex story, like The Boys and Invincible. My Hero Academia is also there as an anime
I like One Punch Man. While he is a hero. The fact that he does it for fun and is frustrated at being so powerful makes it really stand out.
Saitama is hilarious in the driest way possible, which is a humor that not everyone can appreciate
The pilot episode where he meets a crazed villain who loses his shit when Saitama tells him 'I am a hero for fun', and goes on a rant on what a stupid backstory that is... before he gets blown to bits with one single punch.
The running joke of him always losing at video games because he just does the same move again and again.
His entire relationship with Genos
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superheroes are "benign" fascists, it's fiction that would never work. Even in the gooest, saccharine interpretations I would be the one criticizing superman lol
Also it bleeds into other media. Like the kid's show Paw Patrol. I am obviously far too old to watch the show and while I have enjoyed watching kids stuff from time to time I just haven't been able to spare rhe time for that one.
However based on a cursory knowledge of it and reviews from youtubers the show has some really bad ideas in the subtext.
Firstly the shows basic services in the community are fully privatized. They even have some scenes where outsiders want to call the cops or some other local service only to be reminded by locals that in that community they are done by this kid and his dogs.
Also that kid who commands paw patrol? He is like the avengers in that he lives quite apart from the community he is supposed to be serving.
This is akin to how billionaires don't just live far away... they live REALLY far away and secluded from most people and don't interact with them directly. This is despite the fact that they control extremely critical assets to the community, they are not just isolated from the community, they are also unaccountable to them.
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Ironically Superman is one of the least fascy superheroes, at least when written by anyone who understands the character.
Tbh they're just misrepresenting the argument. Most (famous) superheros aren't fascists. They spend a lot of time punching imperialists in the face at a minimum.
What they represent is a social desire for the hero-figure, the strong-man, to fix society's problems instead of collective and democratic action. That's the dilemma people like Alan Moore are pointing out when they talk about how comics can enable fascism.
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Fair enough, but watchmen is cool
It's cool because it deconstructs the whole thing, down to having a quasi god as one of the heroes
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Wow, now I understand why I hated all those movies.
there are plenty of reasons to hate those movies. this is just another.
That's the problem with superhero stories. The story needs to begin and end with the world in a state similar to our own (for relatabilitiy and sequel potential) despite the vast power of its protagonist, so the hero must ultimately be concerned with preserving the status quo.
It's one of the reasons why superhero movies are in decline now that all the most famous storylines have already been adapted, and why comic book sales have been going downhill ever since they started taking themselves seriously.
You just reminded me of one of the Life is Strange fanfics I read once. Where Max and Chloe have these time and space warping powers and just go the opposite way, they determine the status quo is fucked and needs to be rectified globally and then start doing it in an actually thoughtful sensible way. (There was some shadowy confusing adversity but I can't recall its nature)
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There's like two way it could end when a superhuman being try to change the status quo for the good, one is through the courtroom, which is slow and boring, another one is to forcefully take over the "bad" government and force the "good" on people, which we have seen in something like Injustice.
This is the reality of the world 🌍!!
The court decisions are only worth something if the legislative made proper laws and the executive is enforcing them.
But assuming superhuman capabilities the most obvious choice imo. is to use these abilities to help lift the most discriminated out of poverty. And if then the forces of the status quo come to take it away again, then he needs to fight them directly.
In my country, the Judiciary is the biggest criminal while the legislatures belong to the mafia 🤐🤐🤐🤐🤐
The court decisions are only worth something if the legislative made proper laws and the executive is enforcing them.
Yeah, but that is the only lasting change that can be done for the country, and it's a slow and painful process.
But assuming superhuman capabilities the most obvious choice imo. is to use these abilities to help lift the most discriminated out of poverty. And if then the forces of the status quo come to take it away again, then he needs to fight them directly.
I think that's why people love One Piece, liberating country out of their oppressor and challenging status quo is the theme.
I thought it was because rubber man funny.
Great. So we're going to be seeing this meme 8 times every month?